Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers: Complete Week 5 Preview for Minnesota

The Minnesota Vikings don't get much time to enjoy their big win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, as they are faced with a short week and will travel to Green Bay to take on the PackersThursday night.

For the Vikings, this Week 5 matchup begins an important two-game stretch in which they'll face division rivals Green Bay and Detroit. The Lions currently lead the NFC North at 3-1, with the Vikings, Packers and Chicago Bears all sitting at 2-2. 

It's not an ideal time for a short week for the Vikings after starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a sprained ankle late in Sunday's 41-28 win over the Falcons.

It was a coming out party of sorts for Bridgewater, who played brilliantly in his first NFL start, completing 19 of 30 passes for 317 yards. He also ran for a 13-yard touchdown.

Bridgewater turned his left ankle while making a jab step on a quarterback keeper from the Falcons two yard line. He didn't practice on Monday or Tuesday, but head coach Mike Zimmer is still hopeful he can play against the Packers on Thursday night, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press:

"

Even though Teddy Bridgewater didn't practice Monday, Mike Zimmer "hopeful'' ready to play Thursday at Green Bay. http://t.co/fcpWDSlKYO

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) September 29, 2014"

The importance of Minnesota's win over Atlanta can't be oversold as the Vikings were coming off a brutal two-week stretch where they'd lost two games and four starters on offense, including running back Adrian Peterson, who was put on the exempt list after being indicted on child abuse charges.

A poor performance from Bridgewater and his teammates could have sent the entire season into a downward spiral that might have been tough to climb out of.

Now comes a trip to Lambeau Field, where the Vikings haven't won since 2009, when Brett Favre led Minnesota to an emotional 38-26 win in his return to Green Bay.

The Packers are also coming off of a big victory, as they went into Chicago and whipped the Bears 38-17. Aaron Rodgers led the way, throwing for 302 yards and four touchdowns, and posted a ridiculous 151.2 quarterback rating.

Rodgers has dominated the Vikings of late, in their past six regular-season meetings he's thrown for 18 touchdowns to just one interception with a quarterback rating of 131.4.

It's the fourth straight game in which Minnesota will be playing against one of the league's top quarterbacks. The Vikings defense has fared pretty well, holding Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Matt Ryan to under 300 yards passing.

The spotlight will be on the Vikings in Week 5, as they play in their only night game of the season. It's tough for teams to bounce back and play well with just three days in between games. That's been more obvious than ever this year, as the average margin of victory in the last three Thursday night games has been a whopping 31 points.

Regardless of the fact that it's a nationally televised prime-time game, it's the Vikings against the Packers, so it's as big as it gets for Minnesota. 

It's the first game against the Packers for Zimmer, Bridgewater, McKinnon, Anthony Barr and several of the newer Vikings. It won't take long for them to figure out how much it means to fans on both sides. 

"

Aaron Rodgers on Vikings-Packers rivalry says there's a "mutual dislike'' between the fans.

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) September 30, 2014 "

Vikings' Week 4 Recap

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

The Vikings stood toe to toe with one of the best offenses in the NFL, and after trading blows for a full 12 rounds, they came away with a convincing 41-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons to even their record at 2-2.

Minnesota dominated play for most of the day, outgaining Atlanta 558 yards to 411. 

The Vikings took a 24-14 lead into halftime, only to find themselves trailing 28-27 after three quarters.

The fourth quarter was all Minnesota, though, as Matt Asiata scored his third touchdown of the day, and Blair Walsh added two field goals for the final margin.

There were heros all around for the Vikings, first and foremost was Teddy Bridgewater, the rookie who was starting his first game at quarterback. Bridgewater played with a cool confidence that seemed to spread throughout the roster, as he proved over and over that he was capable of moving the Vikings offense down the field.

He finished with 317 yards passing and ran for a touchdown. More important than his numbers was the eyeball test, which he passed with flying colors. Bridgewater was poised and nimble in the pocket and made good decisions all game long. He had zip on his passes and made plays with his legs when they were available.

The Vikings offense seemed to take a huge step forward with Bridgewater at the helm. He wasn't the only youngster to break out against the Falcons, though, as rookie running back Jerick McKinnon and third-year receiver Jarius Wright both had career days.

On the defensive side of the ball Minnesota was good, if not great. The front four wasn't able to get as much pressure on Ryan as it wanted to, especially considering that by the fourth quarter the Falcons were so injury riddled they were using a backup tight end at right tackle.

Atlanta converted on 10-of-15 third downs and scored four touchdowns, numbers that are good enough to win most games.

Considering the talent of the opponent's offense, kudos have to go the Vikings secondary, which did a great job against Atlanta's talented group of receivers. Highest marks went to Xavier Rhodes and Harrison Smith, who both had exceptional games.

For the Vikings, it was nice to see the offense take command with a balanced attack. The emergence of Wright as a third receiver (to go along with Greg Jennings and Cordarrelle Patterson) could give Minnesota a nice trio of receiving threats.

With Asiata and McKinnon both proving they can make plays, the Vikings now have the ability to ride the hot hand at running back.

Everyone knew before the season that the four-game stretch beginning Week 2 with New England would go a long way toward setting the tone of the season. After losing to both the Patriots and then the Saints, a win over the Falcons was crucial and the Vikings got it in convincing fashion.

They head to Green Bay at 2-2 with momentum definitely on the uptick. The Teddy Bridgewater era has begun.

News and Notes

Jim Mone/Associated Press

Bridgewater's Injured Ankle the Biggest Storyline

It was not soon after the Vikings players and staff had finished giving each other well-deserved pats on the back for a big victory over the Falcons, when all of the attention shifted to the status of Teddy Bridgewater's sprained ankle.

As we said in the opening slide, the rookie quarterback turned his ankle while making a jab step trying to cut upfield on a keeper inside the Falcons two-yard line. 

Twin Cities journalists and sports-talk radio shows are detailing every possible update on the rookie's healing process heading toward Thursday night's game against the Packers.

Such is life in the NFL in the social media age:

"

Teddy wouldn't put a percentage on his chances of playing Thursday. Said he is going to do what's best for the team.

— Matt Vensel (@mattvensel) September 30, 2014"

"

Bridgewater wouldn't put percentage on chance of playing Thursday. Saying all the right things.

— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingESPN) September 30, 2014"

"

Teddy plans to get out and run today has been inside so far on the machine

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) September 30, 2014"

"

Bridgewater not giving much insight, leaving decision in coach's hands

— Brian Hall (@MNBrianHall) September 30, 2014"

Bridgewater suffered a good-old sprained left ankle, so anyone who's ever played sports, or even just turned their ankle, knows that the pain and flexibility can change dramatically from day to day.

All indications from Bridgewater are that it feels much better on Tuesday, so it would be a mild surprise if it didn't heal up enough for him to give it a go on Thursday night.

The bigger problem, as noted by Tom Pelissero of USA Today, is that a rookie quarterback has a truncated week of game prep:

"

Low-grade high ankle sprain for #Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater should be non-issue. Problem right now is lost prep for rookie on short week.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 30, 2014"

Bridgewater and McKinnon Up For Weekly Awards

In news that has to make Vikings general manager Rick Spielman smile, two of the rookies he drafted in May have been nominated for player of the week awards at NFL.com.

Both Bridgewater, who was the last pick of the first round, and McKinnon, who the Vikings took in the third round, are nominated for the Pepsi Rookie of the Week Award. 

Bridgewater threw for 317 yards and ran for a 13-yard touchdown in his first NFL start against the Falcons. McKinnon averaged 7.5 yards a carry in piling up 135 yards on 18 carries. He also caught a pass for 17 yards.

C.J. Mosley, a linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens, Mike Evans, a receiver with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Blake Bortles, a quarterback with the Jacksonville Jaguars are also nominated for the award.

McKinnon, who shared running back duties with Matt Asiata, is also nominated for the FedEx Ground Player of the Week. McKinnon had previously gained just seven yards on five attempts so far this season. Jamaal Charles of the Kansas City Chiefs and DeMarco Murray of the Dallas Cowboys are also up for that award.

Vikings Should Dominate in the Ground Game Against the Packers

The Green Bay Packers have had a pretty miserable running game during the Aaron Rodgers era. 

The hope was that was all going to change with the arrival of running back Eddie Lacy, who Green Bay took in the second round of the 2013 draft. 

Lacy was better than advertised; the 5'11", 230 pound bruiser won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors last season after rushing 1,178 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Most fantasy football sites had him ranked as the fourth or fifth best back heading into this season.

It really hasn't worked out so far.

Lacy ran for 48 yards and a touchdown in the Packers win over the Bears last Sunday, and it was his best game of the season so far.

He's rushed for just 161 yards on 53 carries for the year, with one touchdown and a brutal 3.03 yards per carry average. 

You can certainly get away with that when your quarterback has a 151.2 rating like Rodgers had in a convincing 38-17 win over the Bears on Sunday. Long-term success might be more difficult though if the Green Bay offense remains so one dimensional.

The Vikings running backs, on the other hand, had a breakout day against the Falcons; racking up 241 yards rushing and four touchdowns, averaging 5.5 yards per carry.

Sure, it was against a pretty weak Falcons defense, but it was nice to see Minnesota get a ground game going for the first time in three games since they deactivated Adrian Peterson.

Look for the Vikings to definitely try to establish the run against the Packers, who are dead last in the league in run defense. Psst: They're starting Letroy Guion at nose tackle!

The Vikings had committed to an improved running game before playing the Falcons, as noted by Andrew Krammer of 1500espn.com, who quoted Zimmer after the game as praising McKinnon's work:

"

We've talked about trying to get [McKinnon] in the ball game some more. He's got a lot of explosiveness and we wanted to try to use some of his speed to the perimeter. He did a couple of really good runs inside, too.

"

A successful ground game will go a long way toward a victory against the Packers. It hits the Green Bay defense where it's weakest and it keeps the ball away from Aaron Rodgers, who reminded everyone last week why he's one of the best quarterbacks in the game.

Injury Report

Jim Mone/Associated Press

Player	Position	Injury Status
Teddy Bridgewater	QB	Questionable
Chad Greenway	LB	Questionable
Kyle Rudolph	TE	Out
Captain Munnerlyn	CB	Probable
Josh Robinson	CB	Probable
Jerick McKinnon	RB	Probable
Jerome Felton	FB	Probable
Michael Mauti	LB	Probable
Brandon Watts	LB	Probable

 All injury information courtesy of Mike Wobschall at Vikings.com

Obviously the big story heading into the Vikings game with the Packers on Thursday night will be the status of Bridgewater's left ankle. As we said earlier, sprains can vary widely, Bridgewater's appears to be manageable and it would be a surprise if he didn't start the game on Thursday night.

As these things go however, no official announcement will probably come until he steps on the field Thursday afternoon and tests it out. Bridgewater didn't participate in Vikings practice on Monday or Tuesday, but he's expected to participate on Wednesday, even if it's in a limited fashion.

The Vikings coaches, meanwhile, have to prepare two quarterbacks to be ready to play during a short work week.

"

Norv turner said its a challenge getting one qb ready on a short week let alone two

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) September 30, 2014"

The news out of Winter Park on Tuesday afternoon was encouraging though and all signs point toward Bridgewater being on the field Thursday night.

"

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer: Teddy Bridgewater's ankle "doing much better".

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 30, 2014"

Linebacker Chad Greenway has not practiced all week either and it would be a surprise if the Vikings didn't give Greenway the extra 10 days to heal up his broken rib. Gerald Hodges, who filled in admirably for Greenway against the Falcons, praised his veteran teammate for helping him out last week:

"

G.Hodges: "I just gotta take my hat off to Chad [Greenway] ... making sure I knew exactly what to do. Made sure I had everything I needed."

— KFAN1003 (@KFAN1003) September 29, 2014"

Cornerbacks Captain Munnerlyn and Josh Robinson as well as running back Jerick McKinnon were limited in their activity during Wednesday practice but are all expected to play on Thursday night. 

Munnerlyn has been sick, Robinson still has a tight hamstring and McKinnon is nursing a sore ankle.

Fullback Jerome Felton is on the injury list with a knee issue, but he's participated fully in practice and will play on Thursday night.

X-Factors and Matchups to Watch

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Xavier Rhodes vs. Jordy Nelson

When the Vikings hired Mike Zimmer, the hope was that the defensive guru was going to quickly improve a defense that ranked 31st in the league in 2014.

Bingo.

After four weeks the Vikings rank in the top 20 in the league and the caveat here is that they've opposed three of the best quarterbacks in the game their last three times out and fared pretty well.

It won't get any easier on Thursday night when they take on Aaron Rodgers, who's coming off a masterful performance against the Bears on Sunday, where he completed 22 of 28 passes for 302 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.

It all added up to a ridiculous quarterback rating of 151.2.

We mentioned in the first slide that Rodgers has been dominant against the Vikings of late, averaging a quarterback rating of 131.4 in his last six regular season games against Minnesota. The Packers are 5-1 in those games, with Minnesota's only win coming in the final game of 2012, when Adrian Peterson rumbled for 199 yards.

Rodgers favorite target right now is Jordy Nelson, who leads the NFL in both catches and receiving yards. Nelson has hauled in 33 passes for 459 yards and three touchdowns, a four-game pace that would give him one of the best receiving seasons in NFL history.

It'll be more of the same for Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes, who's coming off his best game as a pro, helping to limit Falcons superstar receiver Julio Jones to just six receptions and 82 yards.

The Vikings drafted Rhodes in the first round of the 2013 draft because they loved his size and physicality in a division where they have to face the likes of Nelson, Calvin Johnson and Brandon Marshall.

At 6'3", 217 pounds and fast, Nelson is probably the closest comparison to Jones in the league.

While the entire Vikings secondary is responsible for limiting the other team's receivers, Rhodes will be matched up often with Nelson and Minnesota would love to see a repeat performance from their second-year man. 

Rhodes had four passes defended against the Falcons as well as five tackles, one for a loss. Aside from the numbers, Rhodes was a physical presence all afternoon, putting licks on receivers when they did come up with receptions.

While he's still looking for his first career interception, the Atlanta game reminded everyone why the Vikings were so high on him toward the end of last season. Thursday night would be a perfect time for that first career pick.

Harrison Smith vs. Randall Cobb

Yeah, the first two matchups we're going to highlight are against Packers receivers. That's how important it is to slow down the Green Bay air show if you want to beat them.

Cobb is about as good as No. 2 receivers get, and he's hauled in 21 catches on the year for 239 yards and a league-leading five touchdowns. 

At just 5'10", 192 pounds, Cobb is the more elusive of the two Green Bay receivers, but we'll couch that by saying that they're both fast, elusive and threats on every route in the receiving tree. They can beat you short, in the intermediate area and over the top.

Over the top is where the Vikings have one of the best emerging safeties in the league in Harrison Smith. Taken with their second first-round pick in 2012, Smith has established himself as the best player on the Vikings defense.

Smith has always been a ferocious and willing tackler, but he's getting better and better against the pass. He has two interceptions on the season and a team-leading five passes defended. Smith now has seven career interceptions, three of which the former all-state high school running back has taken back for touchdowns.

This again isn't to say that Smith will be locked on Cobb. The entire Vikings secondary will be tasked with slowing down the Packers receivers. Smith will be the center fielder during obvious passing downs and he's used his very high football IQ to grow into that role. His interception stepping in front of a pass intended for Roddy White on Sunday was a perfect illustration of that.

Along with Captain Munnerlyn, Robert Blanton and the quickly emerging Josh Robinson, the Vikings have five very capable defenders in their nickel package, all of whom are tenacious hitters (when they're not whiffing on tackles like Robinson and Blanton did on Antone Smith's 48-yard touchdown run on Sunday.)

If you're going to beat the Packers, your secondary has to make some plays. With Rhodes, Smith and company, the Vikings defensive backs are more equipped to do that than any group they've had in years.

Jerome Felton vs. A.J. Hawk

While Clay Matthews usually gets all of the plaudits when discussing the Packers defense (as he should), middle linebacker A.J. Hawk is playing some pretty good football for the green and gold. 

Hawk leads the Packers in tackles, as he did last season. While he doesn't come up with the sacks and splashy plays that Matthews does, Hawk is a very good run defender for a team that desperately needs more of those.

With the Packers ranking last in the NFL in stopping the run, common sense would dictate that the Vikings will try to run the ball all night long. 

The first two games without Adrian Peterson had been a mighty struggle for the Vikings running game, but the emergence of rookie Jerick McKinnon helped them break open for a season-high 241 yards rushing against the Falcons.

Much of the Vikings running success against Atlanta has to be attributed to the paths cleared by bruising fullback Jerome Felton. The 6'0", 246-pound wrecking ball had his best game of the season against Atlanta repeatedly taking on Falcons linebackers and clearing space for Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon.

"

Watching game back now. @jfelton45's block on @JetMckinnon1's 55-yard run - wow. Took ATL's best tackler completely out of the play.

— Mike Wobschall (@wobby) September 29, 2014"

Felton's block on that play was a complete de-cleater and you won't see many lead blocks better. It wasn't just a pancake, but a whole stack served with sides of bacon and sausage. 

Star Tribune columnist Chip Scoggins weighed in on Felton's play against Atlanta with this tweet:

"

Lots of positives for Vikings offense in first half, but the line and fullback Jerome Felton have dominated.

— chipscoggins (@chipscoggins) September 28, 2014"

For a variety of reasons, it will be crucially important for the Vikings to have success on the ground on Thursday night. Jerome Felton might be the single most important player for that to happen.

Vikings X-Factor of the Week: Blair Walsh

Wait, the kicker? Yes, the kicker. 

If special teams are really a third of the game (does anyone other than special teams coaches really believe that?), then one of the Vikings more valuable players is kicker Blair Walsh.

Plenty of people scoffed when the Vikings used a sixth-round pick on Walsh in 2012, but Minnesota hasn't regretted the pick for a second.

Walsh has one of the strongest legs in the league, if not the strongest. He gets a disproportionate number of touchbacks and almost always gives the Vikings defense a long field to work with.

His value as an offensive threat is undeniable as well, as his 55-yard field goal was one of the most important single plays in the victory over the Falcons.

Having missed a 49-yard try earlier in the day, many coaches would have punted with the Vikings facing 4th and six from the Falcons 36 yard line. A miss and Atlanta would have had good field position trailing by just seven points with plenty of time left.

Mike Zimmer has faith in his coaches though and special teams coach Mike Priefer has all the confidence in the world in Walsh.

Worth the risk? Absolutely. Walsh nailed it with plenty of leg to spare and the Vikings added three crucial points to stretch their lead to 10. Of course he drilled the ensuing kickoff to pin the Falcons at their 20 yard line.

Walsh has proved time and time again since joining the Vikings that you don't really notice your kicker unless you have a really bad one or a really good one.

The Vikings are blessed with a really good one.

Thursday brings a night game in Green Bay with the football world watching. The Vikings will be playing with a rookie quarterback who probably won't be at 100 percent. They are probably going to need Walsh to finish off some drives for them.

Not a lot of sixth-round picks contribute as much as this one does. 

Prediction

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

You can make a pretty good argument that this is the first big Vikings vs. Packers game since the last game of the regular season in 2012 when Minnesota beat Green Bay 37-34 to clinch a spot in the playoffs.

Oh sure, the same two teams met just a week later in the playoffs, but that game was realistically over for anyone watching after Joe Webb flung a couple of passes that landed in different zip codes from their intended targets.

Week 5 of the 2014 NFL season finds the Vikings and the Packers both sitting at 2-2 and tied with the Bears, all a game behind the 3-1 Lions.

All four teams have had huge ups and downs already during a season that could realistically find them all fighting for a playoff spot deep into the season.

The Vikings suffered through one of the darkest three week periods in their history with the indictment of Adrian Peterson on child abuse charges.

Back-to-back losses to New England and New Orleans joined the Peterson mess to snuff out all the momentum that had been generated by the breath of fresh air new head coach Mike Zimmer had brought to the organization.

Then along came Teddy.

First-round draft pick Teddy Bridgewater took over at quarterback after Matt Cassel broke his foot against the Saints and he was everything everyone hoped he would be in his first NFL start.

Playing with the poise and moxie of a 10-year veteran, Bridgewater showed off a strong and accurate arm and nimble, athletic feet in leading the Vikings to a convincing 41-28 victory over the Falcons.

Bridgewater didn't win the game by himself though, as fellow rookie Jerick McKinnon rushed for 135 yards and third-year receiver Jarius Wright caught eight passes for 132 yards. 

On defense Minnesota is led by Harrison Smith, who's quickly becoming one of the best safeties in the league, and a third rookie, linebacker Anthony Barr, who seems to be getting better with each game and is oozing with potential.

The Packers, after playing an uncharacteristically listless game in losing to the Detroit Lions two weeks ago, heeded quarterback Aaron Rodgers' call to relax and bounced back with solid 38-17 drubbing of the Chicago Bears.

So we arrive at Vikings vs. Packers part one for 2014 with both teams still trying to figure out who they are.

One thing Rodgers knows for sure is this:

"

Aaron Rodgers on Vikings-Packers rivalry says there's a "mutual dislike'' between the fans.

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) September 30, 2014"

Rodgers is 7-1 against the Vikings since losing both games to the Brett Favre-led Vikings in 2009. He's been the dominant player in the division since then and any team that wants to wrest the division away from the Packers after three straight titles will have to rip it away from Rodgers.

Are the Packers vulnerable? Is Bridgewater for real? We won't get answers to either of those questions in just one game on Thursday night, but we'll get another chapter in the books of one of the best rivalries in the sport.

Vikings 26 Packers 24