It’s a Whole New Ball of Wax for Vikings at Green Bay
It’s finally here.
After more than three decades of non-debatable Hall of Fame quarterback play, the Green Bay Packers will take on the Minnesota Vikings without an Aaron Rodgers or Brett Favre somewhere attached to the roster.
It’s a Whole New Ball of Wax for Vikings at Green Bay
Jordan Love, Rodgers’ heir apparent, will lead the charge this Sunday versus the Vikings, hoping to rectify his team’s lousy 2-4 start to the 2023 season.
Brett Favre played his first game against the Vikings in December of 1992, and since then, the Packers have taken on the Vikings 63 times — with Favre or Rodgers starting on 61 occasions. A man named Scott Tolzien took over briefly in 2013, resulting in a tie, and Brett Hundley’s Packers lost to the Vikings in 2017.
But this weekend is a whole new ball of wax: the purple team encountering a quarterback not absolutely destined for the Hall of Fame.
The Vikings also experience this brave new world at an opportune time. Minnesota knocked off one of the NFL’s best teams on Monday Night Football, the San Francisco 49ers, thanks to an otherworldly performance from Kirk Cousins and rookie wideout Jordan Addison, while Brian Flores’ defense forced three turnovers against San Francisco’s usually pristine offense.
O’Connell and friends are suddenly in the driver’s seat to go on a run, with the murderous section of the schedule, which included contests versus the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers, and Kansas City Chiefs, in the rearview.
Normally at this time on the calendar, when the Vikings are deck to travel easterly for a date in Wisconsin, the team’s fans shrug shoulders and hope for the best, chiefly because Rodgers is nearly guaranteed to play flawlessly. For now, such is not the case for Jordan Love, and on paper, the Vikings have nothing to fear from Love’s recent resume.
It’s like a clean slate. There is no Favre or Rodgers, and it almost feels like the world isn’t on its axis.
Since Favre took over 31 years ago, the Vikings were 27-34-1 (.443) in all games against Favre and Rodgers. Versus the “other guys,” Brett Hundley and Scott Tolzien, Minnesota was 1-0-1 (.750).
The Vikings can start a new win-loss tally in this new era, using the dangerous assumption that Love won’t quite take off like his predecessors. On the whole, however, if you’re wondering why dread is not a part of your week so far, well, it’s because the build-up to Sunday is Favre-less and Rodgers-less for the first time since the middle of 1992.
The point spread for Packers-Vikings is even — a true pick ’em.
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 Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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