Packers-Vikings could be wild-card elimination game, with division clinched for Lions
GREEN BAY (7-8) at MINNESOTA (7-8)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EST, NBC
OPENING LINE: Vikings by 1½, per FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Packers 6-9, Vikings 7-6-2.
SERIES RECORD: Packers lead 65-58-3.
LAST MEETING: Vikings beat Packers 24-10 at Green Bay on Oct. 29.
LAST WEEK: Packers beat Panthers 33-30, Vikings lost to Lions 30-24.
PACKERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (17), RUSH (18), PASS (18), SCORING (11T).
PACKERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (23), RUSH (30), PASS (13), SCORING (17T).
VIKINGS OFFENSE: OVERALL (10), RUSH (27), PASS (3), SCORING (21T).
VIKINGS DEFENSE: OVERALL (13), RUSH (9), PASS (17), SCORING (10).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Packers even, Vikings minus-9.
PACKERS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Aaron Jones hasn’t been as productive as usual, due in part to a hamstring injury that sidelined him for three games and a knee injury that knocked him out for three more. Jones had 21 carries for 127 yards at Carolina last week, season highs in both categories.
VIKINGS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Jaren Hall will take over the offense after the fourth starter switch by head coach Kevin O'Connell in the past nine weeks since Kirk Cousins went down with a torn Achilles tendon. The rookie from BYU entered the game in Green Bay in the fourth quarter after Cousins was hurt and started the following week at Atlanta, before a concussion forced him out in the first quarter.
KEY MATCHUP: Jordan Love vs. the Vikings pass defense. The 2020 first-round draft pick has had an up-and-down first season as the starter, but he has 13 touchdown passes and only one interception over his past six games. In the first game against the blitz-heavy scheme by Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Love went 24 for 41 for 229 yards and one touchdown with one interception.
KEY INJURIES: The Packers are hurting at WR. Dontayvion Wicks (chest/ankle) left the previous game and has not practiced this week. Christian Watson (hamstring) has missed three straight games and has not practiced this week. Jayden Reed (toe/chest) didn't play last week and has been a limited participant in practice. ... Packers S Darnell Savage (shoulder) has sat out two straight games and practiced on a limited basis this week. LB De’Vondre Campbell (neck) also didn’t play last week against the Panthers and has not practiced this week. NT T.J. Slaton (knee/foot) didn't practice Thursday. ... TE T.J. Hockenson (knee) and OLB D.J. Wonnum (quadriceps) joined Cousins on the season-ending injury list after getting hurt against the Lions. With OLB Marcus Davenport (ankle) out for the past nine games and counting, the Vikings are down two of their top three pass rushers. ... RT Brian O'Neill (ankle), who has missed the past two games, is on track to return for the Vikings after practicing in full this week. ... Vikings WR Jordan Addison (ankle) left the Lions game early and has been practicing on a limited basis this week. ... CB Byron Murphy (knee) missed the previous game for the Vikings and did not practice Wednesday or Thursday. CB Mekhi Blackmon (shoulder), who replaced Murphy in the starting lineup, has practiced on a limited basis this week after leaving the previous game early.
SERIES NOTES: The Vikings have won four of the past six matchups. ... The Vikings are 5-2 at home against the Packers since U.S. Bank Stadium opened in 2016. ... The Packers and Vikings have played at night 23 times. ... Since NBC took over the Sunday night slot in 2006, this will be the network's ninth airing of a Packers-Vikings game, the fifth-most played matchup in the broadcast package.
STATS AND STUFF: With the Lions having clinched the NFC North, the loser of this game would be eliminated from wild-card contention if the Rams (8-7) and Seahawks (8-7) both win their afternoon games. ... Jones accounted for the Packers’ first 100-yard rushing or receiving performance of the season. … Love leads the NFL in second-half touchdown passes (17) and passing yards (2,162). … Reed has 54 catches this season, one off the Packers rookie record Sterling Sharpe set in 1988. … Packers DT Kenny Clark has a sack in each of his past two matchups with the Vikings. He has eight sacks against Minnesota, his most against any opponent. …. Packers CB/KR Keisean Nixon has an NFL-leading average of 26.4 yards per kickoff return. … Packers OLB Preston Smith had 1½ sacks against Carolina to increase his season total to seven. He has at least seven sacks each of the past three seasons and has totaled 40½ since joining the Packers in 2019. ... Each of the past three QBs to face the Packers (Tommy DeVito of the Giants, Baker Mayfield of the Buccaneers and Bryce Young of the Panthers) either set career highs in passing yardage or were the NFC Offensive Player of the Week. … Hall went 3 for 4 for 23 yards in relief of Cousins in Green Bay. ... WR Justin Jefferson had 141 receiving yards and a TD against the Lions. He has 5,648 receiving yards, the most by any NFL player in his first four seasons. ... Jefferson needs 177 yards in two games to reach 1,000 for the season, despite missing seven-plus games to injury. ... Addison needs 174 receiving yards and a touchdown over the final two games to become the 11th player in NFL history with 1,000 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie. ... Hockenson finished 40 yards short of becoming just the second TE in Vikings history with 1,000 receiving yards in a season, done first by Joe Senser (1981) ... The Vikings lead the NFL with 22 forced fumbles, four more than any other team. ... OLB Danielle Hunter is third in the league with 15½ sacks.
FANTASY TIP: The injuries to Hockenson and Addison ought to create more opportunity for Vikings WR K.J. Osborn against a vulnerable secondary missing CB Jaire Alexander to a team-imposed suspension. Osborn had eight catches for 99 yards on 10 targets against the Packers on Oct. 29, all season highs.
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