Za’Darius Smith said it best before the game; all he wanted for Christmas was a hat and a t-shirt. Well, he got just that as the Green Bay Packers are officially the 2019 NFC North Champions, beating the division rival Minnesota Vikings 23-10. The Packers are also now 5-0 in the division in 2019, with a chance to make it 6-0 next week. 

“Our number one objective was to win the North, and those guys accomplished that tonight,” said Head Coach Matt LaFleur at his post-game presser. “I’m so proud of this group. Now it’s time to reassess and have new goals. We took care of the first goal.”

The first half didn’t necessarily go as expected for the Packers, as a team notorious for forcing turnovers all season entered halftime minus-three in turnover differential. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw one interception (his third of the season), and both Aaron Jones and Davante Adams lost fumbles. 

That said, the defense kept things close and allowed Green Bay to go into halftime only down one point. While the Vikings scored 10 points off two turnovers, those were their only points of the night, thanks largely in part to the work of the D-Train. 

The Packers sacked Kirk Cousins five times, with Za’Darius Smith tallying 3.5 of them on his own. Green Bay also forced a turnover of its own with a Kevin King interception in the third quarter. 

As a whole, it wasn’t a great night for the quarterbacks, with Rodgers completing 26-of-40 passes for 216 yards and one pick with no touchdowns for a rating of 68.3, and Cousins completing only 16-of-31 attempts for 122 yards and one touchdown with an interception of his own for a 58.8 rating. 

Was it an ugly win though? Not really. At least not if you ask the players. 

“The adversity that we’ve overcome all year long in every single game has only told me one thing,” said guard Billy Turner. “And that is that it doesn’t matter what we’re up against, that this team is capable to pull through and win football games.”

After compiling a 0-3 record at U.S. Bank Stadium, it was cathartic for the players to clinch the NFC North in the same stadium that’s eluded them for so long. 

“We haven’t won in this building in three tries. Feels pretty good,” said Bryan Bulaga, who midway through his interview placed his “NFC North Champions” hat on his head. 

“We haven’t won in this building. It means a lot for us,” said Davante Adams who had 13 receptions for 116 yards. 

Despite Adams’ nice day through the air, the real star of the show was Aaron Jones and the Packers’ ground game. 

Jones finished the day with two rushing touchdowns and 154 yards on 23 attempts, good for a 6.7 yard average with a long of 56. 

Whether the Packers are putting up yards through the air, on the ground, or the defense is forcing turnovers, this team is finding ways to string together victories. 

“We’ve won a lot of tight games this year and we’ve won so many different ways throughout the course of the season,” said LaFleur. “And that’s what this game’s about. It’s about winning. It hasn’t always been pretty for us but that’s okay. We find a way. I think it builds belief and confidence that no matter what happens out there, we’ll find a way to get the job done.”

The Packers have one week left to “get the job done” to secure at the lowest, a second seed in the playoffs. If Green Bay beats the Detroit Lions on Sunday, they’ll earn a first-round bye in the playoffs and host a home game at Lambeau Field in the divisional round. 

“There’s really nothing like checking that first box on the goal list of winning your division,” said Rodgers. “Obviously secures a home playoff game, and now we’re playing for even more coming up next week.

“I was hoping for something like this, for sure. Nobody expected us to be in this position, to be 12-3, to win the North, other than James Jones probably.” 

While the Lions will be without Matt Stafford on Sunday, no one is overlooking the importance of finishing strong against a division rival.

“Obviously you wanna be one of the last two teams left,” David Bakhtiari said in reference to the Super Bowl. “In order to do that, you have to go 1-0 every week.”

Still, though, a victory at U.S. Bank Stadium might’ve been just what this team needed to propel themselves forward into the playoffs. 

“You take 50 guys into a place where it’s 100,000 purple against you, and you dominate in someone else’s house like that. Can’t beat that,” said King. 

“Being part of that 2010 team and having to win three games on the road, that’s a tough way to go, especially with how deep this playoffs and the NFC is. It’s nice to have a chance to have some games at home,” said Rodgers. “I think I said this earlier in the season, just getting in gives you a legitimate shot. But knowing we could have two home games to get somewhere special changes the whole dynamic.”

The 2019 regular season finale for the Packers will take place at Ford Field at 12:00PM on Sunday. There’s still plenty at stake for Green Bay, but winning the NFC North yesterday sure was a great place to start.