The Green Bay Packers got back on track with a win against the New York Giants in Week 11, and they have a chance to bury the Minnesota Vikings in Week 12.
The NFC North has been one of the most intensely competitive divisions in the NFL this season, as everyone anticipated coming into the year, but the Vikings have gone from winning 14 games a season ago to being on the brink here in the month of November.
A trip to Lambeau Field this week could be the final nail in the coffin for the Vikings, who would have just a 2 percent chance of reaching the playoffs with a loss on Sunday. We're making a trio of bold predictions for this matchup, including the benching of Minnesota's first-round quarterback.
Three bold predictions for Packers' huge Week 12 showdown with Vikings
1. Packers force Vikings to put "Nine" on the pine
The Vikings moved on from Sam Darnold in the 2025 offseason, and to say that's looking like an ill-advised decision would be putting it mildly. Darnold (aside from his four-INT performance in Week 11) has been fantastic for the Seattle Seahawks this season, while J.J. McCarthy has struggled both staying healthy and playing well when he's actually on the field.
He recently talked about the Vikings asking him to play the quarterback position a different way than he was taught, stating that he's "rewiring neurological pathways."
"It's really hard," McCarthy said, via Will Ragatz of OnSI. "You're rewiring neurological pathways, and that's not something that happens overnight. Just understanding and giving myself that grace, that patience, that I might not have it today, but it's something that I'm gonna continue to strive after, day after day, rep after rep, and get to the place where we all want me to be. Anything new, like tying your shoe, takes time. Especially playing at the level of the National Football League."
This is a perfect opportunity for the Packers to dictate the narrative the rest of this season on McCarthy. We already know the pass rush of the Packers is going to get after him, but if Jeff Hafley's unit can force some turnovers early in this game, they could get McCarthy benched and force the Vikings into an offseason full of quarterback speculation.
2. Packers secondary picks off (at least) three passes
This prediction goes hand-in-hand with the previous one, but the Packers' secondary was so close to picking off a wide variety of passes against the New York Giants before finally coming through late.
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Turnovers come in bunches in the NFL, as we saw from this defensive unit last season, and unfortunately, that success hasn't exactly just bled over into 2025. The Packers have just eight takeaways this season, four of them interceptions. The only two defenders to pick off passes this season are Evan Williams and Xavier McKinney.
In order to get McCarthy benched, the defense is going to have to be ballhawking early on, and that's exactly what's going to happen. Why don't we take it a step further? Let's call out the three players who are going to pick off passes in this game:
- Javon Bullard
- Xavier McKinney
- Keisean Nixon
3. Jordan Love shreds the Brian Flores defense for 4 TD passes
Even the best defenses in the NFL have stinkers from time to time, and this could be one of those weeks for Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. What do we know about Brian Flores and his defensive scheme? Well, he loves to blitz.
What do we know about Jordan Love? He doesn't mind being blitzed at all.
Love ranks first among all quarterbacks in the NFL (according to PFF) when blitzed this season. This is the perfect opportunity for him to flex that skill, as we know the Vikings are going to try to apply as much pressure as possible. The Packers may not have Tucker Kraft, but there are still plenty of players who can (and will) take advantage of the opportunities to win vs. single coverage.