The top two teams in the NFC North will collide this weekend, as the Green Bay Packers take on the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis. Check out our preview of this marquee matchup between divisional rivals below.
With Aaron Rodgers back from a stint on the COVID-19 list, the Packers got back to their winning ways, demolishing the Seattle Seahawks at home in Week 10, 17-0. Rodgers, however, was not at his best in that game. While he threw for 292 yards, he completed just 23/37 passes with zero touchdowns and was intercepted once. Instead, it was the Packers’ defense that showed up. Russell Wilson could not get anything going on offense for the Seahawks and the pair of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett combined for only 46 yards on five reception and 16 targets. That’s a testament to how good the Packers’ pass defense is against opposing wide receivers and that could be the case again this weekend against Minnesota. Quarterbacks are converting just 56% of their passes thrown to wide receivers against the Packers this season and have also been intercepted 10 times under that scenario. The Packers won’t have Aaron Jones though in Week 11 due to a mild MCL sprain.
The Packers are 6-0 against the spread in their last six games as the favorite.
Minnesota snapped a two-game losing skid with a scintillating 27-20 road win over the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday. Kirk Cousins was solid under center in that game, passing for 294 yards and two touchdowns without an interception on 25/37 completions. As mentioned earlier, the Packers’ pass defense has been superb, especially in terms of containing opposing wide receivers, but Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen are always going to be a handful. And with Cousins having a great, albeit quiet, season, this Vikings team is capable of exploding in the passing game against any team. The Vikings are ninth in the NFL in passing yards per game and have the lowest interception rate on offense in the league. Cousins, so far this season, has 2,434 passing yards and eight touchdowns with only two interceptions. Minnesota’s pass rush, meanwhile, is a big threat to Green Bay.
The Vikings, who are no. 1 in the NFL with an 8.31% defensive sack rate, are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games as an underdog.
