Week Two Preview: Minnesota Vikings vs Green Bay Packers
The time for speculating what U.S. Bank Stadium will be like in a regular season game has passed as the Vikings welcome the divisional rival, Green Bay Packers, to a NBC Sunday Night Football matchup at 7:30 pm Central Time, this Sunday. The Packers (1-0), narrowly escaped week one with a 27-23 road win against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Quarterback, Aaron Rodgers looked every bit the two time NFL MVP by making plays with his arm and extending plays with legs.
The Vikings also escaped a road game with a victory over the Titans by a score of 25-16. The defense will have their hands even fuller this week with the Packers coming to town.
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The Vikings and Packers split their two games last season — Packers took the week 11 matchup 30-13, the Vikings took week 17 by a score of 20-13. Minnesota sacked Rodgers five times in the week 17 win but were only able to get him twice in the week 11 loss.
What to expect
First off, fans can always expect the unexpected in any matchup between these two storied franchises. Something wacky, weird and or historic always seems to happen, especially when the national spotlight shines down from above. The games are not always the cleanest as crowd noise and bad blood tends to boil over into the player’s actions, but they are always fun and exciting games to watch.
The Packers tend to run a no-huddle offense the entire game in an effort to keep defenses on their toes and unable to substitute players. With Rodgers and Jordy Nelson, the passing attack projects to be one of the league’s best once again this year. In order to slow the Packers’ passing attack, Mike Zimmer will have to dial up a defensive plan that is able to pressure on Rodgers.
As Jaguars’ rookie Jalen Ramsey will attest, even when players get to Rodgers, he still has the ability to make plays. If Rodgers is given time, he can carve up a defense with ease. When he gets hurried, he still makes plays, like the one he did to Davante Adams to end the first half on Sunday and can be seen here.
Essentials to win the game
By running the ball effectively, not only does Rodgers have to watch from the sideline, Green Bay’s defensive star, Clay Matthews can be held at bay. Matthews can take over a game with very little help from the rest of the defense. However, by running the ball, the Packers will be forced to focus on Adrian Peterson by dropping a corner down in the box and that is when Stefon Diggs can take over the game.
Defensively, the Packers are one of the more underrated groups in the NFL. Their front seven tend to give Adrian Peterson a tough time as last season he was held to 112 yards total rushing in two games. If the Vikings want any chance to win this game, they need a productive Peterson.
According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, “Zimmer might have the antidote for Aaron Rodgers,” as Zimmer has been able to limit Rodgers’ overall numbers yet still has difficulty reigning in the perennial MVP vote recipient. In order to steal a win from ESPN’s top ranked team, Zimmer will have to be on point and most can guarantee he will be ready and prepared, maybe more.
Possible downfalls to avoid
Overlooking the Packers run game would be a big no-no in this one. It’s well known that Rodgers can throw and make plays, but the combo of Eddie Lacy and James Starks are the true key to the Packers’ success. Stop the run, limit Rodgers’ chances on play-action, easy enough right?
If the Vikings want any chance of winning this game, the offense will need to score touchdowns and put some points up on the board. Having to settle for only field goals, will not be enough, especially with the inconsistent leg of Blair Walsh at kicker. As tough as it is to pinpoint one reason the Vikings’ offense failed to score touchdowns versus the Titans, look no further than Norv Turner and his conservative play calling. Turner seemingly threw out half the playbook once they were in Walsh’s range. How exactly does one gauge the range of a kicker that continually misses extra points and short field goals?
Player spotlight
Lane Taylor replaced 2015 second team All-Pro, Josh Sitton at left guard so the Packers must have strong belief that he can handle the likes of Linval Joseph and Sharrif Floyd.
Another reason as to why Rodgers has so much time to throw is left tackle, David Bakhtiari, who, according to ESPN, recently received a four year $51.67 million extension. All roads to Rodgers for Everson Griffen, Danielle Hunter and Brian Robison will start with how effective they are against Bakhtiari.
According to Packers.com senior writer, Mike Spofford, veteran cornerback, Sam Shields, is currently undergoing concussion protocol and could be spelled by Quinten Rollins. Rollins filled in admirably for Shields versus Allen Robinson of Jacksonville and even batted a ball away from the talented receiver. Charles Johnson will look to rebound this week and will undoubtedly face one of the two talented corners.
When spotlighting players in a matchup like this, thousands of words could be used. The fact of the matter is that each team will need all of their players to step up in this matchup that on any given day could be one history will remember forever.
Game projection
The Packers generally look to start fast by spreading defenses out and keeping them honest with the run game. Though Rodgers failed to even pass for 200 yards last week, he made them count by tossing two touchdowns and adding another rushing. The red zone is where he is lethal, especially in big games such as this.
Packers’ defensive coordinator, Dom Capers, likes to pressure the quarterback in hopes they make mistakes. Capers has used this philosophy to make his Packers’ defense number one in interceptions since he took over in 2009 as defensive coordinator. Whoever the Vikings start at quarterback should have “protect the ball” tattooed in their brain as to not make mistakes.
The Vikings would love to keep their quarterback on his feet, much like they did in game one and not give up any sacks. Keeping the quarterback upright is a tall order as Matthews is a beast and the rest of the defense tends to follow his lead.
Peterson will get his touches but look for the Vikings to use more screen passes to Jerick McKinnon to keep the speedy green and gold defenders honest. If the Vikings can get Peterson and McKinnon going early, they can most assuredly pull the upset in this one.
Luck tends to play the scantily clad vixen in these matchups; no matter which team plays better, one or two plays always seem to determine the outcome. The Vikings will need the crowd noise to cause the explosive offense of the Packers to make unusual mistakes. If Rodgers hits Jordy Nelson with ease, that will force the Vikings’ offense to play outside of the norm and air the ball out.
Shockingly, this writer is rather superstitious and would be prone to pick the Packers just to jinx them. However, this is not an attempt to jinx anyone. The Packers’ offense and their surprisingly fast defense will thwart the opening of U.S. Bank Stadium to the delight of Cheeseheads everywhere. As of this writing the Packers are favored by 2.5 points; the Packers cover and win 30-20, as the Vikings’ defense will not be able score enough points to keep up with Green Bay’s high powered offense.
Justin Ekstrom can be followed on Twitter @thesportscrib21 and be sure to follow and comment on Facebook and Twitter.
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