Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings: Complete Week 12 Preview for Minnesota
The Green Bay Packers come to Minnesota this week to take on the Vikings looking a little bit like Mike Tyson in his prime.
They're not just beating people; they're destroying them. And they're doing it very quickly.
Over their last five wins the Packers have outscored their opponents 138-12. While those numbers are a little mind-boggling, let's up the ante a little bit: Those numbers are just from the first half.
Yikes.
The last time these two teams met, a Thursday night game in Green Bay on October 2, things went sideways for the Vikings even before the game started. It was announced late in the afternoon that quarterback Teddy Bridgewater wouldn't play because of a sprained ankle he'd suffered the previous Sunday in a win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Instead, backup Christian Ponder got the start, and the game became a sort of heightened version of the entire Ponder era: Poor throws, bad decisions, no pocket presence and very little time to do anything.
The Packers pounced, and it wasn't pretty. Aaron Rodgers had three touchdown passes, and Julius Peppers returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown. It was all but over at halftime, with the Packers leading 28-0.
Since then the only consistent thing about the Vikings has been their inconsistency, while the Packers have been on a roll and look like one of the best teams in the NFL.
While the Packers continue to enjoy the success that comes to a franchise that's been quarterbacked by two probable first-ballot Hall of Famers for 23 straight seasons, the Vikings are simply hoping that Bridgewater can continue to improve and give Minnesota a little stability at the most important position on the field.
Sunday's game against Green Bay begins a stretch of six games where the Vikings will simply try to get better. A team that had perhaps unjustified high hopes heading into the season now faces the reality that it has a long way to go, especially on offense, to become a playoff-quality team.
The good news for the Vikings is that after the Packers game, they'll stay home to play the Carolina Panthers and the New York Jets, two teams with a combined record of 5-15-1.
Are the Vikings a playoff-caliber team? No. Are they an awful team in need of a complete overhaul? No. The next six games will give a more clear indication of where the Vikings stand. Sunday's game against the Packers might be their stiffest test of the season. Let's just hope they can get to halftime with the result still in doubt.
Vikings' Week 11 Recap
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The Vikings' 21-13 loss to the Chicago Bears last Sunday probably served as a reality check to Minnesota fans who still harbored hopes that Minnesota was good enough to make a run at the playoffs.
It isn't.
Facing a Bears team that had given up over 50 points in back-to-back games, the Vikings offense was awful, gaining just 243 yards and 10 first downs on the day.
In a head-scratching development, Teddy Bridgewater didn't even target either of his starting wide receivers, Greg Jennings and Cordarrelle Patterson, until halfway through the third quarter.
The Vikings defense, which has been pretty good for most of the season, struggled against the Bears. Jay Cutler threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns, and running back Matt Forte picked up 117 yards on the ground.
The Bears' wide receiver duo of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery once again proved to be too much for the Vikings to handle, as they combined for 18 catches, 225 yards and all three Bears touchdowns.
Minnesota pulled off its first fake punt in a decade in the first quarter, with backup safety Andrew Sendejo running 48 yards to the Bears 7-yard line. Bridgewater hit Rhett Ellison with a touchdown on the very next play, and the Vikings had a 10-0 lead.
That was about it for Minnesota highlights though, as the Bears dominated play for the rest of the afternoon.
The loss dropped the Vikings to 4-6 and pretty much squelched any hopes of making a playoff push this season.
News and Notes
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NFL Suspends Adrian Peterson for the Rest of the Season
Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL suspended Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson for the rest of the 2014 season without pay on Tuesday morning, as chronicled by Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports.
The NFL Players Association quickly announced that it will appeal the ban. As it stands now, Peterson won't be reinstated to the league until April 15, 2015, as reported by Pelissero.
Fullback Jerome Felton lashed out at Tuesday's ruling, as reported by Mark Craig of the Star Tribune:
"This whole thing has been one big mess by the league from Day 1. Today didn’t make it any cleaner. It made it messier. I couldn’t disagree more with the ruling. I’m disappointed all the way around. For Adrian and as a player who is concerned about the arbitrary nature of how punishments are decided. Nothing Goodell does surprises me.
Everybody knows that if the Ray Rice video had not come out, this would not be going on right now. It’s definitely more about, ‘How’s this thing going to look PR-wise when he comes back?’ than what is fair and what are the guidelines to follow.
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It appears that there will be no return to the Vikings for Peterson this season, and many, including Ben Goessling of ESPN.com, think he's probably played his last down for the Vikings.
Vikings and Packers Have Gone in Different Directions Since Their First Matchup
Both the Vikings and Packers were 2-2 and wondering which direction their seasons were going to go when they met the last time on the first Thursday night in October.
The Packers destroyed the Vikings 42-10 that night and have gone 4-1 since then, while Minnesota has limped along at 2-3 over its last five games.
While hindsight shows that Vikings fans' hopes were probably a little too high back then, the season won't be a complete loss if Mike Zimmer can get his troops to improve in several key areas.
First and foremost is at quarterback, where the Vikings will have to suffer through some of the normal growing pains that come with a rookie quarterback.
Why have the Vikings' and Packers' seasons gone in such different directions? Take a look at the numbers of Bridgewater and Rodgers over the last five games:
| Comp/Att | Yards | TDs | INTs | Rtg | |
| Rodgers | 111/166 | 1,593 | 16 | 2 | 122.8 |
| Bridgewater | 106/175 | 1,012 | 4 | 6 | 68.6 |
It certainly doesn't take a genius football mind to see where the biggest difference in the two teams lies. Most of the Packers' success over the last two decades, as we mentioned in the first slide, can be attributed to the fact that they've gone from one Hall of Fame quarterback to another in Brett Favre and Rodgers.
The Vikings, meanwhile, have had a long list of mediocrity at the position other than in 2009, when Favre led them to the NFC Championship Game.
The single most important thing for the Vikings over the course of the last six games will be to see improved performances from Bridgewater.
Vikings' Wide Receiver Woes
As we noted earlier, Bridgewater didn't even target either of his starting wide receivers, Greg Jennings and Cordarrelle Patterson, until midway through the third quarter of the Bears game.
Outside of Charles Johnson, who Minnesota plucked off the Cleveland Browns' practice squad in September, the Vikings wideouts had just three catches for 28 yards against the Bears. Good luck winning any football game with those kinds of numbers.
It continued a disturbing trend of lack of production from the Vikings receivers.
Greg Jennings is the Vikings' leading receiver with 463 yards, which ranks 58th in the league. Patterson and Jarius Wright, the Vikings' next two receivers, rank 93rd and 98th respectively. That's horrific.
Those three combined have 1,110 yards, which is less than the Pittsburgh Steelers' Antonio Brown, who leads the league with 1,161 yards. The Denver Broncos' top three receivers have 2,485 yards.
Those numbers make you wonder how the Vikings have won any games at all.
This isn't to say that all the blame falls on the Vikings' receivers though. It's a combination of poor pass blocking, a rookie quarterback, a nonthreatening running game and subpar receivers.
If the Vikings receiving corps doesn't show dramatic improvement over the next six games, look for some major changes for the 2015 season.
Vikings Claim Ben Tate Off Waivers
With Peterson now unavailable and both Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata a little banged up, the Vikings claimed running back Ben Tate, who had been cut by the Cleveland Browns, according to Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com.
Tate had gained 333 yards for the Browns this year but was averaging only 3.1 yards per carry. He has 2,325 yards in four NFL seasons but has never fulfilled the promise he showed as a rookie, when he ran for 942 yards, averaging 5.4 yards per carry for the Houston Texans.
Offensive coordinator Norv Turner praised the work that McKinnon has done as a rookie and talked about the team's decision to sign Tate on Thursday, according to Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune.
Injury Report
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| Player | Position | Injury Status |
| Matt Asiata | RB | Questionable |
| Jarius Wright | WR | Questionable |
| Greg Jennings | WR | Questionable |
| Jerick McKinnon | RB | Probable |
| Mike Harris | OT | Questionable |
| Anthony Barr | LB | Probable |
| Sharrif Floyd | DT | Questionable |
| Xavier Rhodes | CB | Probable |
| Everson Griffen | DE | Probable |
All injury reports are courtesy of Mike Wobschall of Vikings.com.
Running back Matt Asiata didn't practice either Wednesday or Thursday and landed on the injury report with a concussion, which might prompt the Vikings to give an early look to newly acquired Ben Tate in the backfield, especially in short-yardage situations.
Wide receiver Jarius Wright continues to nurse a sore hamstring and was limited in practice on Thursday.
Also limited were Anthony Barr, Mike Harris and Jerick McKinnon, but all three will be available on Sunday.
Missing practice were Greg Jennings, who's dealing with a rib injury, and Sharrif Floyd, who's still bothered by his knee. Both are questionable but likely to be OK to play.
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X- Factors and Matchups to Watch
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Harrison Smith vs. Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb
The Packers will try to become the first team in NFL history to score 50 or more points in three consecutive games on Sunday against the Vikings.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers' two main weapons are his dynamic duo at wide receiver, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb.
While it will be a complete team effort to try to shut down Green Bay's potent passing attack, safety Harrison Smith is probably the most vital cog on Minnesota's defense to that end.
As we mentioned earlier, Smith was burned by Nelson for a 66-yard touchdown when these two teams met in October. He'll make sure that won't happen again.
Nelson's 998 receiving yards rank third in the NFL, and Cobb's 779 yards rank 12th. Cobb's 10 touchdown receptions lead the league, while Nelson is second with nine. They've combined for 27 catches for over 20 yards. Nelson himself has touchdown receptions of 80, 66, 59, 73 and 40 yards.
While the Vikings will defend both players with press coverage at the line of scrimmage, it will still be up to Smith to be the last line of defense in the secondary. His four interceptions leads the Vikings, and his seven passes defensed is second.
The ball will be in the air a lot on Sunday. It'll be up to Smith to make sure the Packers don't set any scoring records.
Everson Griffen vs. David Bakhtiari
If Aaron Rodgers is given ample time in the pocket to survey the field, he'll destroy your defense. If you're able to flush Rodgers out of the pocket, he'll probably destroy you anyway, but at least your odds increase a little bit.
Everson Griffen has been by far the Vikings' best pass-rusher all season, and they'll need a big game from him on Sunday to keep Rodgers from putting on another air show.
Griffen's nine sacks tie him for eighth in the league, and he's used his strength and speed to be a disruptive force in opposing backfields all year.
Sunday he'll be squaring off with Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari, who's been a very pleasant surprise for the Packers, who drafted him in the fourth round in 2013.
Bakhtiari is part of a Packers offensive line that is starting to get a lot of credit for Green Bay's silly offensive numbers. Rodgers had this to say about Bakhtiari on his radio show this week, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com:
"Dave has been so consistent at left tackle. When that position becomes an afterthought, you know that guy's playing great. It's almost like the long-snapper, although the left tackle is in on more plays. It's not something you worry about. That's pretty impressive when you've got usually the best pass-rusher on that side, and he's been locking him down really good.
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If the Vikings want to have any defensive success on Sunday, they'll need Griffen to dominate Bakhtiari and be in Rodgers' face all afternoon.
John Sullivan vs. Letroy Guion
It's really no secret that the Vikings' offensive line has struggled this season. Center John Sullivan is probably playing the best of the bunch, and he'll be matched up against his former teammate in nose guard Letroy Guion on Sunday.
If the Vikings have any hope at all of beating the Packers, they'll have to do a much better job of controlling the ball than they did last week against the Bears.
With basically no running game to speak of (your leading rusher probably shouldn't ever be a backup safety), the Vikings had the ball a full 17 minutes less than the Bears. They ran 46 plays to the Bears' 74. It's almost impossible to win a football game with that big of a disparity.
So Minnesota will obviously have to establish its running game against the Packers to keep Rodgers and Company off the field. The good news is that Green Bay ranks 29th in the league against the run.
It will all start right in the middle, where Sullivan will have to control Guion, who spent the previous five seasons playing for Minnesota. Guion is nothing special as a defensive lineman, so the Vikings should be able to attack the Packers right up the gut with their best blocker leading the way.
Vikings' X-Factor of the Week: Jerick McKinnon
As we just mentioned above, the Packers rank 29th in the NFL in run defense, allowing 136.2 yards a game and 4.5 yards per carry. Everyone knows the Packers beat you with their offense, not their defense, so the best way to counter that is to keep the ball away from their offense.
That's always easier said than done, but look for the Vikings to give McKinnon his first 20-carry game as a pro. McKinnon is averaging 4.9 yards a carry and looks to be much further along than anybody thought he would be coming out of Georgia Southern.
Drafted to be a change-of-pace back who could spell Adrian Peterson, the job is now McKinnon's, and he's shown enough ability that the Vikings should be comfortable upping his workload.
Minnesota might be forced to give McKinnon more carries since Matt Asiata missed practice this week as he recovers from concussion symptoms, as reported by Mark Craig of the Star Tribune.
McKinnon has also been limited in practice, but, as tweeted by Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press, he should be all set to go for Sunday's game:
"Jerick McKinnon back at practice. He told me his lower back injury is nothing to worry about and ready to go Sunday
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) November 20, 2014"
Look for McKinnon to have a big day on the ground and to score his first NFL touchdown.
Prediction
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There are some games that just don't look good on paper, and then there's playing your biggest rival when it's looking to become the first team in NFL history to score 50 points in three consecutive games.
Since these two teams met each other on the first Thursday night in October, the Packers have been on fire, going 4-1 and averaging just over 39 points a game.
In that same stretch the Vikings have gone 2-3 and averaged just 18 points a game.
Sunday's game will provide a huge challenge for Minnesota in more ways than one. Sure, facing the Packers is daunting enough, but it will be the first game the Vikings play under Mike Zimmer where the playoffs are no longer really in play.
The goal now is to get better and build for the future.
A season that began with modest hopes has taken some huge hits, and it will be very interesting to see how Zimmer has his team respond. The Vikings lost their best player in Adrian Peterson, and two of the young cornerstones of the offense, Matt Kalil and Cordarrelle Patterson, have been major disappointments.
While the Vikings offense has struggled for most of the season, the defense has at least shown major improvements. Still far from great, it's at least been able to compete. But it'll face its biggest challenge of the season against the Packers' high-flying offense.
Expect Zimmer to have his team ready and look for the Vikings to compete.
At least Christian Ponder won't be playing.
Prediction: Packers 30, Vikings 20
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