Why Packers Will Beat Vikings and Why They Might Not

Over the past few seasons, the Green Bay Packers have been owned by the Minnesota Vikings. There is no denying that. But with a new head coach and a new defense, it might be time to change that.

Believe it or not, Green Bay hasn't defeated Minnesota since all the way back in Week 16 of the 2016 season. The Vikings swept the Packers in 2017, then the two teams tied at Lambeau last season, even though we all know who should have won.

Mike Zimmer has ushered in an era of dominance, as he got the best of Mike McCarthy and is honestly one of the reasons why MM no longer has a job. 

New head coach Matt LaFleur needs to figure out how to win this game and also, how to get his offense to be more effective after scoring just 10 points at Chicago.

The Vikings rolled up 28 points at home and looked good doing it. Kirk Cousins can be dangerous as always and Dalvin Cook looked strong.

On the other hand, the Packers were carried by their defense, which held Chicago to three measley points. 

The defense not only forced turnovers but finished with five sacks. Free-agent signees Preston Smith and Zadarius Smith combined for 2.5 sacks and six QB hits. 

There might be reason to question the offense but the defense looks strong. But will it be enough Sunday at Lambeau? 

Why Green Bay will win

The Packers will win because they are due. They got robbed last season and everyone knows it. But there is more to it than that. 

As I said, the defense is different. Mike Pettine is doing an outstanding job in his second season and more importantly, the Packers are finally healthy.

The secondary was outstanding last week and Adrian Amos, another free agent made the game-clinching interception against his old team.

First-round pick Rashan Gary should also see more snaps, especially against the run. 

Aaron Jones needs to get things going for the Packers offense, which had only a few explosive plays against Chicago.

Finding a consistent No. 2 target outside of Davante Adams is part of that, but for now, guys like Marques Valdez-Scantling and Jimmy Graham will have to do.

Of course, if the Packers don't have David Bakhtiari, all bets are off Sunday. However, if he can go and keep Rodgers up right, you just feel like #12 and the defense will find a way.

Why Green Bay Might lose

The best reason I can give is that the Vikings are a very good football team. If Cousins gets time in the pocket, he can pick teams apart especially when he is throwing to two of the best wideouts in the NFL.

The Vikings offensive line has been a weakness and we will see how it holds up against the Packers new defensive front. That's going to be key, as will establishing Cook and the run.

If Cook is healthy, it adds a whole different dimension to this offense and it will make Counsins and the passing game even more effective.

The other reason to feel good as a Vikings fan is Zimmer. He's has Rodgers number of late and if that continues, Minnesota will celebrate at Lambeau once again. 

__________________________

Chris is a sports journalist from Montana and has been blogging about the Packers since 2011. Chris has been a staff writer for CheeseheadTV since 2017 and looks forward to the day when Aaron Rodgers wins his second Super Bowl. Follow him @thepackersguru

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Comments (28)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
packerbackerjim's picture

September 15, 2019 at 08:36 am

Way back in the day, Tom Brookshire made a Freudian skip when he referred to the Vikes as the “Purple Peter Ea..” before the sound cut off. Still brings a smile every time the Pack plays Minny.

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Since'61's picture

September 15, 2019 at 08:56 am

IMO the key to this game is the Packers OL. They need to be effective in the ground game and keep Rodgers upright in the passing game.

I think our defense will get the job done but if the OL can't get the blocking done against the Vikings front 7 it's going to be a long day.
Win the LOS on both sides of the ball and win the field position with JK Scott, maybe force a turnover or 2 and we'll gain the W.

Go Pack Go! Thanks, Since '61

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EdsLaces's picture

September 15, 2019 at 09:01 am

Agree. Gotta keep AR on two feet and we got a chance. We still gotta contain Cook though..

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holmesmd's picture

September 15, 2019 at 10:47 am

He also needs to throw off of 2 feet in under 2.5 seconds for a change

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Tundraboy's picture

September 15, 2019 at 09:07 am

""The Packers will win because they are due. They got robbed last season and everyone knows it.

I guess that's true except fo their idiot fans,and some others who need to be reminded of that and shut u
p for it.

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ShooterMcGee's picture

September 15, 2019 at 09:11 am

The Vikings O-line is their Achilles heel. Clark and the Smiths will live in the backfield. I foresee Cousins getting sacked so hard that he breaks his collarbone.....not that I want to see that but it would be karma.

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NickPerry's picture

September 15, 2019 at 09:35 am

We see it the exact same way Scooter... The Packers D-Front will be in the Vikings backfield all day long. I actually expect to see Rashan Gary have a good game too.

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NickPerry's picture

September 15, 2019 at 09:33 am

"The Vikings rolled up 28 points at home and looked good doing it. Kirk Cousins can be dangerous as always and Dalvin Cook looked strong."

The Vikings gained all of 269 total yards against Atlanta so it's not like they were this offensive juggernaut, not by a long shot. They had 2 quick turnovers on and then scored on short fields. Granted, they were able to put points on the board but right now I'm tired of hearing about the Vikings offense. Not bashing what Chris said mind you, just pointing out a few of my own thoughts.

Secondly, Cousins dropped back to pass 10 times and was pressured 7 of them. I look for the Packers front 7 to put a TON of pressure on Cousins against an O-Line with 4 new starters.

Yes the Packers are running a new system and going against a great defense. BUT Rodgers, Adams, Aaron Jones have been together at least 3 years. Graham as slow as he's become can still be effective in the Red-Zone and so can Mercedes Lewis. You CAN'T coach 6'7" and I think MLF knows how to take advantage of this. Lastly, the offense line has had 10 days of film review of a REAL game and hopefully can correct even half the problems. A little better protection, getting rid of the ball sooner, and Jones seeing and hitting his cut back lane is all that's needed for a much better offensive performance.

Packers win 24-16....AND it won't even feel that close.

#WE HAVE A DEFENSE
#KICK COUSINS ASS

8 points
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mrtundra's picture

September 15, 2019 at 09:44 am

The Packers will win because we have DBs who can cover. Period. Combine that with our new found pass rushing schemes, and poor Cousins will be running for his life throwing desperation passes to avoid getting sacked. Rodgers and the Offense will come out of their funk and deliver dagger after dagger to the heart of the purple beast. I hope we shut them out. I want to see a big purple smear on the field where the vikings made their last stand!

2 points
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Samson's picture

September 15, 2019 at 09:55 am

Someone did one hell of a great job... The new CHTV web design & page is as good as it gets. .. Love the organized neat way of presenting information. --- Someone (more than one) needs to take a bow.

Today's game: Packers 27 - Vikes 16.

8 points
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Pizzadoc's picture

September 15, 2019 at 10:09 am

Totally agree, can't give enough thumbs up!

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alex's picture

September 15, 2019 at 01:30 pm

Hi Guys,

Thank you for the enthusiastic feedback! I'll pass it on to the rest of the team ;)

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NickPerry's picture

September 15, 2019 at 04:58 pm

Please do Alex...It's AWESOME!!!!!

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NickPerry's picture

September 15, 2019 at 05:00 pm

I had it at 24-16....You had it 27-16....

Hey at least we got the 16 right AND the Packers would score more than that!!

Nice Job

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Spock's picture

September 16, 2019 at 12:36 am

Sorry, I have to disagree on the new website design. For me it's clunky and a pain to scroll through the over-large dialogue boxes. But I'm older and hate computer changes in general so I'm sure I'll get used to the new layout :) eventually (sigh). It took me a bit to realize that I could get to the written articles by hitting the "News" up on the top bar. I hate podcasts and most of the video stuff so I prefer to just see all the -written- articles all at once. Oh, well, I'm sure I'm in the minority here as most commentors seem to like this layout.

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TheBigCheeze's picture

September 15, 2019 at 10:00 am

the Packers have NOT been owned by the vikings.....they've been cheap shotted.....barr put a dirty cheap shot on Rodgers.....zimmer teaches, coaches and condones dirty play......it's time for pay back...

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trailmarker6's picture

September 15, 2019 at 11:00 am

DBs are taught to hold on every play they can.

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edp1959's picture

September 15, 2019 at 10:28 am

Not related to this article but here is a big thumbs up to the new format. Good job guys.

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Norm's picture

September 15, 2019 at 10:34 am

Did I miss something and is the game day live blog no longer a thing?

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kagood's picture

September 15, 2019 at 11:12 am

Does anyone have an answer? Is the game day chat gone?

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Michael Nault's picture

September 15, 2019 at 10:39 am

I thin that if Rodgers not only gets rid of the ball instead of looking for the big one downfield and snaps the ball quicker, the Pack will have more success. All up to the ego

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Since'61's picture

September 15, 2019 at 11:28 am

Regrettably yes. Someone thought that it was a good idea to replace it by watching 2 guys watch the game that we are all already watching?????

Don’t ask how or why they came to that conclusion.

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TommyG's picture

September 15, 2019 at 11:34 am

Unfortunately this game has all the ingredients needed for a big-time let down. Vikings only needed to pass the ball 10 times last week so that part of their offense is still completely unscouted; our defense doesn’t know what to expect. Bigger issue is that our offense last week was useless. The running game was dead and with the exception of the scoring drive there wasn’t much going on in the passing game either. Lastly, Brett Favre is in the building. Our win/loss record during his visits Is not something I would brag about.

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Lphill's picture

September 15, 2019 at 11:43 am

Packers were ranked 22 nd defense last year and Atlanta was ranked 25 th , this is not the 2018 Packer D , that was the 2018 Atlanta D that played on the road against the Vikings.

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PatrickGB's picture

September 15, 2019 at 11:47 am

I would not be a bit surprised if the Packers are still a bit slow and awkward on offense. And I would not be surprised if Cook broke off some long runs. I also would not be surprised if our defense is not as strong as it was in Chicago. Yet, in the end, I expect that in the end the Packers win.

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alex's picture

September 15, 2019 at 02:15 pm

Lets see what happens

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alex's picture

September 15, 2019 at 02:15 pm

with the comments

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alex's picture

September 15, 2019 at 02:17 pm

One more test...

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