Packers have their first home game in a month as Vikings visit Lambeau Field
MINNESOTA (3-4) at GREEN BAY (2-4)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, Fox
OPENING LINE: Vikings by 1 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Vikings 3-3-1; Packers 3-3
SERIES RECORD: Packers lead 65-57-3
LAST MEETING: Packers beat Vikings 41-17 on Jan. 1 at Lambeau Field.
LAST WEEK: Vikings beat 49ers 22-17 at home on Monday; Packers lost 19-17 at Denver on Sunday.
VIKINGS OFFENSE: OVERALL (11), RUSH (30), PASS (3), SCORING (18)
VIKINGS DEFENSE: OVERALL (15), RUSH (15), PASS (17), SCORING (20)
PACKERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (26), RUSH (24), PASS (23), SCORING (17)
PACKERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (16), RUSH (30), PASS (8), SCORING (21)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Vikings minus-5; Packers minus-2
VIKINGS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Jordan Addison, a rookie first-round pick from Southern California, has stepped up his performance while the Vikings are missing injured All-Pro wideout Justin Jefferson. Addison has four touchdown catches over his past three games and reached the end zone twice in the Vikings’ Monday night victory over the 49ers.
PACKERS PLAYER TO WATCH: OLB Rashan Gary has a team-high 4½ sacks. Earlier in the season, Gary had three sacks to help spark a come-from-behind victory over the New Orleans Saints.
KEY MATCHUP: Vikings QB Kirk Cousins vs. Packers pass defense. Cousins threw for a season-high 378 yards against the 49ers and has five touchdown passes without an interception over his past three games. He has kept the Vikings passing attack humming even without Jefferson. Cousins will be facing a Packers secondary that’s dealing with injuries. CB Jaire Alexander has missed three of Green Bay’s past four games because of a back issue. The Packers placed CB Eric Stokes (hamstring) and S Darnell Savage (calf) on injured reserve this week.
KEY INJURIES: Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (hamstring) will miss his third straight game. He’s on injured reserve, and the Vikings have not revealed a timetable for his return. … Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson (foot) was listed as a non-participant in practice on Wednesday after getting hurt and briefly leaving the game against the 49ers. He’s not expected to miss any playing time. … Vikings LG Ezra Cleveland (foot) was held out of the previous game and was replaced in the lineup by Dalton Risner. He was listed as a limited participant in practice on Wednesday. … Along with the injuries to Alexander, Stokes and Savage, the Packers have played three straight games without LB De’Vondre Campbell because of an ankle injury.
SERIES NOTES: The Vikings and Packers have split their regular-season matchups each of the past three seasons. The home team has won each of the past four meetings in this series. The Vikings beat the Packers 23-7 in their season opener last season before falling 41-17 at Lambeau Field on New Year’s Day. Cousins committed four turnovers and Green Bay’s Keisean Nixon scored on a 105-yard kickoff return in that 41-17 game.
STATS AND STUFF: The Vikings have converted 10 of their 11 attempts on either third-and-1 or fourth-and-1. That’s tied with the Packers for the highest such rate (90.9 percent) in the NFL. … Cousins attempted 45 passes against San Francisco without a sack, just the second player in the league this season to throw that many times without being sacked to join Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa. … Hockenson has 47 receptions, the second most behind Kansas City’s Travis Kelce among NFL tight ends. … Vikings OLB Danielle Hunter leads the NFL with nine sacks. … The Packers have been outscored 63-6 in the first half of their past four games. They haven’t scored a first-half touchdown in any of those games. … The Packers rank last in the NFL in first-half points per game (4.3), but lead the league in second-half points per game (17.3). … This marks the Packers first home game in more than a month. Their most recent game at Lambeau Field was a 34-20 loss to the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions on Sept. 28. … Packers WR Dontayvion Wicks threw a 14-yard completion to Aaron Jones in the Broncos game. Wicks is the first Packers rookie non-quarterback to complete a pass since RB Willard Harrell did it in 1975, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. … The Packers have produced only five takeaways, matching the lowest total for any NFL team this season. The Vikings have committed 14 turnovers, one behind the Las Vegas Raiders for the most in the league.
FANTASY TIP: Addison has played like a No. 1 receiver the past few weeks and has a good chance of reaching the end zone again Sunday as he faces the Packers injury-riddled secondary.
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