Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings: Key matchups
The Green Bay Packers will be going from the frying pan into the fire as the old adage goes as they travel from the steamy Florida sun to the air-conditioned confines of the newly-built US Bank Stadium to take on the rival Minnesota Vikings, a team many predicted to be a Super-Bowl contender prior to Teddy Bridgewater’s season-ending injury.
Mike Zimmer’s squad proved it has the heart and personnel to overcome any offensive setbacks brought about by Bridgewater’s absence as all three phases combined to come back from a 10-0 halftime deficit last Sunday to defeat the Tennessee Titans in 25-16 road win.
Who starts at quarterback for the Vikings in Week 2 is of secondary importance since this team’s strong suit lies in its downhill power-running game led by Adrian Peterson along with its physical and aggressive defense that produced 14 points in Week 1.
While Minnesota may not present the same kind of pass-catching weapons the Jaguars featured last week, this divisional meeting has all the markings of a hard-fought see-saw battle that will ultimately be won in the trenches.
Keeping mistakes at a minimum is of paramount importance for the Green and Gold with their purple-clad neighbors that will surely be looking to slow down the game if they happen to pounce on a loose ball and jump to a quick lead which will only whip their fan base into a frenzy and produce the type of raucous atmosphere that can severely work against Aaron Rodgers and the offense.
For the Vikings, that’s what you do when you have a paucity of offensive weapons and lots of uncertainty at the quarterback position, but Super Bowls aren’t typically won by playing it safe in today’s game (with all apologies to the Denver Broncos).
But Zimmer isn’t looking to win any trophies in September; he’s just looking to get by a tough opponent and hopefully see the offense gradually improve as Sam Bradford gets acclimated to his new surroundings.
On the following pages, we take a look at some of the key matchups that will decide the latest encounter between two charter members of the Black and Blue division.
Read on …
Next: Packers front seven versus AP