The Green Bay Packers shoot for their 15th straight win dating back to last season when they host the Minnesota Vikings in Monday Night Football at Lambeau Field.
The Packers are appearing on Monday night for the 19th straight season, tops among NFC teams. Only Denver (20-straight seasons) has made more consecutive yearly appearances on MNF.
The Packers lead the all-time series, but it’s close (52-48-1).
What to watch for?
Minnesota’s Jared Allen enters play tonight with 12 1/2 quarterback sacks, which leads the NFL. He’ll be matched up against Packers’ left tackle Marshall Newhouse. Allen had two sacks against the Packers the last time the two teams met on Oct. 23rd. Can the Packers keep him in check tonight?
The Vikings are getting healthier. They return center John Sullivan, cornerback Antoine Winfield and strong safety Jamarca Sanford to the lineup. Coming off of their bye week, wide receiver Percy Harvin should also be healthier, as should middle linebacker E.J. Henderson.
Can the Packers slow down Adrian Peterson? In the last meeting, Peterson rushed for 175 yards and a touchdown. In nine games previously against the Packers, Peterson has averaged 109 yards per game and just over 5-yards per carry.
The Vikings are 2-6, but they’re a different team with Christian Ponder at quarterback. He’s been able to take what the defense gives him and the Vikings are not only playing better on offense, but they seem to be more confident in their approach.
The Packers offense continues to hit on all cylinders and there’s no reason to think that won’t continue tonight. But what about the defense? The Packers pass defense ranks near the bottom of the NFL coming into the weekend and they need to play better. The Packers also need to create more pressure on the quarterback to help out that secondary.
My prediction
How can you pick against the hottest team in football, and the one with a perfect 8-0 record. I’m certainly not going to start now. But I do think the Packers are still going to give up some points. I’ll take the Packers to pull away and win big, 37-23, pushing their record to 9-0 on the season.
