The Green Bay Packers offense finally settled in last week against the Chicago Bears, and now the Packers will face another division opponent on a short week, the Minnesota Vikings. Thursday may bring the Packers' first look at Teddy Bridgewater, a rookie quarterback who barring injury will make his second start following a strong debut versus the Atlanta Falcons. Bridgewater is officially listed as questionable with an ankle injury.
Vikings vs. Packers 2014 picks and predictions: Green Bay a unanimous selection
Thursday night games can be ugly, but the Packers should take care of business at Lambeau Field.
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Weather could be a factor in the game as well. According to Weather.com, there’s a 90 percent chance of rain. That could affect the passing games for both teams. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are a explosive aerial attack when they get rolling. Poor conditions could limit that success. Instead, the rushing attacks could become key parts to both attacks. For Green Bay, that means a heavy dose of Eddie Lacy. Minnesota is playing without Adrian Peterson, but the Vikings have found a solid tandem to fill in with Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon playing well in replacement duty.
Both teams are coming off arguably their best games of the year. Minnesota’s victory against Atlanta, however, didn’t appear to do much to sway the prognosticators in the Vikings’ direction.
All seven of SB Nation's experts sided with Green Bay this week. The Packers have dominated the rivalry in recent years, posting a 4-1-1 record against the Vikings since the start of 2011. The Packers are 3-2 in Thursday night games during the last three years and will have a built in advantage this week. Since the NFL added Thursday night games on a weekly basis in 2006, home teams have had an overall advantage. The short week, plus travel is rough for a road team. Minnesota won't have far to travel, so the impact may be mitigated compared to other matchups.
The SB Nation NFL experts are the only ones siding with the Packers by a considerable margin. CBS Sports' experts all went with Green Bay, as did the crew over at Yahoo! Sports.
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