The 11-4 Packers travel to Minnesota this week for the final road game of the regular season against the 13-2 Vikings. Per the dope sheet, this is the fourth straight season and the fifth time in the last six years that Green Bay will finish the regular season with back-to-back NFC North matchups. It’s also the second consecutive season the Packers travel to Minnesota in Week 17 and return to Lambeau Field in Week 18 to host the Chicago Bears. Here are six things to keep in mind going into the NFC North showdown. 

1. A Matchup of Epic Proportions 

Per the dope sheet, this will be the first time in the 64-year history of the rivalry that both teams enter the game with 11 or more wins. The 24 combined wins mark the most ever in a meeting between the Packers and Vikings. 

The Vikings got the best of the Packers in Week 4 at Lambeau winning 31-29. The teams have split the series in each of the last four seasons, per the dope sheet, which is the longest stretch in series history. Last season, both teams won their respective games on the road. 

Also worth noting, the Packers have scored 30-plus points in three of the last four trips to Minnesota. With Green Bay on a five-game streak scoring 30-plus points, that mark seems attainable on Sunday, even if the Vikings defense will be the best the team has faced in that span. 

While the Packers are out of the race for the NFC North crown, the Vikings are currently tied with Detroit in the standings, and both teams are vying for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Since realignment in 2002, the Packers (12) and Vikings (five) have accounted for 17 of the division’s 22 NFC North titles, per the dope sheet. 

2. It’s a Toyotathon, Not a Sprint

Jordan Love was returning from the knee injury he suffered in Week 1 after a two-game absence in the first matchup against Minnesota in Week 4. While he certainly didn’t seem 100% due to mobility issues and the inability to step into his throws, it was his biggest game of the season in regards to passing attempts and yardage. Love went 32-of-54 for 389 yards and four touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions and took one sack, giving him a passer rating of 83.0. 

Love is 1-2 against the Vikings during his career. In his loss to Minnesota last season, Love threw for 229 yards with one touchdown and one pick. He was sacked four times and ended the day with a rating of 72.1. In Green Bay’s victory in Week 17 last season, Love threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He also rushed for a touchdown and didn’t take a single sack, giving him a rating of 125.3. 

He’s trending in the right direction coming out of the bye week, too. Especially now that he’s fully healthy. In his last five games, Love has thrown eight touchdowns with no picks and averages 210.8 yards per game. His average passer rating over that span is 112.2. If Love continues to play the way he has been down the stretch, he gives the Packers a really good chance at victory on Sunday.  

3. Real Deal Defense

As I mentioned earlier, this is the best defense the Packers will see before the playoffs. The team is 5-1 coming out of the bye and has scored 30-plus points in five straight contests, but this will be a true test for the offense. 

The Vikings lead the NFL with a whopping 22 interceptions this season, and seven different defenders have multiple picks. Corner Byron Murphy leads the team with six, followed by Camryn Bynum with three, and then Andrew Van Ginkel, Harrison Smith, Josh Metellus, Shaquill Griffin, and Kamu Grugier-Hill all have two each. Notably, Van Ginkel has returned both of his interceptions for touchdowns this year.

Of course, Van Ginkel is an even bigger threat as a pass rusher. He’s tied for the team lead in sacks with Jonathan Greenard, both players getting to the quarterback 11 times. He also leads the team with 18 quarterback hits and 17 tackles for loss. The Vikings defense is fifth in the NFL in sacks with 44 (and interestingly, the Packers are sixth with 43). 

Minnesota is third in the NFL in points against, allowing only 18.4 points per game this season, and the defense is first in rushing touchdowns scored, allowing only seven all year. The unit is second in rushing attempts, yards, and yards per attempt, giving up an average of only 3.9 yards per carry on the ground. The Vikings are also incredibly stout on third and fourth downs. The team ranks second in the NFL in third down conversions, allowing a fresh set of downs only 33.7% of the time. And the team is first in fourth down defense, getting stops on 19-of-30 attempts for a conversion percentage of only 36.7%. 

While the Packers have done much better in recent weeks converting third downs and scoring in the red zone, they’ll need to be prepared for a Brian Flores-led defense that’s known for disrupting the quarterback. 

4. A Glass Hafley Full

It took some time to figure out new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s defense, but it’s been worth the wait. Now, with only two games remaining in the regular season, Hafley’s unit ranks sixth in the NFL in points against, allowing an average of only 19.1 points per game. The team is eighth in both passing yards allowed and rushing yards allowed and climbs all the way to fifth in rushing yards per attempt, allowing an average of 4.1 yards per carry on the ground. 

Hafley’s defense also secured the first shutout of the season on Monday Night Football against the Saints, and while New Orleans certainly wasn’t trotting out an offense at full strength, holding any NFL team to zero points is always impressive. 

In the last six games coming out of the bye week, the defense is allowing an average of only 15.5 points per game, and the team is doing it without some of its best playmakers on defense. Jaire Alexander remains sidelined with a knee injury, Javon Bullard is week-to-week with an ankle injury, Quay Walker has yet to practice this week with an ankle injury, and Evan Williams has also been unable to practice with a quad injury. 

Without four starters on defense and three in the secondary alone, Hafley’s players are still finding ways to make plays. Safety Zayne Anderson, in his first NFL start on defense opposite Xavier McKinney, secured an interception in Week 16. It was the first of his career and the only interception of the night for Green Bay’s defense. 

While, again, the defense will face a much stiffer test on Sunday against a Vikings offense averaging 26.4 points per game and ranked ninth in red zone offense, it’s been an impressive stretch for Green Bay. And given the high-powered offenses that have already clinched playoff spots in the NFC, Sunday’s game should give us a strong look at how the Packers will fare against the best of the best in the postseason. 

5. Turnovers on Turnovers 

The Vikings defense has generated at least one turnover in every single game this season, forcing multiple turnovers in 10 of their 15 games played. While I mentioned earlier that Minnesota leads the NFL in interceptions with 22, Green Bay actually has a better turnover differential overall. The Packers are plus-12 in turnover differential while the Vikings aren’t far behind at plus-10. Minnesota has more takeaways than the Packers (30 to 28, respectively), but Green Bay has fewer giveaways (16 compared to 20). 

The Packers offense has only turned the ball over three times in the last six weeks and hasn’t had a multi-turnover performance since Week 7 against the Texans. The defense, meanwhile, has forced nine turnovers in the last five games with at least one in each. 

Minnesota’s offense is averaging 30.4 points in the last five games, and both teams have big play potential at any moment. This one could come down to which squad better protects the football on Sunday. 

6. A Dominant North

The Packers are 1-3 against the rest of the NFC North this year, hoping to finish the season at .500 with wins against the Vikings and Bears. Green Bay’s only other loss this season came in Week 1 against the Eagles, which means all four of the Packers losses have come against playoff teams, and teams they’d likely see again en route to a Super Bowl appearance.

The Lions, who currently hold the tiebreaker for the division title, are undefeated against the division but have suffered two losses to teams outside of the NFC North. The Bills have already clinched a playoff berth, and the Buccaneers are currently vying for the NFC South, their only path to a playoff spot. If the Buccaneers do claim a playoff spot, they’re all but locked in as the fourth seed and would likely host an NFC North team on Wild Card Weekend, whoever loses the tiebreaker for the one seed and drops to the fifth seed. If the Vikings win out, that would mean the Lions have a rematch waiting for them. 

The Vikings sit at 3-1 against the division with a loss to the Lions and have one additional loss against the Los Angeles Rams, another team they could end up meeting again on Wild Card Weekend. The Rams are projected to secure the third seed and claim the NFC West, so that means whichever team finishes as the sixth seed would travel to LA. If the Packers win out and Minnesota loses the next two games, it would be the Vikings traveling west. If the Vikings win one of the next two and the Packers win one or neither of their next two games, they’d likely be the ones traveling to LA on Wild Card Weekend. 

The division is going to come down to the wire and there are playoff implications across the NFC North in these final two contests. The Lions travel to Santa Clara to take on the 49ers this week then it’s a division showdown at Ford Field hosting the Vikings in Week 18 for what could end up being both the division title and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.