Vikings vs. Packers: Why Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen Keep Packers from Covering

Nov 14, 2011

The Green Bay Packers are great, but don’t confuse them with a team that can routinely beat divisional opponents by massive amounts of points.

It’s no secret that the Packers are currently on a run that hasn’t been seen by the NFL in quite some time. Dating back to last season, the Pack have won 14 straight games. QB Aaron Rodgers is a lock to win the MVP right now and the defense is relying on turnovers to get by.

That’s why the Packers are favored by so many points.

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Having said all those glowing remarks, I think this is a perfect situation to take the Minnesota Vikings +13 on Monday Night Football.

The first thing to remember is that the Vikings' 33-27 loss at the Metrodome earlier in the season was the closest the Packers have come to a loss this season.

The Packers 31^st ranked pass defense is the elephant in the room for Green Bay and even a rookie QB can exploit it.

In their first meeting, Ponder had 219 yards and two touchdowns in his first-ever start. After an impressive win against the Panthers and a bye week, the Vikings offense is fully centered around Ponder at this point.

Also, factor in that RB Adrian Peterson owns the Packers. He has three consecutive 100-yard games at Lambeau Field and had 175 yards on over seven yards a carry in their first meeting. He can control the clock and keep the ball out of Rodgers' hands.

The Vikings' sixth-ranked run defense will eat up James Starks and Ryan Grant, forcing the Pack into a lot of 3rd-and-long situations.

Then there’s DE Jared Allen. Allen has registered a sack in a franchise-record 10 straight games. He has 11.5 sacks in his last six games against the Packers.

I’ll leave you with this final fun fact: The underdog is 18-7 ATS in their last 25 meetings.

Then there’s this:

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