The Green Bay Packers took care of business at home in Week 16 to officially secure a playoff spot after a brutal 34-0 shutout of the New Orleans Saints.
While the Packers cannot mathematically win the NFC North anymore, playoff seeding can very much be impacted over the next two weeks. Green Bay travels to Minnesota and hosts Chicago to wrap up the regular season.
In the last meeting between these teams in Week 4, the Vikings squeaked out a 31-29 win despite Jordan Love throwing three interceptions and kicker Brayden Narveson missing two field goals.
Coming off the win against the Saints, we look at what lessons the Packers can take into Week 17 against the Vikings.
What can the Packers learn from their Week 16 win over the Saints?
1. Avoid turnovers
This seems like a no-brainer and pointing out the obvious, but it needs to be stated. Minnesota has forced at least one turnover in every game this season, a large part of the team's 13-2 record. While turnovers plagued the Packers earlier this season, they have done a spectacular job keeping the ball as of late. Love only has one interception since the bye week.
Love got close to breaking that streak against the Saints with a tipped pass that went right through Khalen Saunders' hands, which can only be explained by Toyotathon Magic.
In the Week 4 loss to Minnesota, Love threw three interceptions and Tucker Kraft fumbled, putting Green Bay at a considerable disadvantage. Despite the four turnovers, the Packers came up just short. Take care of the ball, and good things can happen.
2. Avoid empty possessions
This one also seems pretty easy, but it also shows the considerable growth Green Bay has had since that ill-fated Week 4 matchup. Against the Saints, the Packers scored on six of their nine possessions, with two punts and the game ending on a kneel-down. Conversely, back in that Week 4 game in Lambeau, in addition to the four turnovers, the Packers missed two field goals and punted three times.
Punting is not the end of the world, as it can pin the opponent deep and make it harder to score. The Packers must score when they can, as the Vikings average 26.4 points per game. With Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hockenson, and Aaron Jones on the opposing sideline, Green Bay cannot leave points on the board.
3. Let Matt LaFleur cook
The Vikings' defense is as stout as ever, ranking second in rushing yards allowed with 1,306 for the season. This poses a significant threat to the Packers' offense, which ranks fourth in the NFL in rushing yards with 2,209 (1,216 coming from Josh Jacobs).
Against Minnesota in Week 4, Green Bay only mustered 86 rushing yards for the game. Part of this was trailing 28-0 in the second quarter before mounting a comeback, which largely came from the arm of Jordan Love. Minnesota has shown weakness at defending the pass, giving up 4,043 yards through the air, which ranks 30th in the NFL.
READ MORE: Packers have unearthed another superstar since trading Preston Smith
Still, Green Bay needs to avoid getting one-dimensional against the Vikings. We saw this against the Saints last week, where the Packers had nine different ball-carriers, totaling 188 rush yards in the winning effort. Jacobs and Emanuel Wilson did the heaviest lifting, with Jacobs carrying 13 times for 69 yards and Wilson toting the ball 11 times for 52 yards.
The Packers got Christian Watson, Bo Melton, and Jayden Reed involved on some jet-sweep looks, Tucker Kraft had a sneak attempt go for two yards, and Chris Brooks scored his first career touchdown. Jordan Love and Malik Willis each registered a carry, and Willis kneeled out the clock to end the game.
Do I expect nine players to receive a rushing attempt against Minnesota? No. But against a stout defense, creativity will be needed. The Packers will likely need to get Jacobs involved in the receiving game to get him going. They will likely need to show jet-sweep action to get the Vikings' defense moving to open things up for the offense.
4. Start fast
The Packers are at their best when they score early and often. The team has scored first in 10 of their 11 victories this season but conceded the opening points in two of their four losses. In the other two defeats (Week 1 against Philadelphia and Week 9 versus Detroit), Green Bay scored first, but only a field goal, and conceded the game's first touchdown.
If the Packers start fast and score first, as they did in their previous two games, they should be able to control the game.
5. Take advantage of takeaways
While the Packers played a near-perfect game against the Saints, as any coach will tell you, there is always room for growth. They forced two turnovers against New Orleans — a strip-sack fumble and a Zayne Anderson interception — but both resulted in punts.
Minnesota is ripe for turnovers, with Sam Darnold throwing 11 interceptions and losing two fumbles this season. As Packers fans know, Aaron Jones is also susceptible to the occasional fumble, having coughed up the ball five times this year.
In a game against a hated divisional rival, with playoff seeding on the line, taking advantage of any additional possessions will go a long way toward taking down the Vikings.