The Green Bay Packers came into their Week 12 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings hoping to avoid taking a third straight loss to their longtime rivals at Lambeau Field for the first time in more than three decades. And with a well-balanced outing that saw the Packers dominate every single phase of the game, Green Bay had zero trouble bringing that streak to an end, taking an easy 23-6 victory.
Jordan Love didn't have a very big day in getting his first home win over Minnesota, throwing for just 139 yards, but that's simply because he didn't need to, as Emanuel Wilson filled in beautifully for the injured Josh Jacobs, rushing for a career-high 107 yards and two touchdowns in his first NFL start.
On the flip side of things, the Green Bay defense made life absolutely miserable for the Vikings' offense, holding Minnesota to just 145 total yards, the lowest total Jeff Hafley's unit has surrendered all season. The Packers made life especially miserable for young J.J. McCarthy, holding the 22-year-old to a career-low 87 yards, sacking him five times, and intercepting him twice.
And with special teams making plays and Brandon McManus connecting on both of his extra-point attempts and hitting all three of his field-goal tries, it was pretty much a perfect afternoon.
Packers take a giant step toward the playoffs with win over Vikings (and they have better odds than the Bears)
With the win, the Packers improved to 7-3-1 on the season, keeping themselves in the No. 6 slot in the overall NFC playoff picture. And while they couldn't gain any ground in the NFC North with the first-place Chicago Bears improving to 8-3 with a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers (who were without Aaron Rodgers), they did see their playoff probability odds get a little boost, as NFL.com now gives Green Bay a 78 percent chance to make the postseason.
And that number may get even better depending on the outcome of Monday night's matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers.
Interestingly, the Packers' odds exceed those of the Bears, who are currently being given a 62 percent chance to return to the playoffs for the first time in five years. What's perhaps even more interesting is that the Detroit Lions, who survived a scare from the New York Giants before earning a 34-27 overtime victory to improve to 7-4, also have better odds than Chicago at 76 percent.
For those wondering, the Vikings, who dropped to 4-7 with Sunday's loss and fell to 12th place in the NFC standings, saw their odds fall to a woeful one percent.
The Packers will look to up their odds once again this Thursday when they head to the Motor City for a Thanksgiving Day date with the Lions.