MINNESOTA VIKINGS @ GREEN BAY PACKERS 
Vegas Line: Vikings + 13
Rob’s Line: Vikings + 12.5
Can Green Bay go through the season undefeated? This is a question asked of many (but not all) teams who happen to be 8-0 halfway through the season. However, much like the Patriots and Colts when they’ve been in the same situation over the last decade, this is a legitimate question to ask this year as the Packers are head and shoulders above the rest of the league.
Minnesota’s coming off a bye week and in the two games that rookie quarterback Christian Ponder started before that, the Vikings ran the Packers closer than anybody expected and won a good one in Carolina in Ponder’s personal duel with fellow rookie Cam Newton.
Ponder’s breathed life into Minnesota and Donovan McNabb’s days as a Viking are over (barring Ponder going down injured). And, despite facing the near invincible Packers at the monument that is Lambeau Field, Ponder faces a Green Bay defense that ranks 31st against the pass. Not that he won’t have to be mindful though, as that secondary returned two interceptions for touchdowns in San Diego last Sunday.
Ponder’s primary partner in crime, running back Adrian Peterson, had an absolute monster game in the first meeting between these two, rushing for 175 yards on just 24 carries at a whopping average of 7.3 yards per carry. Green Bay is solid against the run though (honestly!) and it would appear that Peterson would need to have a similar game in order to keep this one close…maybe requesting 175 yards all over again is a little too hopeful, but anything from 130-150 yards would help Ponder out enormously.
What else is there to say about Aaron Rodgers and the Packers? The superlatives lavished upon them won’t be added to here as the column inches already afforded them can be found elsewhere so let’s possibly see whether Minnesota are worthy of looking at to cover the spread.
Green Bay’s recent margins of victory have decreased recently from earlier in the season so that’s one positive (I am trying!). One more positive is the simple fact that you can back Minnesota with almost a two touchdown start. I wrote in my Cardinals/Eagles preview this week to be wary of backing bad teams giving up two touchdowns and the Eagles duly came nowhere near to covering that spread; they lost outright by four.
This is an entirely different matter, of course, as the Packers are not a bad team and more than capable of winning this by twenty. However, in this crazy season (one that hasn’t affected Green Bay one bit), I’m going to side with the team receiving thirteen points. While the Vikings have no chance of reaching the playoffs, even via a wildcard, this is still a divisional matchup on primetime, which makes the spread all the more unpredictable.
While I don’t doubt that Green Bay will emerge the victor, I like Minnesota’s recent outlook. That outlook is admittedly a little cloudier bearing in mind that Rodgers should be able to pick apart a Vikings pass defense that ranks 30th in the league, but still I’m hesitant to go all out on the Packers. And yes, I realise how ridiculous that looks. I read earlier this season that betting against Aaron Rodgers is like burning your money. Well, I’m willing to take that chance this Monday night.
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