Why Packers fans should root for the Vikings in the divisional round

I know. It’s hard enough for me to read the title of this article. Root for the Minnesota Vikings? That’s a big no-no. But this weekend, it could actually be good news for the Green Bay Packers.

Of course, the Packers have to take care of business in their divisional-round game against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday evening. But if they can do that, a Vikings win would set up a more favorable matchup in the NFC Championship Game.

The biggest factor is where the game would be played. If Minnesota pulls off an upset for the second week in a row, the winner of tomorrow’s game between Green Bay and Seattle would host the NFC Championship Game. It’s been a while since the NFC title game has been played at Lambeau Field.

Then there is the opponent.

One potential path is for the Packers to play against the San Francisco 49ers, and on the road. That didn’t go too well the last time they met at Levi’s Stadium back in November with the 49ers winning 37-8.

The Packers would’ve certainly learned a lot from that loss and would be able to put together a better game plan, but this would be the tougher matchup, especially as it would be on the road.

The other path is a meeting with the Vikings, a team they’ve beaten twice already this season. And importantly, the game would be at Lambeau Field.

Beating the same team three times in the same season isn’t an easy challenge, of course, and there would be the possibility of Green Bay defeating Minnesota twice in the regular season, only to lose the third and most important meeting with the Vikings advancing to the Super Bowl. Minnesota would’ve also defeated New Orleans and San Francisco on the road leading up to this game and would have all the momentum in the world.

However, the other possibility is the Packers completing three straight victories over the Vikings, ending their season and heading to the big game themselves.

If you refuse to root for the Vikings this afternoon, I completely get it. If the Vikings win and the Packers lose, this would be no fun anyway.

But when looking at the Packers’ best possible path to the Super Bowl, a win tomorrow leading to a home game against the Vikings is more favorable.