Packers must avoid trap game against Vikings on Sunday Night Football

The stage is set for the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. It’s Sunday Night Football against one of their biggest division rivals in one of their coldest games in years. Oh, and the playoffs are also at stake for both teams.

The Vikings desperately need a victory to stay alive in the playoff race, as a loss could eliminate them from postseason contention. At 7-8, they are currently in eighth place in the NFC and one game behind the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers at 8-7. They need to win out and get some help in order to advance to the playoffs.

Green Bay was the first team in the NFL to secure their postseason spot and they have bigger goals in mind. With the NFL’s best record at 12-3, Green Bay will likely need to win these last two games (against the Vikings and then at the Detroit Lions) in order to secure the NFC’s top seed and the only first-round bye.

The Dallas Cowboys are hot on their heels at 11-4 and would own the tie-breaker–conference record–should the two teams finish with the same record. Dallas plays the Arizona Cardinals this week before playing the Eagles next week. Both games are against potential playoff teams, but Dallas will be favored in each.

The Green Bay Packers could be in danger of falling into a trap at Lambeau Field against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football.

Back to the Packers-Vikings. Minnesota seems to rise to the occasion of playing Green Bay every single year. They have it circled on their calendar and it’s usually one of their better-played games of each season.

They already beat the Packers earlier in the year, but there will be plenty of different faces this time around. For starters, Kirk Cousins is out due to COVID and Sean Mannion will be starting in his place That’s a huge loss for the Vikings, as they’ll also be without their second-best wide receiver in Adam Thielen.

They will be getting Dalvin Cook back after last week’s absence which will be a huge boost for them. Cook is one of the best running backs in the NFL and will be facing a depleted Packers’ defensive line that has struggled even when healthy. Kinglsey Keke is in the health and safety protocols while Tyler Lancaster is questionable with a back injury.

The weather at Lambeau on Sunday night is also supposed to be extremely cold. That could make it difficult to throw the ball, making the run even more important. Cook could be in for a monster game against a Green Bay rush defense that gives up 4.8 yards per carry–31st in the NFL.

With the major losses on the Vikings, it would be easy to see why the Packers could overlook their division rival. They may think they have this game in the bag playing in front of their home fans.

However, they should be careful not to overlook this Vikings team. Minnesota still has plenty of talent on both sides of the ball and will be fighting for not only their postseason lives, but also probably that of their coaching staff. One slip up by the Packers, and they could see all the hard work they’ve accomplished throughout the entire season coming to a crashing halt, making their playoff path much more difficult.