Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers: 5 Biggest Differences

If the Minnesota Vikings were sixth graders, I'd love to read their responses to the assignment: "How I Spent My Bye Week."

If any of them dared to write, "I worked as hard as I could to get ready for our next game against the Green Bay Packers," I'd have to call their parents and tell them their child had a problem with telling the truth.

It's really hard to say which part of the Vikings looked the worst in Monday night's dreary performance against the Packers. The offense was putrid, confused, out-coached and just plain beat up by the Packers defense. The Packers are the NFL's best team, but their defense before Monday night was 30th in yards given up.

The Vikings defense showed more life than their offense, but it just wasn't a fair fight against a Packers offense that is just shredding anything that gets in the way.

Minnesota's special teams and coaching staff were also no-shows for the prime time game on Monday, getting flat-out whipped by their respective counterparts.

All in all, it added up to a complete rout for the undefeated Packers, who handed the Vikings their ninth straight loss against division opponents.

The teams are far, far apart in almost every area. Here are the five biggest differences that stood out on Monday night.

The Packers Know They're Good...the Vikings, Not so Much

Coming off a win before their bye week, the Vikings looked like they had an invigorated spirit— sure the playoffs were a long shot, but the changing of the guard at quarterback had infused the team and the town with a renewed spirit. 

Vikings fans had seen enough, in a close loss to the Packers three weeks ago and then in a win over the Panthers, to hope for the best in the second half of the season. Then came Monday night's game.

After watching the clinic the Packers put on, Vikings fans were left wondering how the heck their team ever won two games.

From the get-go, Monday night's game looked exactly like what it was: a confident, undefeated team that's defending their crown against a team that is now 2-7 and starting a rookie quarterback with a first-year head coach—45-7, sounds about right.

The Best Quarterback in Football vs. a Wide-Eyed Rookie

The most optimistic of Vikings fans have watched the first few weeks of rookie quarterback Christian Ponder's career and thought, "he looks like he could be another Aaron Rodgers."

It might be time to pump the brakes a bit on that one.

Rodgers is in the middle of what might become the best season an NFL quarterback has ever had and, quite frankly, he's making it look easy. He goes through his progressions and his check-downs with the urgency of a lifeguard looking at an empty pool. Amid the biggest and fastest athletes on Earth, Rodgers looks like he is watching the game in slow motion. He's making every possible throw, from the simple dump-offs to the lasers 20 yards downfield to receivers just in-between two defenders. He's throwing to back shoulders when that's the only spot a defender can't get to. 

You could make the argument that the Vikings defense didn't play that horribly on Monday night, they were just up against a much better unit. (You'd probably lose the argument, but I'm just saying.)

Christian Ponder, on the other hand, looked blinded by the lights on Monday night. He didn't play poorly, but he got swallowed up by the biggest football stage he's ever been on. He made poor throws and poor decisions, and for the first time this year, he looked completely baffled by what was going on around him.

We don't know a whole lot more about Ponder than we did heading into this game, but we do know that he certainly suffered some growing pains, and that might not be the worst thing in the world for a team that isn't going anywhere this year anyway.

A Super Bowl Winning Coach vs. Someone in over His Head

It's hard to say right now who is showing less life, the Minnesota Vikings football team or their first-year head coach Leslie Frazier.

Let there be no doubt about it, the Packers are a far more talented team than the Vikings, and they proved it all night long on offense, defense and special teams.

What might be even more disheartening for Vikings fans is how completely out-coached their team was. Minnesota looked woefully unprepared, making stupid mistakes all over the field that seemed to snowball as the night went on. What's growing real old, real fast for Vikings fans is the complete blank stare that head coach Leslie Frazier has on his face while watching his team go down in flames.

It doesn't help when you watch the team you're playing, your arch-rival, playing nearly perfect football. The Packers look more talented, more disciplined and far more coached and prepared than the Vikings do.

Packers rookie return man Randall Cobb made one of the few glaring gaffes for the Packers when he muffed a punt and the Vikings recovered it, leading to the purple's lone score. What you saw from Cobb on the sidelines is exactly what you would want to see as a Packers fan—an angry, determined athlete who came back with a huge return the next time he got his hands on the ball. 

The Packers are just plain better than the Vikings in every area, including coaching.

A Great Offensive Line vs. a Bad One

Aaron Rodgers is a better quarterback than Christian Ponder in every measurable quality. We knew that going into Monday night's game, and it was proved over and over again during the game.

Having said that, nobody who has ever watched football for five minutes would tell you that James Starks is a better running back than Adrian Peterson. Peterson is quicker, faster, more elusive and runs harder than Starks. That's not a knock on Starks, as Peterson is the best back in the NFL. 

So when Starks can run for more yards on less carries than Peterson as he did on Monday night, it really only points to one thing: the offensive line. 

The Packers' offensive line was dominant all night long. Scott Wells, Josh Sitton, Bryan Bulaga, T.J. Lang and Marshall Newhouse provided Aaron Rodgers all the time he needed and more all night long. You simply can't have the kind of season Rodgers is having without a great offensive line and the Packers clearly have one.

The Vikings, on the other hand, have a bad one. Defenses are loading up the box against a team whose best player is their running back and are starting a rookie at quarterback. It's working. Peterson is being hit almost as soon as he is getting the ball, and more often than not has nowhere to go once he hits the line of scrimmage.

Minnesota, like any 2-7 team, is full of holes and one of the most glaring is on the offensive line.

Woodson and Matthews vs. That One Guy and That Other Guy

It's a little funny that most NFL pundits have been saying all year that the Packers defense isn't very good and that they will need to shore things up considerably if Green Bay is going to defend their Super Bowl Championship.

They give up way too many passing yards, they aren't great against the run and they are susceptible to giving up big plays. 

Memo to everyone: the Packers are 9-0.

Clay Matthews, Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams were flying all over the field for the Packers on Monday night, disrupting and dominating the Vikings offense against both the pass and the run.

The Vikings, on the other hand, continue to have linebackers and defensive backs who just aren't making any plays. Antoine Winfield returned and made his presence known, but too often Aaron Rodgers was just playing pitch and catch with his talented group of receivers.

It was a long night for Vikings fans, and we learned that the Packers are exactly who we thought they were. As for the men in purple, well, nobody's happy about it, but we probably learned a lot about them as well.