Sep 8, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Green Bay Packers fans wearing cheese heads and tops during the first quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports.
New Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard needs no acclimation to his team’s rivalry with the Green Bay Packers.
He already gets it.
Greenard told KFAN this week that he expects a “bloodbath” when the Vikings, an undefeated club through three games, and Packers collide this Sunday, a judgment usually reserved for those who have already participated or watched frequently. But the ferocious pass rusher has evidently skipped the learning curve.
“Our focus has definitely shifted to Green Bay. I’m new, but I obviously know the history behind it, and I obviously know any time you’re playing a divisional opponent, it has to be a bloodbath,” Greenard told The Power Trip Morning Show. “Honestly, it’s going to be one of those. It’s just one of those hard-nosed games.”
Greenard faced his former team last weekend — and terrorized the group. He produced 3 sacks on ex-teammate C.J. Stroud, generally disrupting all Texans’ offensive plans and helping create Minnesota’s 34-7 blowout against a club with eyes on the Super Bowl.
“We gotta take it up another notch. We’re going to their home field. It’s going to be a hostile environment,” Greenard continued, “It’s going to be a great test for us to truly show how we can deal with adversity when we get a little bit of success. Now that we’ve kind of put it on tape, we have to expect everybody to be playing their best against us because we now have a target on our back. But we love that.”
The Packers, meanwhile, have won two consecutive games after losing handsomely-paid quarterback Jordan Love. Somehow, Matt LaFleur’s offense didn’t really miss a beat when Malik Willis took over.
Greenard concluded, “Even coming up now with Green Bay, that’s still a really good team despite the injuries. They’re still a really good team. They’re playing some really good ball.”
Various batches of credible power rankings — ESPN, CBS Sports, and The 33rd Team, for example — decided this week that Minnesota is the NFL’s third-best team, only trailing the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and we’re-still-here Buffalo Bills. Green Bay will undoubtedly test that No. 3 power ranking on Sunday and have fresh memories of the Vikings’ win at Lambeau Field 11 months ago.
Minnesota dodged a major bullet Monday when quarterback Sam Darnold’s MRI revealed no structural knee damage. Ex-Vikings defender Danielle Hunter was rolled into Darnold’s knee in Week 3, sidelining the reclamation-project passer for a play. However, Darnold is in the clear, suffering a bruise for his troubles. Darnold will play on Sunday.
Green Bay is favored to win the bloodbath by two points. The Vikings have yet to win oddsmakers‘ hearts.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.