The 8-6 Green Bay Packers have won their last four games and need to keep up this pace in order to stay in the wildcard race. On Saturday afternoon they host the 7-7 Minnesota Vikings, who have won just two of their last nine games. This divisional contest will be played at Lambeau field and has a start time of 1:00 pm EST.
Vegas odds have the Packers listed as 6.5 point favorites, while the total has been set at 43. This contest will be televised on FOX with a start time of 1:00 pm EST.
Breaking Down The Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings had a strong start to their year as their offense was playing well, while their defense was outstanding, but they have really fallen on hard times of late as they have lost their seven of their last nine games to fall to 7-7 on the year. They are still alive for a playoff berth, but they must win out and hope for a lot of help. This was a promising season but losing Adrian Peterson and Teddy Bridgewater really hurt them. Well, Peterson is back and played in last weeks game vs the Colts, but they still lost at home by a score of 34-6. The offense has been the biggest problem for them this year as they come in ranked 31st in total offense, 21st in passing, 32nd in rushing and 25th in scoring, putting up just 18.9 ppg. When you score just 6 points off a colts defense, then you know your offense is in trouble. If they had even an average offense then they would be in much better shape as their defense has been one of the best in the league. The Vikings come in ranked 3rd in total yards allowed, 3rd vs the pass, 18th vs the run and 6th in points allowed, giving up just 18.5 ppg on the year. That pass defense will really need to do its thing vs a hot Aaron Rodgers or this will be a very long game for the Vikings.
Trends: The Vikings have gone 14-4 ATS in their last 18 games after accumulating less than 90 yards rushing in their previous game and 19-7 ATS in their last 26 games in December, but just 2-5 ATS in their last 7 vs. the NFC and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 meetings in Green Bay. The Over is 4-1 in their last 5 games in Week 16, while the Under is 23-9 in their last 32 vs. a team with a winning record.
Breaking Down The Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers were at 4-6 on the year and getting booed by their fans, but they have fought and clawed their way to a four-game winning streak and now have a shot at making the postseason. They are tied with the Buccaneers at 8-6, but they still can win their division if they win out as their final game of the year is at Detroit and the Packers have beaten the Lions once this year. The resurgence of the Packers has come from the defensive side of the ball as they have allowed just 15.8 ppg over their last four games, after allowing 38.0 ppg over their previous four games. Now they get to face the offensively challenged Vikings so that defense could have another good showing in this one. In the first meeting, they held the Vikings to just 17 points and 274 yards of total offense in a 17-14 loss. Their offense is much better now and so is their defense, which may bode well for the Packers. They have been led by Aaron Rodgers, who has thrown for 3781 yards with 32 TDs and just 7 INTs so far, while posting a QBR of 100.3, which is 5th in the league. Overall, the Packers are 10th in total offense, 10th in passing, 15th in rushing and 7th in scoring, putting up 25.9 ppg. They were held to just 263 yards of total offense in the first meeting.
Trends: The Packers have gone 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games after accumulating more than 150 yards rushing in their previous game and 36-15 ATS in their last 51 games after allowing more than 350 total yards in their previous game, but the dog is 4-0 ATS the last four games in this series. The Over is 14-5 in their last 19 games in Week 16, while the Under is 12-4 in their last 16 games following a straight up win.
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