Packer Central

Packers vs. Vikings: How to Watch and What to Know

The Green Bay Packers will try to win a third consecutive game and knock off the undefeated Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at Lambeau Field. Here’s what you need to know.

Bill Huber

Aaron Jones will return to Lambeau Field on Sunday when the Packers host the Vikings.
Aaron Jones will return to Lambeau Field on Sunday when the Packers host the Vikings. / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will host the Minnesota Vikings at noon Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Here’s how to watch and much more in this huge NFC North showdown.

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers

What Channel for Packers-Vikings?

TV: Most NFC vs. NFC matchups are on Fox. Not this one. CBS will air the game. Kevin Harlan, Trent Green and Melanie Collins will be on the call.

Is the game on TV where you live?: 506 Sports publishes broadcasts maps every Wednesday.

Streaming: If the game is not on TV where you live, you can stream it via Fubo. There’s a seven-day free trial.

Radio: Here’s the list of Packers Radio Network stations, featuring Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren on the call.

Packers-Vikings: What You Need to Know

Records: The Packers are 2-1 and the Vikings are 3-0.

Where: Lambeau Field.

Date and time: Sunday at noon.

Coaches: Green Bay – Matt LaFleur (58-28, sixth season). Minnesota – Kevin O’Connell (23-14, third season).

Weather: After back-to-back scorchers, Sunday’s forecast calls for a high of 74 with partly cloudy skies and northeast winds around 10 mph, according to WBAY.

Tickets: Let SI Tickets get you into the game without any of those annoying fees. A lower-level seat in Section 103 will set you back $272.

The line: With the expectation that Jordan Love will be Green Bay’s starting quarterback, the Packers are 2.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook as well as FanDuel Sportsbook. The over/under is 43.5.

Power rankings: In Packers On SI’s Consensus NFL Power Rankings, the Lions, Vikings and Packers are in the top seven.

Packers-Vikings: Six-Pack of Notes

One: Last week, Malik Willis returned to Tennessee to beat the Titans. This week, Aaron Jones will return to Green Bay to face the Packers. In seven seasons, he rushed for 5,940 yards. He ranks third in franchise history in rushing yards, fourth with 45 rushing touchdowns and seventh with 63 total touchdowns.

Among running backs in NFL history with at least 600 carries, his 5.1-yard average ranks.

Through three games with the Vikings, Jones ranks 10th with 228 rushing yards and ninth with a 5.4-yard average.

“There’s a huge reason why I wanted to make sure Aaron was a Minnesota Viking when we had the opportunity to bring him in, because I knew he’s a classic case of a great player that will not only take advantage of what this place has to offer from what the players have built here, but also make it better,” O’Connell said on Monday.

“And he is a one-of-one type leader, human being, what he brings to the building every single day. It’s no surprise that you see it showing up in between the white lines, because we’ve been seeing it really since day one. And I’m so happy to have Aaron Jones here.”

Two: This will be Justin Jefferson’s eighth game against the Packers. At Minnesota, he’s had games of eight receptions for 169 yards and two touchdowns in 2021 and nine receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns in 2022. In three games at Lambeau Field, he’s caught 10 passes for 89 yards and zero touchdowns.

Two of those games were played in January; Lambeau should be in pristine condition on Sunday.

Three: Including a split of two playoff games, the Packers lead the all-time series 66-58-3. The Vikings won 24-10 at Lambeau last year. Before getting knocked out by a torn Achilles, Kirk Cousins threw touchdown passes to T.J. Hockenson and Jordan Addison in the third quarter to make it 24-3.

The Packers won the rematch 33-10 as Jones ran for 120 yards and Jordan Love was 24-of-33 passing for 256 yards and three touchdowns. Jayden Reed’s touchdown catches of 33 and 25 yards gave the Packers a 24-3 lead at halftime.

Four: Third down, as always, will be key. This will be strength vs. strength. Green Bay’s offense is eighth (42.9 percent) while Minnesota’s defense is 11th (30.1 percent). On the other side of the ball, Minnesota’s offense is third (45.7 percent) and Green Bay’s defense ranks sixth (28.1 percent).

Five: Is Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold a stud or a fluke? The third pick of the 2018 draft by the Jets, he had 63 touchdown passes vs. 56 interceptions in his first six seasons. He hadn’t been a full-time starter since starting 11 times for Carolina in 2021, when it was nine touchdowns, 13 picks and a 71.9 passer rating.

In three starts this year for the Vikings, he’s thrown eight touchdowns vs. two interceptions and is second with a 117.3 passer rating.

Six: O’Connell and Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley were part of the Cleveland Browns’ coaching staff in 2015, with O’Connell as quarterbacks coach and Hafley as defensive backs coach. They lived near each other and hit it off.

“My family and his family are close. I think the world of him as a person, and he’s a fantastic football coach,” O’Connell said. “From the first day I met him, we kind of hit it off, and I really do respect him as much as anybody in this league. A very smart hire by Matt to bring him in there. And you can see it. It’s all over the tape. It’s early on here, just diving into it, but they’re playing really, really good defense.”

More Green Bay Packers News

Packers-Vikings matchups | Consensus NFL Power Rankings | Malik Wilis earned third-down trust | Packers-Titans overreactions | Malik Willis’ 100-year-old history | Matt LaFleur’s coaching greatness | Packers rally around Malik Willis | Report card: Grades from win over Titans | Eight sacks | Dominating Packers defense | Packers-Titans stock report | Malik Willis earns redemption

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Bill Huber

BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packer Central, 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.