When Green Bay’s schedule was released, it looked like the biggest game of the season was going to be the Week 17 game against the Minnesota Vikings.
That has come to fruition, as Green Bay, which currently sits at a 28% chance to make the playoffs, according to the New York Times Playoff Predictor, has the opportunity to greatly improve those chances with a win.
Making the playoffs would be thought of as a success for this season. With the youth of the offense and the change at quarterback, many thought that this season would be a rebuilding year, with Green Bay finishing closer to the bottom of the league than the top. It seems like that line of thinking has since been squashed, as there is no doubt that Jordan Love has what it takes to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
Also, Green Bay has shown it can beat some of the better teams in the league, like the Detroit Lions and Kansas City. Putting those two things together and it looks like Green Bay is in a better position than many thought.
With pieces like Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Jaire Alexander, Aaron Jones, Rashan Gary and Tucker Kraft, it really looks like Green Bay has a team that can make the postseason. That all comes to play this week as Green Bay takes on the Minnesota Vikings, in as close to a do-or-die game as one team can be.
“Everything is at stake, and we are going into a great environment next week in Minnesota against a really good football team,” said Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. “It is going to be a really great challenge, but this is what we prepare for all year, every day, every week, so we will be excited about that opportunity.”
Green Bay played the Minnesota Vikings during Week 8 at Lambeau Field, a game the Packers lost 24-10. The Vikings look drastically different since then, as Kirk Cousins was hurt in that game. Josh Dobbs looked like he was going to save Minnesota’s season, but after a string of poor performances, NFL fans have seen Nick Mullens start recently for the Vikings. It is no doubt that Green Bay has a better chance of winning with Mullens starting, but with Justin Jefferson and Ty Chandler hitting their strides, Minnesota’s offense is nothing to scoff at.
The Vikings’ defense has been worse against the pass this season than the run, so it appears that Love will need to be the focal point of the offense this week. That can’t eliminate the run game though, as Green Bay needs to capitalize off of the performance that Jones registered last week. Once the run game gets going, Love should be able to settle in and utilize the middle of the field to open up the deep shots down the sidelines.
“We know exactly what is out in front of us,” said Love. “We have to finish the season off, and we have to win these last two games, so like I said, we are going to do the same thing we have been doing all season and take one game at a time. We know to keep those (playoff) hopes alive and to give ourselves a chance, we have got to win these last two. We all know what is in front of us, and we know what we are capable of, so we are just going to go finish this thing and take it one game at a time.”
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