Green Bay Packers v. Vikings: 5 BIG Questions Heading into Week 8
By Paul Bretl
Before the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings face off at Lambeau Field, here are five big questions heading into the matchup.
The Green Bay Packers are back to their winning ways, coming off a fairly dominant win in Houston this past Sunday. The defense had what was easily their best performance of the season, while the Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams’ connection was just too much to handle. Not to mention that the Green Bay offensive line had an excellent performance as well.
Now the Packers are back at Lambeau Field for a divisional matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, who sit at 1-5 on the season. Virtually nothing has gone right this year for Minnesota, and with every passing week, Kirk Cousins’ contract looks worse and worse.
So while, yes, the Green Bay Packers should absolutely win this game and do so fairly convincingly, you never want to count out a desperate divisional opponent. As we turn our focus to Sunday’s game, as always, I have my five big questions for this week’s matchup.
1. Will the Vikings get any pressure on Aaron Rodgers?
Against Tampa Bay, we saw that perhaps the biggest key to victory over this Green Bay Packers team is pressuring Aaron Rodgers. However, I’m not sure the Vikings have that ability. They will once again be without Danielle Hunter, who has officially been ruled out for the remainder of the season, and they recently traded away Yannick Ngakoue to Baltimore.
Even before Ngakoue’s departure, this was a defensive front that was already below average in terms of pressuring the quarterback. Minnesota’s 13 sacks rank 21st in the NFL, while their pressure rate of 21.6 percent ranks 19th. However, Ngakoue’s four sacks and 16 total pressures accounted for about one-third of that production.
Green Bay’s offensive line has been one of the best this season, and without Ngakoue, I’m not sure where this Viking pass-rush will come from. That usually means good things for Rodgers and the offense.