This Is the Week You Cheer for the Packers
Dustin Baker
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The pill is difficult to swallow, but this is the week when Minnesota Vikings fans should cheer for the Green Bay Packers.
It’s not for loyalty-defiance or vibes. Rather, Vikings faithful should wish ill will upon the Philadelphia Eagles, who play the Packers on Sunday night.
Of course, you can rest on your laurels with a hardheaded “I’ll never cheer for the Packers” soundbite. That’s fine, as few will fault you or really even care.
But the Packers are 4-7 through 11 games, and the Vikings are 9-2. Green Bay is no longer Minnesota’s primary foe in 2022. That rivalry is saved and cherished for seasons when Green Bay is actually winning. This particular season inexplicably isn’t one of those.
So, here’s the deal — the Vikings would be substantially aided by an Eagles loss in Week 12 and virtually any week from here on out. Why? Well, the Vikings are firmly in play for homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, but the Eagles own an irritating tiebreaker over the purple team, thanks to a Week 2 shellacking at Lincoln Financial Field.
Minnesota cannot ascertain homefield advantage sans finishing the regular season with a record one game better than Philadelphia.
The Vikings need to finish 14-3, while the Eagles are 13-4 at regular season’s end (or 13-4 vs. 12-5 and henceforth). It doesn’t matter who the Eagles play — so long as the Vikings continue to win — you, as a Vikings fan, are an enthusiast of the other team.
This week, that includes the Packers. Here is the math if you’re still hesitant, stubborn, mad, or in disbelief.
Vikings,
Homefield Adv Throughout Postseason %:
Current = 21%
Eagles def. Packers = 17%
Packers def. Eagles = 32%
A Packers win would crack open the door for the Vikings to win the next few games, along with one or two Eagles losses (TEN, at NYG, at CHI, at DAL), and reasonably hand Minnesota a chance at homefield throughout the postseason.
Most of this cheer-for-the-Packers madness is predicated on the Vikings continued commitment to winning. If they do just that, every Eagles loss matters — even if the Packers are on the other side of the field.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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