A sweet NFC North battle goes down in Minnesota during the later afternoon games between the Packers and the Vikings. Two historical franchises that have seen plenty of each other over the past sixty years. Their meeting this Sunday will be the 124th time they've faced each other (including the playoffs).

For the Packers, Aaron Rodgers is chasing that elusive second Super Bowl. While his greatness is really unquestioned by many, championships mean a lot for a quarterback's legacy. Getting that second championship would really put the icing on the cake for Aaron's career. A second ring would separate himself from guys like Drew Brees, and fellow Packers legend Brett Favre for example. A second ring would tie him with Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger. Multiple championships is just way more shiny, and would just make his legacy so much greater.

The Packers lost superstar wideout Davante Adams so Aaron and company will have to figure out how to cope with that loss. The Packers still have a more than solid run game with reliable, proven running backs in A.J. Dillon and Aaron Jones. 'AAA' Aaron, Aaron and A.J. will have to do a lot of heavy lifting while their sketchy receiving core finds an identity. The Packers defense is still pretty elite so they shouldn't have to worry too much on that side of the ball.

For the Vikings, they are a very back and forth team year in and year out. Many believe they have somewhat underachieved in recent seasons. They have a lot of good pieces, and a lot of bad pieces. They are just hot and cold throughout their roster. Kirk Cousins is an ok enough QB, they have great receivers in Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson. Both of those guys have 'number one receiver' type of talent. Plus, the Vikings have a top five running back in Dalvin Cook.

The Vikings made some hopeful roster improvements on the defensive side of the ball, and hired a new head coach in Kevin O'Connell to boot. If this team can focus week in and week out, they could easily be in the playoffs, especially in a shady NFC conference. It all starts this week one, they really gotta beat the Packers if they want to start out on the right foot.

This is an odd game to predict, it's gonna be intense for sure. I'm gonna actually take the Vikings, 31-28 in a really good game.

How do you see this game going down?

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Past Three Packers-Vikings Matchups!

• January 2nd, 2022 - Packers Win 37-10
  • Box Score
• November 21st, 2021 - Vikings Win 34-31
  • Box Score
• November 1st, 2020 - Vikings Win 28-22
  • Box Score