It’s finally here. The Packers (2-1) and Vikings (3-0) in Monday Night Football action from the Metrodome tonight. It’s been one of the most hyped regular season athletic events in recent memory.
Most of the attention has been focused on Brett Favre, facing his former team after saying during the off-season he wanted to stick it to Ted Thompson (Packers GM). And throw in Aaron Rodgers (pictured), facing the legend that he once backed up in Green Bay. Those two story lines were interesting for awhile, but they’re not the main story lines, at least not Brett Favre anyway.
If the Packers are going to win this game tonight, they need to stop the games best running back, Adrian Peterson. Peterson entered the weekend leading the league in rushing yards with 357 through three games.
The Packers haven’t been very good against the run the last two weeks, giving up a combined 258 yards to Steven Jackson of the Rams and Cedric Benson of the Cincinnati Bengals. That effort dropped the Packers to 23rd in rushing defense entering tonight’s game.
On the flip side, the Packers rank just 18th in rushing, but Packers running back Ryan Grant has performed well against the Vikings over the last three games. Grant has 286 rushing yards on 53 carries over that time period, averaging almost 5 1/2 yards per carry and scoring two touchdowns.
Can the Packers inconsistent offensive line block for Grant, and can they keep Aaron Rodgers upright against the Vikings stout defensive front?
The Packers would love to see Brett Favre not be able to control his emotions in this one. Favre wants to beat the Packers and their general manager in a bad way. Perhaps Favre will try too hard to get that done and start throwing interceptions. If Favre doesn’t do that, it might be hard for the Packers to win this game.
Green Bay does have recent history on their side though. The Packers have won 5 of their last 6 games against the Vikings. The lone loss came last season at the Metrodome.