Packer Central

Packers at Vikings: Time, TV, Betting, Referee, Prediction, Secret Stars

The Green Bay Packers (11-4) and Minnesota Vikings (13-2) will battle on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. Here’s what you need to know about this huge NFC North clash.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (95) and cornerback Keisean Nixon (25) sack Jaren Hall last season.
Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (95) and cornerback Keisean Nixon (25) sack Jaren Hall last season. / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK
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MINNEAPOLIS – The Green Bay Packers are playing for a statement victory. The Minnesota Vikings are vying for the NFC North title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

Here’s what you need to know about Sunday’s Week 16 showdown at U.S. Bank Stadium.

What Channel for Packers-Vikings?

TV: Fox. Fox’s No. 1 crew of Kevin Burkhardt (play-by-play), Tom Brady (analyst) and Eric Andrews and Tom Rinaldi (sideline).

Will the game air where you live?: Yes, the game will be televised to the entire nation.

Radio: Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren are in their 26th season together for The Packers Radio Network. They also can be heard on the Packers App and Sirius Channels 111 or 384.

Sports USA will have the national broadcast, featuring Ted Robinson (play-by-play) and Brandon Noble (analyst).

Packers-Vikings: Who’s Favored?

The Packers were 1 1/2-point favorites on Thursday. By Saturday evening, the Vikings were 1 1/2-point favorites at FanDuel Sportsbook, with 58 percent of the money on Green Bay and 52 percent of the bets on Minnesota.

Josh Jacobs’ over/under for rushing yards is 72.5 yards; Aaron Jones’ over/under is 64.5.

The Vikings are 1 1/2-point favorites at DraftKings, as well, with the over/under of 49 points. Sam Darnold’s passing over/under is 263.5 passing yards while Jordan Love’s over/under is 248.5 yards. Justin Jefferson’s over/under is 89.5 receiving yards.

The Vikings are one-point favorites at BetMGM, with 57 percent of the bets and 61 percent of the money on the Vikes.

Packers-Vikings: Game Vitals

Date and Time: Sunday at 3:25 p.m.

Records: The Vikings are 13-2 and have won eight consecutive games. The Packers are 11-4; they are 0-4 against the Lions, Vikings and Eagles.

Where: U.S. Bank Stadium.

Coaches: Packers – Matt LaFleur (67-31, sixth season). Vikings – Kevin O’Connell (33-16; third season). LaFleur is 6-5 against Minnesota but 2-3 against O’Connell.

Series: The Packers lead 65-58-3. In Minnesota, the teams are 31-31.

Injury report: Jaire Alexander is out again for Green Bay while two Vikings defensive starters are expected to be back in the lineup.

Referee: Carl Cheffers. Cheffers entered the NFL in 2000 and became a referee in 2008. This year, his crew has thrown 2.18 fewer flags for 19.64 fewer yards than the average crew, according to Pro Football Reference. The home team is 10-3 this season in his games.

Cheffers has not officiated a Packers game this season; he was the ref in Green Bay’s win at Detroit and at home against Chicago last year.

Three Under-the-Radar Players

You’ve heard all week about Josh Jacobs and Aaron Jones. Jordan Love and Justin Jefferson. Here are three other players who will play key roles on Sunday.

Vikings LB Andrew Van Ginkel: The former Wisconsin standout is tied for seventh with 11 sacks and tied for third with 17 tackles for losses. He is the only player with four-plus sacks who also has two interceptions – both of which he returned for touchdowns.

A fifth-round pick by Miami in 2019, he never had more than six sacks or nine TFLs in five seasons with the Dolphins.

“You can tell he’s a very intelligent player because of the different roles that they use him in, where he’ll be on the edge doing his thing there, then they’ll bump him back to linebacker,” Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said.

“They’ll play him in different personnels. And then he’s just an extremely instinctive player. You could tell he studies the game. He can get a feel for what’s happening (and) he’s got a knack for the ball. He’s a really good player. He’s got good size, good range. He’s a problem.”

Vikings CB Byron Murphy: The Vikings lead the NFL with 22 interceptions. No cornerback has more than Murphy’s six, which includes one at Lambeau Field in September. He plays a lot as a perimeter corner and splits the slot snaps with safety Josh Metellus.

“He’s got excellent ball skills and does a really good job tracking it,” Stenavich said. “Anytime a quarterback gets into trouble and just tries to throw one up, I think these guys do a really good job coming down with the ball, so we really have to be on top of it as far as the decisions that we make with the football so that we don’t turn it over.”

Packers DT Devonte Wyatt: Wyatt had three sacks in the first three games but injured an ankle in Week 4 against Minnesota. He missed three games, then didn’t get back into the sack column until Week 15 against Seattle and again in Week 16 against New Orleans.

Vikings left guard Blake Brandel has allowed six sacks; only three guards have allowed more, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s allowed 30 total pressures, 11th-most among guards.

“That’s obviously going to be critical moving forward,” coach Matt LaFleur said of Wyatt’s production. “Anytime you can get pass rush with your front four and allows you to play coverage, it makes it extremely difficult on the offense. Hopefully, we can continue to build upon that.”

Packers-Vikings Prediction

It would be easy to pick the Vikings. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison against Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine seems like a big mismatch in Minnesota’s favor. Plus, the Vikings are 7-1 at home and the Packers will have the rest disadvantage.

But Jordan Love is rolling. The Vikings with esteemed defensive coordinator Brian Flores want to blitz. The way Love’s been playing since the bye, he might want the Vikings to blitz.

Minnesota’s offensive line is vulnerable. The run defense, rock solid for most of the season, has been just a little soft the last few weeks.

This week, Packers coach Matt LaFleur said, “I’m a big gut guy.”

I’m going with my gut over logic.

Packers 37, Vikings 34

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.