Some would say that this week’s showdown with the Vikings, featured on Sunday Night Football, is a must-win game but we would suggest that Green Bay’s last four games have qualified as such. Unfortunately, the Packers dropped three of those four contests including last week’s Thursday night nail-biter when they allowed the Seahawks to stage a fourth-quarter rally and capture a 27-24 victory. Aaron Rodgers was 21-of-30 for 332 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Typical stuff from the future Hall-of-Famer but once again the Green Bay defense broke when it needed to bend.

The Packers can’t afford another loss because even at a dismal 4-5-1 they are still in the playoff hunt as several conference rivals have comparable records and all are contending for the two NFC wildcard berths. As its reviews testify, one of the best online sportsbooks YouWager is dealing the Vikings as three-point home favorites. The oddsmakers are dealing the Vikes as field goal home chalk but we believe that the wrong team is favored. That’s right, Green Bay should be the favorite because they will win this game and here’s why.  

As Week 12 looms, Green Bay is No. 13 in scoring offense, 7^th in passing yards, and tied for 17^th in rushing yards. Defensively, the Packers rank 16^th in points allowed, 26^th against the run, and 5^th against the pass. Much of that success defending the aerial attacks of opposing offenses have to do with a supremely talented defensive front that applies relentless pressure which has manifested in 34 sacks (3^rd) on the season. However, the secondary has failed to benefit from that thunderous pass rush with only six (T-23^rd) picks on the year. Despite the fact that DT Mike Daniels will miss this one with a foot injury, there is still plenty of talent to dominate a relatively porous Vikings’ offensive line and suffocate Kirk Cousins. And not only are the Minnesota O linemen not providing adequate pass protection but they have failed miserably to create holes for Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray.

Aaron Rodgers summed up Green Bay’s chances of a playoff berth after the team’s loss to Seattle last week when he remarked, "Of course there's hope. Of course, we believe in each other. It's just going to take one galvanizing moment, whether that's a speech or a practice or something happens in the game, something's got to get this thing going."

There’s more than a hint of frustration in that statement and rightfully so. Looking back on the season there have been so many missed opportunities, blown calls, and botched plays that had even a fraction of that bad luck drifted away then the Packers could very well be sitting atop of the NFC North or at least locked in a death struggle with the Bears for division supremacy. At some point, the slate begins to even and it’s time the Packers got a little of that good juju. This is the rematch from a wild 29-29 tie earlier in the season and it was a game that saw Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby drill five field goals but missed on a crucial 52-yarder as time in regulation expired. The key to this game will be won and lost in the trenches and if Cousins is as pressured as we believe he will be then there’ll be no place to run and no place to hide. The Packers will not only cover the number on the golden arm of Rodgers but will win this one outright. After that, it’s anyone’s guess but winning streaks always start one game at a time.