Week 16 Preview: Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers
Even with Adrian Peterson returning last week, the Minnesota Vikings still dropped a much-needed game in a must-win scenario. Minnesota utterly collapsed in the contest, losing 34-6 against the Colts at home in week 15. The loss all-but eliminated the Vikings from playoff contention. Without a lot of luck and help, the season is over the purple and gold.
After beginning the season 5-0 and looking like early Super Bowl favorites, the Vikings have have since dropped seven of their last nine. They snuck by the Packers in their home opener back in week two and will try to play spoiler this week as they attempt to end Green Bay’s postseason hopes. A win for Minnesota this week would mean Christmas came early for the Vikings as they will have swept the Packers for the first time since 2009.
The purple and gold will travel to Green Bay for their final matchup with the Packers in 2016. The game kicks off on Saturday, December 24th, at 12:00 noon CST, at Lambeau Field and will be televised by Fox. Check your local listings for further programming information.
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Essentials to win the game
If the Vikings are going to beat the Packers on Saturday, it will start up front with the offensive line; as they go so does the rest of the offense. Minnesota will need the big boys on the line to create holes for the running game and offer better pass protection, so Bradford has a pocket to throw from. If the offensive line is able to get off the ball and generate some push against the Packers’ defensive front, Peterson could find running lanes enough to energize the league’s worst ground game.
If, however, the offensive line continues to be such a given liability, it may be time to turn to a no-huddle approach, when Minnesota’s offense has been at its most effective.
On the other side of the ball, the defense will need to put pressure on Aaron Rodgers and keep him from getting into a rhythm. The secondary will have to do its part and keep Green Bay’s many receiving threats in check. The more the defensive backfield can shut down the Packers receivers, the more the defensive front can pressure and frustrate Rodgers.
Possible downfalls to avoid
For the Vikings to be successful on Saturday, they will need to limit the Packers’ ability to make the big play. Last Sunday against the Colts, Luck beat Minnesota’s defense for touchdowns on passing plays of 27 and 50 yards. Rodgers is just as capable of burning a defense for a big play and can hang crooked numbers in a hurry. If the Vikings allow Rodgers to go unchecked, they could find themselves playing from behind for most of the game.
Minnesota also has to avoid turning the ball over. In week 15 against the Colts, they turned it over three times — one interception and two fumbles — without creating a takeaway of their own. The Vikings can ill afford to give Rodgers and the Packers extra opportunities to score points. A favorable turnover ratio is key for the purple and gold to complete the sweep of the Packers.
Player spotlight
After a slow start to the year, Rodgers’ has the Packers peaking at the right time, as they vie for an eighth consecutive playoff appearance. Jordy Nelson has picked up right where he left off, after sitting out last year with a knee injury. He led Green Bay in receiving last week against the Bears, catching seven passes for 124 yards. Davante Adams and Randall Cobb will look to be more involved in this Saturday’s contest, after combining for just two receptions, totalling 25 yards last Sunday.
After being named the Packers’ full-time running back last week, Ty Montgomery saw a career-high in carries (16), yards (162), and touchdowns (2). Montgomery took full advantage of the uptick in usage and will look to build on his career-numbers from week 15. He could prove to be a difficult threat on the ground, for the Vikings to contain on Saturday.
The Vikings’ defense on the whole will be looking to get back on track after week 15’s collapse to the Colts. Xavier Rhodes and Captain Munnerlyn will be tested all afternoon as they attempt to hold the Packers’ potent receiving corps in check. It will be up to Danielle Hunter, Everson Griffen and Brian Robison to get after Rodgers and keep the elite signal caller off-balance. It’s vitally important for Minnesota’s defensive front to collapse the pocket and limit the time Rodgers has to find an open man. After receiving much criticism this week, Saturday’s contest would be the perfect time for Anthony Barr to show up in the box score and make his presence felt.
The Vikings’ offense has struggled to find production for much of the year, hamstrung by injuries to and ineffective play from the offensive line. Sam Bradford has been limited in his ability to get the ball downfield, with poor protection largely to blame. Expect plenty of short passes this week to compensate for the offensive line’s deficiencies; per usual. Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs and Kyle Rudolph should be in store for another busy afternoon, albeit, inefficient one.
Adrian Peterson returned to action for the first time since week two and struggled mightily against the Colts, rushing six times for 22 yards while losing a costly fumble in the contest. Peterson will look to bounce back and find redemption this week, when he matches up with the same Packers’ team he injured his knee against in the Vikings’ home opener. Jerick McKinnon should continue to get work in the passing game while seeing some carries on the ground and could actually benefit from Peterson’s return.
Game Projection
The last time the Vikings played the Packers, the season had just started. It was week two, their home opener and the year was still ripe with Super Bowl hopes and dreams. Despite losing Peterson in the contest, Minnesota still prevailed, defeating Green Bay, 17-14, as they broke in U.S. Bank Stadium for the first time. The team had promise and things looked to be headed in the right direction, even lending some to start believing that this could be our year.
Fast forward 14 weeks and that same Vikings’ team has won just two of their last nine and are barely clinging to playoff hopes of any kind. They have suffered numerous injuries, too many to list. They have seen their offensive coordinator unexplainably resign in the middle of the season. They cut their kicker after repeatedly failing to lock-in extra point attempts. Their head coach underwent emergency eye surgery and has been coaching from the sidelines while wearing an eye patch.
It’s been a miserable year for a franchise that once had high expectations coming into the season. After last year’s heartbreaking loss in the playoffs, many had thought this team would go far into the postseason. Barring miraculous intervention and big ticket lotto-luck, it doesn’t look to be so for the Vikings, as Minnesota has been all-but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
Nevertheless, the show must go-on and so the Vikings will travel to Green Bay to meet the Packers. There may not be much to play for but there is still pride. On the line is the pride of sweeping a division rival for the the first time in seven years while taking away their hopes of reaching the postseason. If Mike Zimmer still has his team’s ear, there is much yet to play for.
Despite their second half struggles, this is still a very capable Vikings’ team, that could show up and beat the Packers at home, Saturday. That being said, Rodgers and the Packers seem to be catching steam as the postseason nears and have been playing some of the best football in the league as of late. Stopping them will be a difficult test, even for one of the league’s best defenses, especially when the offense is as ineffective as the Vikings’ has been.
Minnesota has a way of showing up for the games they aren’t supposed to win and utterly collapsing in those they should win. Expect this to be a close, low-scoring affair with the Vikings coming out on top of the Packers, 16-13.
– Miles Dittberner, is the National Editor of cover32 and also covers the Minnesota Vikings. Like and follow on Facebook and Twitter.
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