NFL GAME PREVIEW

Packers, Vikings battling for NFC North title

Field Level Media

December 20, 2019 at 6:11 am.

Aaron Rodgers knows what to expect when the Green Bay Packers visit the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night in Minneapolis.

“It’s going to be one of those old-fashioned NFC North contests,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers and the Packers can clinch the division crown when the two rivals reconvene, while the Vikings can wrap up a playoff spot and stay in the NFC North race with a victory.

Minnesota nose tackle Linval Joseph was expecting that the division race would hinge on Monday’s showdown.

“I feel like under Coach (Mike) Zimmer and the whole scheme of everything, we came together and figured out how to win games and win close games,” Joseph told reporters. “Green Bay has always been that down-to-the-wire game.”

The Packers are one of four NFC teams with an 11-3 record as the regular season enters its final two weeks. Green Bay is vying for a top-two seed and a home playoff game.

Rodgers knows there were doubters after the Packers lost 26-11 to the Los Angeles Chargers and 37-8 to the 49ers in November. But the veteran quarterback thinks the team has worked out its issues with three straight wins and four of its last five.

“We have the inside track at the two-seed,” Rodgers said. “Obviously, we have an opportunity to wrap up the division, which guarantees a home game and the third seed, at worst. I like our chances. I like our football team.”

Minnesota (10-4) is two games ahead of the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card race. The Vikings have been a hot squad with victories in eight of their past 10 games.

One of Minnesota’s four losses was against the Packers — 21-16 on Sept. 15 at Green Bay.

“We’ve come a long way,” Vikings right tackle Brian O’Neill told reporters. “We’ve been able to show we can win in a variety of ways. I think that’s important. We’re far from finished. Really the only thing I can focus on is how far can we get this offense to go from now until the game. There’s a lot of learning to be done still, and a lot of improvements to try to make based on the film from the last time we played them.”

The offense will be without its star running back in Dalvin Cook, who is dealing with shoulder and chest injuries.

Cook ranks seventh in the NFL with 1,135 rushing yards and he may not play again until the postseason.

“It’s just about getting healthy,” Cook told reporters. “Pain and all that comes with the game. You can bare so much. You can do so much. But it’s all about being healthy and I think that’s when I’m at my best for the team.”

Cook departed last week’s 39-10 romp over the Los Angeles Chargers early in the third quarter. Mike Boone replaced him and gained 56 yards on 13 carries.

Backup Alexander Mattison (ankle) missed last Sunday’s game and didn’t practice Thursday, so Boone is being prepared to be the main ball carrier against Green Bay.

If the running game sputters, the Vikings will look for quarterback Kirk Cousins to continue his strong season. Cousins has passed for 3,481 yards and 25 touchdowns against just five interceptions.

Rodgers has thrown for 3,463 yards and 24 touchdowns and has been picked off even fewer times — an NFL-low two.

But the Minnesota defense has Green Bay’s attention after forcing seven turnovers in last week’s dismantling of the Chargers.

“It’s as challenging as any defense in the National Football League,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur told reporters. “When you watch them, they’re just so fundamentally sound. It’s really difficult to get big plays on them.

“It just seems like they’re always on the same page, no matter what happens. And if you get them on something once, you’re not getting them again.”

Among the star defenders are two Pro Bowlers in defensive end Danielle Hunter (13.5 sacks) and safety Harrison Smith (three interceptions) as well as linebacker Eric Kendricks.

Kendricks has a team-leading 110 tackles for his fourth straight season of more than 100 to go with two forced fumbles.

“I always feel like I’m just a little underrated,” Kendricks said. “It is how it’s going to be. I’m trying to be the best person I can be and trying to accomplish things that I’ve never accomplished before.”

Green Bay linebacker Blake Martinez leads the NFL with 140 tackles.

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