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Green Bay Packers: Vikings scouting report ahead of Week 16
To make it five wins on the bounce, the Green Bay Packers must snap a two-game losing skid with the Minnesota Vikings.When these last two teams met, Sam Bradford was making his first start in Minnesota purple, and put together an outstanding performance in a 17-14 victory. The Vikings would roll out to a 5-0 start and set their sights on not only the postseason, but a first-round bye.Then the losing began. Nine games later, Minnesota’s win column has bumped up only two digits, with seven losses souring their season.Now on the verge of a playoff-less campaign, the Vikings would love nothing more than to take the Packers down with them. They neutralized Green Bay’s offense in their previous two meetings, doing enough offensively to win.Injuries have decimated a once Super Bowl contender, setting the stage for a different game to the one we saw in September. But don’t right these Vikings off. Mike Zimmer knows how to play the Packers, and is rarely outgunned by his opposite number Mike McCarthy.Let’s take a closer look at the Vikings, a team forced to call multiple midseason audibles due to arguably the worst luck of any team with injuries.Next: The X-Factor Sep 18, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) carries the ball and is injured on the play during the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Packers 17-14. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
The X-Factor: Adrian Peterson
Guess who’s back?
That would be the man who limped off the field in Green Bay’s last meeting with Minnesota. As long as Adrian Peterson is healthy and lined up in the Vikings backfield, he’s the man to watch.
Peterson of old would provide the spark Minnesota badly needs. He would put the offense on his back and run over those who tried to stop him. Albeit a small sample size, it’s been tough sledding for the 2012 MVP this season. In three games, Peterson averages measly a 1.9 yards per carry.
If there’s one team that knows how dangerous the 31-year-old can be, though, it’s the Packers. In 17 career meetings with Green Bay, Peterson has rushed for 1,779 yards and 13 touchdowns.
He hasn’t rushed for 100 yards versus the Packers since 2013, however, and could find life difficult Sunday.
Is Peterson healthy? Is he still the player he once was? It’s difficult to answer either of those questions, but if the answer is yes then the Packers could have a problem. Peterson is the type of player who can win football games on his own. If Minnesota can impose their will on the ground with AP back in the fold, they have the defense to close out tight games.
Green Bay will need to follow in Indianapolis’ footsteps and take the game away from the Vikings’ rushing attack.
Sep 18, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs (14) catches a touchdown pass past Green Bay Packers cornerback Damarious Randall (23) in the third quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings win 17-14. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Vikings offense
Minnesota’s offense is a mess, to put it kindly. Decimated by injury, the unit has failed to shift out of first gear as the season has gone on. No. 21 through the air and dead last on the ground, it’s been a long year for Sam Bradford and company.
All signs pointed towards better play on this side of the ball in preseason. Then quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was lost for the season with a dislocated knee. Adrian Peterson and offensive linemen Matt Kalil and Andre Smith soon followed Bridgewater to the shelf.
Receiver Laquon Treadwell, the Vikings’ first-round pick in April, has been restricted to a single catch for 15 yards all season. That’s certainly not the production they expected when calling his name in Chicago last spring.
An offensive line decimated by injury has been unable to open running lanes no matter the back, and they’ve also allowed 38 sacks, good for 10th-most in the NFL.
Player to watch: Stefon Diggs
Diggs lit up the Green Bay secondary in Week 2 to the tune of 182 yards and a touchdown. He’s only hit the 100-yard receiving mark once since, but he remains Minnesota’s best pass catcher.
The Packers’ up-and-down secondary will need to hold up better against the former fifth-round pick than they did in September.
Dec 1, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) passes under the pressure of Minnesota Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter (99) in the fourth quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Cowboys win 17-15. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Vikings defense
While Minnesota’s defense has sputtered along all season, it’s offense has held everything together, and was instrumental in a 5-0 start to the season.
Ranked third overall, (third in pass defense, 18th run defense), the Vikings win by keeping games close and not putting too much on the offense’s plate.
As the unit has regressed, so have the Vikings. Indianapolis ran all over them last week, Frank Gore leading the way with 101 of the Colts’ 161 rushing yards. Andrew Luck only threw nine incompletions en route to a crisp, 250-yard, two-touchdown performance.
Manhandled by a middle-of-the-road offense, the Vikings fell to a seventh loss in nine games.
Player to watch: Danielle Hunter
Minnesota still owns the best defense in the NFC North by a long way, and a key to their success has been the pass-rushing ability of second-year Danielle Hunter.
Hunter is tied for eighth in the NFL in sacks with 10.5, despite playing on only 58.16 percent of the Vikings’ defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Reference. He leads the Vikings in sacks and will need to be accounted for up front.
Last week’s loss to Indianapolis saw a five-game sack streak end. The Packers must ensure Hunter doesn’t start a new one Saturday.
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