Vikings vs Packers: Why Green Bay Will Dominate Monday Night

Make no mistake about it, the Green Bay Packers know that the Minnesota Vikings aren't just going to rollover on Monday night at Lambeau Field.

That said, however, we can still expect a blowout from the cheese-heads because, although Minnesota is coming off a nice road win over Carolina and a bye-week, the Packers are still vastly superior. Obviously, the biggest concern for the defending Super Bowl champs is their poor pass defense.

Favoring them this week is the rookie status of Vikings' QB Christian Ponder. Part of the reason why the San Diego Chargers were able to mount a comeback against Green Bay, and almost win, was because Philip Rivers is a seasoned veteran.

It's much more reasonable to expect Rivers to shake off throwing two pick-sixes in the first half. As for Ponder, however, holding him to the same standard wouldn't be fair. To that end, if Ponder is given the green light and Green Bay locks it down or picks him off a couple of times, his confidence will be teetering on a meltdown.

Playing on the national stage, in arguably the most legendary football stadium to ever exist, is a lot of pressure in and of itself. Luckily, Ponder has a stud RB in Adrian Peterson to back him and Minnesota will be running the ball quite often.

Rightfully so, as they rank No. 5 in rushing offense (just over 150 yards per game). Not to mention that when Michael Jenkins is your best receiving target, then the passing game isn't all that threatening to begin with.

However, since the Vikings lack a passing game and Peterson is their most viable option, expect the Packers to stack the box to isolate Peterson as much as possible. In turn, they will be forcing Minnesota's WRs to beat one-on-one coverage, which will then force Ponder to beat them—not Peterson.

Even though Peterson will get his yards, he's not going to be effective enough to keep pace with the Packers' offense.

Last time these two teams met Aaron Rodgers went 24-of-30 for 335 yards and three TDs. Just another average day for the NFL's best QB and most prolific offense. Minnesota can try to stop Green Bay all they want, it's just not going to happen.

The Vikings rank No. 30 in pass defense (allowing over 270 yards per game), but they do rank No. 6 against the rush.  Maybe that's because no one bothers to run against them, since you can score quicker by throwing the ball. Plus, you don't want to get into a battle with Minnesota on the ground because they are solid in controlling the trenches on both sides.

All this being said, anticipate Rodgers and company to air it out and put up around 40-plus points, which is a total that Adrian Peterson won't be able to keep up with. Even if Christian Ponder has a solid day, he's not getting the Vikings' offense more than 28 points and, if so, it'll come in garbage time.

Green Bay wins by quite a bit, as the defense slows Peterson and forces Ponder to match Rodgers. Vehement advantage to the Pack.

Prediction: Green Bay 45, Minnesota 17

Be sure to check out John on Bleacher Report. 

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