Vikings vs. Packers 2016 picks and predictions: Green Bay given solid edge to win NFC North

The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings square off in the season finale of Sunday Night Football, with the NFC North title on the line.

The final game of the regular season, which airs on NBC, can be streamed live here.

Although both teams have clinched a playoff spot, the No. 3 seed and bragging rights are on the line, making this one of the most compelling matchups of the week. The loser will get either the No. 5 or 6 seed, depending on what the Seattle Seahawks do earlier in the day. If Minnesota loses and Seattle beats the Arizona Cardinals, we’ll see this same game the next week in the Wild Card round. If Green Bay loses, it’s locked into No. 5 due to a head-to-head tiebreaker over Seattle.

These teams last met in Week 11, with the Packers dominating in a 30-13 win to break a three-game losing streak. Green Bay won three of its next four games and seemed to be getting its groove back until running into a wall against the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona crushed the Packers, 38-8, sacking Aaron Rodgers eight times and running back two fumbles for touchdowns.

After starting the year 7-2, the Vikings threatened to go into a tailspin, losing two of their next three games after the Packers loss. However, they recovered with two straight wins, clinching their first playoff berth since 2012 in Week 16. The defense is getting healthy again with Linval Joseph, Anthony Barr and Harrison Smith all returning last week. Going into Sunday morning, Adrian Peterson is 64 yards ahead of Doug Martin for the rushing title and will look to put an exclamation point on his quest for Offensive Player of the Year.

This looks like a close matchup on paper, but the Packers are strongly favored among online experts. Eight out of 13 writers at ESPN are picking them, along with six of eight at CBS Sports. It’s a similar consensus here at SB Nation, with seven of eight writers taking Green Bay to win its fifth straight division title.