Packers feel Sunday is must-win game
After reaching the NFC Championship Game in 2016, the Green Bay Packers’ 2017 season essentially ended in Week 6 at Minnesota, where quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone.
With Rodgers back, the Packers entered this season with championship aspirations. So did the Vikings, who reached the NFC Championship Game last season and bolstered their roster by signing Pro Bowl quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Instead, these teams enter Sunday night’s showdown at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis in desperate need for a win. The Vikings (5-4-1) are in sixth place in the NFC and clinging to the last wild-card spot. The Packers (4-5-1) are in ninth place and probably need a victory to keep their playoff hopes alive.
“For a team to take off the way we need to take off, we need those plays to jump out, those wow plays,” Rodgers said. “We need something to rocket-ship us to where we need to go. It starts with me. I’ve got to bring the tempo, I’ve got to bring the energy and guys to feed off of me, and then we’ve got to make plays. We’ve got to step up and find a way to get a win.”
Complicating matters for Green Bay is its 0-5 record in road games. Only the Packers, 49ers and Browns are winless away from home this season. This will end a stretch of four road games in five weeks after their bye. The Packers blew a late lead at the Rams, fumbled with a chance to take the lead at the Patriots and blew a fourth-quarter lead at the Seahawks.
“It’s hard to put my finger on that,” Packers receiver Davante Adams said. “It’s getting a full and complete game. We had the one in L.A. but that one didn’t go our way at the end and didn’t play a complete second half in New England. Now it’s just completing that game and making plays all game and staying aggressive. If we go up late, it’s keeping our foot on the gas.”
The Packers and Vikings battled to a 29-29 tie at Lambeau Field in Week 2. Cousins threw for 425 yards and four touchdowns in that game, including almost 300 yards after halftime. Vikings receivers Adam Thielen (131) and Stefon Diggs (128) combined for 259 yards and three touchdowns. They’ll attack a Packers secondary that has been by plagued by injuries and personnel moves all season. In the loss at Seattle, they played without cornerback Kevin King (hamstring) and safety Kentrell Brice (ankle) and lost cornerback Bashaud Breeland (groin).
“Change is the challenge for continuity and consistency,” Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said. “But it’s the NFL. You’re going to be at some level of change each week. When one guy doesn’t practice, it’s not only that individual, it’s also the intricacies of how he’s tied to the other players. It’s a challenge.”
SERIES HISTORY: 115th regular-season meeting. Packers lead series, 59-52-3. However, they’ve lost both games at the Vikings’ new U.S. Bank Stadium. They lost 23-10 last season, when quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone in the first quarter. In nine meetings against head coach Mike Zimmer’s Vikings, the Packers are 4-4-1.
