Favre returns to Lambeau as Viking to face Packers
Coming off an extremely tough loss to the Steelers last Sunday in Pittsburgh, Brett Favre and the Vikings have no time to dwell on the defeat as they prepare for a trip to Green Bay to face the Packers this week. After 16 seasons and 240 games as the starting QB in Green Bay, it will be Favre's first trip to Lambeau as the opposition, and it promises to be a very emotional contest for both him and the fans.
Now that’s what I call a bad beat.
Squares across the country are counting their money after the favorites went 8-3-1 ATS on Sunday. That includes all the weekend warriors who jumped in on the Pittsburgh Steelers (then 1-5 ATS) in their matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, pushing the line from Pittsburgh -4 to -6.
In a shocking fourth quarter of twists and turns, the Steelers got the last laugh when Keyaron Fox returned a deflected Brett Favre pass 82 yards for a touchdown with one minute remaining. Final score: Pittsburgh 27, Minnesota 17.
Not that everyone who won with the Steelers is square, mind you. But let’s call a spade a spade. The Vikings gave the game away to fall to 6-1 SU and 4-3 ATS on the season. Now they have to regroup for what should be an emotional Week 8 contest at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers (4-2 SU and ATS). Early betting odds have the Packers as 3-point faves with a total of 47.
This is a rematch of the Packers-Vikings contest from Week 4, which the Vikings (-4.5) won 30-23 at the Metrodome. This was hardly a fair fight on paper; with his offensive line decimated by injuries, Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers was sacked eight times, including 4.5 sacks (and a safety) by DE Jared Allen. And yet Rodgers was brilliant in defeat, completing 26 of 37 passes for 384 yards. One of his drives ended at the Minnesota 1-yard line when TE Donald Lee dropped a pass in the end zone on fourth down.
Favre was the more efficient QB that day on a 24-of-31 performance with three TD passes and zero picks. But Green Bay’s run defense kept the team in the game, holding RB Adrian Peterson to 55 yards on 25 carries and forcing a fumble that LB Clay Matthews returned 42 yards to the house. The Packers defense has since allowed a grand total of one field goal over the past two weeks in victories over Detroit (+14) and Cleveland (+9.5) to stay within shouting distance of Minnesota in the NFC North.
The Packers offensive line is still a mess. LT Chad Clifton, who had a bad ankle going into the first matchup with the Vikings, hurt his ankle again in the Lions game and is uncertain for Sunday’s rematch. Instead of shifting guard Daryn Colledge over to tackle, where he got steamrolled by Allen in Week 4, the Packers went with rookie T.J. Lang against the Browns and were satisfied with the results. Lang is roughly the same size as Colledge at 6-foot-4, although slightly heavier at 315 pounds and five years younger at age 22. The Eastern Michigan grad is a natural left tackle and was considered a sleeper pick in the fourth round.
Green Bay also decided to bring back RT Mark Tauscher after letting the 32-year-old walk as a free agent during the offseason. Tauscher is still recovering from knee surgery, but is practicing with the team on a limited basis and would definitely be an upgrade over Allen Barbre. And for good measure, the Packers also welcomed RB Ahman Green back into the fold this week with DeShawn Wynn (knee) going on injured reserve. Green had 4.0 yards per carry in limited action with the Houston Texans last year; Ryan Grant (4.2 yards per carry) is struggling a bit this year, but he piled up 148 yards on Cleveland as the Packers emphasized the running game.
Getting downfield against the Vikings won’t be so simple. They were ranked No. 4 in rushing defense going into Week 7, but only No. 18 against the pass, and Minnesota will be even more vulnerable in that department with top CB Antoine Winfield expected to miss this matchup. Winfield sat out the Steelers matchup with an ankle injury; early reports said he’d be shelved 4-6 weeks, but Winfield told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune on Sunday that he’s day-to-day. He was wearing a walking boot at the time.
FOX has the television coverage starting at 4:15 p.m. ET. The Vikings were pulling in 75 percent support on the very early consensus reports.
Coming off an extremely tough loss to the Steelers last Sunday in Pittsburgh, Brett Favre and the Vikings have no time to dwell on the defeat as they prepare for a trip to Green Bay to face the Packers this week. After 16 seasons and 240 games as the starting QB in Green Bay, it will be Favre's first trip to Lambeau as the opposition, and it promises to be a very emotional contest for both him and the fans.
Now that’s what I call a bad beat.
Squares across the country are counting their money after the favorites went 8-3-1 ATS on Sunday. That includes all the weekend warriors who jumped in on the Pittsburgh Steelers (then 1-5 ATS) in their matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, pushing the line from Pittsburgh -4 to -6.
In a shocking fourth quarter of twists and turns, the Steelers got the last laugh when Keyaron Fox returned a deflected Brett Favre pass 82 yards for a touchdown with one minute remaining. Final score: Pittsburgh 27, Minnesota 17.
Not that everyone who won with the Steelers is square, mind you. But let’s call a spade a spade. The Vikings gave the game away to fall to 6-1 SU and 4-3 ATS on the season. Now they have to regroup for what should be an emotional Week 8 contest at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers (4-2 SU and ATS). Early betting odds have the Packers as 3-point faves with a total of 47.
This is a rematch of the Packers-Vikings contest from Week 4, which the Vikings (-4.5) won 30-23 at the Metrodome. This was hardly a fair fight on paper; with his offensive line decimated by injuries, Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers was sacked eight times, including 4.5 sacks (and a safety) by DE Jared Allen. And yet Rodgers was brilliant in defeat, completing 26 of 37 passes for 384 yards. One of his drives ended at the Minnesota 1-yard line when TE Donald Lee dropped a pass in the end zone on fourth down.
Favre was the more efficient QB that day on a 24-of-31 performance with three TD passes and zero picks. But Green Bay’s run defense kept the team in the game, holding RB Adrian Peterson to 55 yards on 25 carries and forcing a fumble that LB Clay Matthews returned 42 yards to the house. The Packers defense has since allowed a grand total of one field goal over the past two weeks in victories over Detroit (+14) and Cleveland (+9.5) to stay within shouting distance of Minnesota in the NFC North.
The Packers offensive line is still a mess. LT Chad Clifton, who had a bad ankle going into the first matchup with the Vikings, hurt his ankle again in the Lions game and is uncertain for Sunday’s rematch. Instead of shifting guard Daryn Colledge over to tackle, where he got steamrolled by Allen in Week 4, the Packers went with rookie T.J. Lang against the Browns and were satisfied with the results. Lang is roughly the same size as Colledge at 6-foot-4, although slightly heavier at 315 pounds and five years younger at age 22. The Eastern Michigan grad is a natural left tackle and was considered a sleeper pick in the fourth round.
Green Bay also decided to bring back RT Mark Tauscher after letting the 32-year-old walk as a free agent during the offseason. Tauscher is still recovering from knee surgery, but is practicing with the team on a limited basis and would definitely be an upgrade over Allen Barbre. And for good measure, the Packers also welcomed RB Ahman Green back into the fold this week with DeShawn Wynn (knee) going on injured reserve. Green had 4.0 yards per carry in limited action with the Houston Texans last year; Ryan Grant (4.2 yards per carry) is struggling a bit this year, but he piled up 148 yards on Cleveland as the Packers emphasized the running game.
Getting downfield against the Vikings won’t be so simple. They were ranked No. 4 in rushing defense going into Week 7, but only No. 18 against the pass, and Minnesota will be even more vulnerable in that department with top CB Antoine Winfield expected to miss this matchup. Winfield sat out the Steelers matchup with an ankle injury; early reports said he’d be shelved 4-6 weeks, but Winfield told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune on Sunday that he’s day-to-day. He was wearing a walking boot at the time.
FOX has the television coverage starting at 4:15 p.m. ET. The Vikings were pulling in 75 percent support on the very early consensus reports.
