You know, immediately after the San Francisco game, I was pretty bummed out. . .and why not? I had just watched the Vikes go out and put up 3 points against a defense that was on pace to give up the most points in a season in the history of the National Football League.
But then I realized a couple of things. . .
The Vikings' opponent this week is the team that I've spent the last few months calling the worst and least talented team in football. And do you know why I've been calling them that? Because they're the worst and least talented team in football, records be damned.
Let's take a look at who these piles of garbage have beaten this year thus far, shall we?
They beat Detroit, who was 0-2 when they took on the Packers. And Green Bay won by a TD. They beat Miami, who was 1-5 when they took on Green Bay. . .and the Pack won by 10 points. They also beat Arizona, the other candidate for "worst team in the NFL," who also had one whole victory when they played the Packers.
So against Detroit, Arizona, and Miami, the Packers are 3-0. Against everyone else in the National Football League, they're 0-5. The three teams they've beaten have managed to combine for one less victory than the Vikings have by themselves.
The Vikings have more than one win. . .the Packers haven't beaten a team that's had more than one win when they've played Green Bay. Advantage: Vikings.
In those three games, against defenses that nobody is going to confuse with the '85 Bears, the Packers have averaged 32 points per game. Those games came against defenses that are currently ranked 9th (Miami), 26th (Arizona), and 30th (Detroit) in scoring defense.
In their other 5 games, they've averaged a whopping 13.2 points per game. . .including getting shut out by Chicago and managing just 3 field goals against Philadelphia. Minnesota currently ranks 7th in the NFL in points allowed/game.
In their three victories, the Packers have averaged 139.3 yards/game and 5.3 yards/carry running the ball. Those were against defenses that were ranked 14th (Miami), 20th (Detroit), and 22nd (Arizona) against the run.
In the other 5 games, they've averaged 106.6 yards/game and 4.2 yards/carry. Only one of those games came against a rush defense that's even in the top half of the league statistically. . .and that was against the Bears, who were blowing the Packers out so badly that they probably stopped caring by the time Ahman Green got going.
The Vikings are the #1 rush defense in the league in terms of yards allowed (69.0 yards/game) and second in the league in terms of yards per carry allowed (3.1 yards/carry). There will be no running of the football by the Packers tomorrow in Minneapolis. I don't care what kind of blocking scheme they use. . .straight-up blocking, cut blocking, H&R Blocking. . .
IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT KIND OF BLOCKING THEY USE!
Simply put, the Vikings are a better team than the Green Bay Packers are. Back to front, top to bottom, the Vikings should not be losing to this team. There's not one matchup that I look at when looking over this game and say to myself, "Yep, this matchup definitely favors the Packers." Because there aren't any.
The only way the Vikings lose this game is if they beat themselves. And they won't.
Gonzo's Final Score Prediction: Vikings 23, Packers 10
And I think I'm being quite generous by saying the Pack is going to reach double digits.