Aaron Rodgers and the Packers Will Do Well Outdoors Versus the Vikings: When the 7-3 Green Bay Packers face the 4-6 Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday, it will be the first outdoor game the two teams have played in the region since 1981. When the Vikings first came into the NFL in 1961, they played their games at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. The team played their home games there until 1981. The Met was also the home of the Twins, and many a frigid game was played at that stadium. The coldest game the Packers played at the Met was in 1972, when it was just zero degrees. The Packers won that day 23-7, as the team ended up winning the NFC Central Division that year under head coach Dan Devine with a 10-4 record. The Packers were a perfect 7-0 at the Met under head coach Vince Lombardi and ended up 11-10 overall at that location. The Vikings moved indoors in 1982 to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The Packers also fared pretty well overall there, as the team went 15-16 inside the dome. The roughest patch came in the 1990s, as the team was just 2-8 when visiting Minnesota in that decade, and it was a house of horrors in the Mike Holmgren era, as the Packers only won there once with Holmgren as head coach. The Vikings will soon have a new stadium, as they will be playing at Vikings Stadium starting in 2016. In 2014 and 2015, the Vikings will play their home games outdoors at TCF Bank Stadium, which is also the home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The temperature on Sunday is expected to be a balmy 40 degrees. No matter what the temperature or the venue, the Packers should be able to handle the Vikings fairly easily on Sunday. For one thing, the Packers already beat the Vikings 42-10 earlier this season in Green Bay. In addition to that, the NFL announced on Tuesday that running back Adrian Peterson has been suspended without pay for at least the remainder of the 2014 NFL season. Peterson has already missed all but one game this season after being placed on the commissioners exempt list. That included Peterson missing the first game against the Packers. Also absent from that game was rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who had a sprained ankle. Bridgewater will get his first look at the Packers on Sunday, and that may not be a pleasant experience. There is no team in the NFL which is playing better than the Packers right now. The Packers offense has been unstoppable the past two games, plus the defense has looked very good overall since Clay Matthews has moved inside to play linebacker in running situations. The Packers have also been able to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks in passing situations, which has led to four interceptions over the past two games. That should be of concern to Bridgewater, who has been sacked 20 times this season in six starts at quarterback and is also prone to throwing picks. Overall, Bridgewater has thrown for 1,479 yards and four touchdown passes versus six interceptions. That adds up to a passer rating of 75.0. That pales in comparison to Aaron Rodgers of the Packers, who is having another MVP-caliber season. So far in 2014, Rodgers has been out of this world statistically. No. 12 has thrown for 2,748 yards and 28 touchdown passes versus just three picks. That adds up to a league-leading 120.1 passer rating. In the first game against the Vikings this season at Lambeau Field, Rodgers threw three touchdown passes without throwing an interception. But that makes sense, as he always plays well against Minnesota. In his career versus the Vikings, Rodgers is 9-4 in 13 starts and has thrown for 3,281 yards and 29 touchdown passes versus just four picks. That adds up to a very robust 119.7 passer rating. That also adds up to bad news for the Vikings this upcoming Sunday. Plus, the game will be played in the outdoors in late November in the upper Midwest. That is an environment that the Packers are used to playing in. Just look at the recent games versus the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles at Lambeau Field. The Packers outscored their two opponents by a 108-34 margin. Rodgers threw for 656 yards and nine touchdown passes without throwing a pick in those two games. His combined passer rating in those two games was 133.1. Expect more of the same for Rodgers and the Packers this Sunday against the Vikings in the land of sky-blue waters. Read more NFL news on BleacherReport #Football #NFL #NFCNorth #GreenBayPackers
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 13:50:37 +0000
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