Benny Sieu USA TODAY Sports
Game Time: Sunday Nov. 22, 4:25 p.m ET, Fox
Stadium: TCF Bank Stadium-Minneapolis, MN
Current Line: Pick ‘Em (Vegas Insider.com)
Week 11 brings a battle for NFC North supremacy, as the 7-2 Minnesota Vikings will welcome the 6-3 Green Bay Packers to town. The two teams have gone in opposite directions of late, with the Vikings winning five straight games and the Packers losing three in a row after a 6-0 start.
Highlighted by a 80-yard touchdown run, Adrian Peterson had his sixth career 200-yard game (26 carries for 203 yards) against the Oakland Raiders in Week 10. He is leading the league in rushing with 961 yards, with at least 20 carries in three straight games, so Peterson will surely continue to be the centerpiece of Minnesota’s offense against Green Bay.
A week after being sidelined by a concussion, Vikings’ quarterback Teddy Bridgewater looked a beat or two slow against the Raiders and his numbers suffered (14-for-22 for 140 yards and one touchdown). Being efficient (64.2 percent completion percentage this season) and avoiding big mistakes is fine, but at some point over the rest of the season Bridgewater is going to be forced to produce more through the air. Pass protection has been an issue for the Vikings, which has surely altered offensive coordinator Norv Turner’s play calling.
The Packers are a mess on both sides of the ball right now, with the defense mostly struggling and quarterback Aaron Rodgers not looking like himself during the current losing streak. The absence of wide receiver Jordy Nelson with a torn ACL and the bad year running back Eddie Lacy is having are two huge factors in the latter, but leaving aside the prospect of a hidden injury Rodgers has to be considered likely to rebound.
Before this week the Vikings had not led the NFC North by themselves since 2009, which is remembered as “Favre’s first year” by fans. The Packers look more beatable than they have in a long time, but rivalry games tend to bring out the best in every player and they won’t be rolling over on Sunday.
Score Prediction: Packers 24, Vikings 16
Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.
