The last game of the 2015 regular season is a beauty with the NFC North title at stake in a winner-take-all matchup in primetime. The Packers are the kings of the division and until another team knocks them from that perch, they will continue to rule. The Vikings have an opportunity, but winning in Lambeau is something they’ve had a hard time doing.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Green Bay Packers -3
Minnesota Vikings +3
Over/Under 48.5
ODDS ANALYSIS
The line was wagered to Green Bay -3.5 and that’s just fine with the Vikings, who are 7-0 ATS in their last seven games as a road dog. The Packers horrific showing last week did a number on the total as it dipped to 45.5.
KEY INJURIES
Matt Kalil – Returned to practice in a limited capacity after leaving Sunday night’s game with what the team described as a lower leg injury.
Adrian Peterson – The NFL’s rushing leader was held out of practice with a sore ankle and shoulder. The Vikings are likely being cautious with Peterson, who was held out of practice twice last week and still ran for 104 yards against the Giants.
Bryan Bulaga – Was knocked out of the Arizona game with a twisted ankle and was limited in practice on Wednesday. He is listed as day-to-day. His replacement at right tackle against the Cards, Josh Walker, was clearly overmatched and the team turned to J.C. Tretter. Left tackle David Bakhtiari missed last week’s game with an ankle injury and was limited in practice. He remains questionable and would be replaced again by Don Barclay.
KEY MISMATCH
The Vikings need to stop running back Eddie Lacy before they can disrupt Aaron Rodgers’ incredible efficiency and success against them. Lacy has 10 regular season 100-yard rushing games. Four of them have come in five meetings with the Vikings. He averages 106.8 yards per game against Minnesota and 64.2 against the rest of the league. When he gets going, the Packers enjoy favorable downs and distances. And when the Vikings’ defense fails, typically it’s because the run defense is sloppy, leading to a snowball effect that renders coach Mike Zimmer’s creativity in passing situations less effective. Suddenly, what should be a passing down is a run-pass advantage for the offense. And this is particularly true against Rodgers, Lacy and the Packers.
KEY STAT
36.1 – Minnesota’s third-down defense. The Vikings are eighth in the NFL at ending drives on third down and face a Green Bay offense that ranks 27th at converting third down chances.
BETTING ANGLE
Both teams have already punched their playoff ticket, but the winner of this game gets the NFC North title, which comes with the No. 3 seed and a home game in the wild-card round. Both teams also enter following blowouts last week, though they were on opposite sides of those results. Green Bay got worked by Arizona 38-8 as a 6-point underdog. The loss ended a 4-1 SU and ATS streak by the Packers. Meanwhile, Minnesota manhandled a Giants squad that knew it had nothing to play for. With the second-best spread-covering record in the NFL, the Vikings romped to a 49-17 home win laying seven points to improve to 12-3 ATS. The teams met Nov. 22 in Minnesota, with the Pack rolling 30-13 as 1-point dogs, the win that started Green Bay’s 4-1 streak.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
With the bar being set so high by the Packers, it’s easy to think their time could be coming to an end after what happened in Arizona last week. But that was just one game – and a bad one at that for the Pack. A bruised offensive line struggled, Rodgers was sacked eight times and turnovers turned into touchdowns. It was the perfect storm. Green Bay has been in this position before, the last two seasons to be exact, playing for the division title on the final day of the regular season. They knocked off Chicago two years ago and upended Detroit last season, so the pressure and anxiety of playing in a winner-take-all game is nothing new. The health of the Packers offensive line could have Rodgers on the run most of the night, but he is more elusive than people think. The game should be closer than the first meeting, but it’s tough to pick against the Packers in a building where they’ve lost just once to the Vikings since 2005.
Green Bay 24, Minnesota 20
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Don’t miss out on getting paid because you couldn’t bet, click here and deposit at BookMaker now! The matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers will go down Sunday, January 3, 2016, at 8:30 p.m. ET at Lambeau Field. The game will be broadcast nationally on NBC.
