MINNESOTA VIKINGS (7-7) | WEEK 16 | GREEN BAY PACKERS (8-6) |
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Date: | 24 December 2016 | Location: | Green Bay, WI |
Time: | 12:00 PM Central | Stadium: | Lambeau Field |
TV: | FOX DirecTV Ch 711 | Radio: | Vikings Radio Network XM Ch 82 (GB) Sirius Ch 136 |
TV Announcers: | Joe Buck Troy Aikman | Know Thy Foe: | Acme Packing Company |
Weather: | 36 degrees, winds from W at 5 MPH, 0% chance of rain | ||
Line: | Green Bay -7, Over/Under 43.5 (Thanks to the SB Nation Odds page) | ||
Chris' Prediction: | Packers 24, Vikings 14 | ||
Final Score: |
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-Thou shalt not link illegal feeds of today's game, or I shall kick thy arse to the curb until the game is over. Do not promote then, do not mention them, do not even hint at them. Thou hast been warned.
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-Thou shalt not feed the trolls. Rather, thou shall simply point them out, and they shall be banished to the fires of Mordor. Or Wisconsin. Whichever we feel is more harsh at the time.
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-Basically, thou shalt not be a jackwagon in the game thread.
It's the last road game for the Minnesota Vikings in this 2016 NFL season, and they get to spend Christmas Eve in Wisconsin, finishing this year's series against the Green Bay Packers. The Vikings' post-season hopes are truly dangling by a thread, and the string will be cut with a loss today.
So, how can the purple and gold keep that from happening?
1) Actually show up - You would think this would go without saying, but the team managed to skip this step in last week's loss to Indianapolis. At least we know they made it to Wisconsin in one piece. Eventually.
2) Force turnovers on defense - The Vikings' defense forced three turnovers the last time these two teams got together back in Week 2. With the Green Bay offense appearing to be back in form, the Vikings certainly don't have much of a chance to win a shootout in this one, so they need to limit Green Bay's opportunities to score and set themselves up on short fields in an effort to get points on the board. The Minnesota defense got humiliated last week. Can they get up off the mat for this one?
3) Convert in the red zone - This was one of the keys to last week's game as well, but the Vikings didn't actually make it into the red zone against Indianapolis. If/when they get there in this one, they certainly have to do better than they did the last time they had an opportunity at red zone offense against Jacksonville. You certainly can't win at Lambeau Field settling for three points all the time.
Most of us don't have a particularly good vibe about this one, ladies and gentlemen, and with good reason. The Vikings are reeling, the Packers are rolling, and it seems like we're all just waiting for this season to come to an end. Still, these games aren't played on paper, and who knows that the Vikings might have in store for us this afternoon? So, if you have a little bit of spare time on this Christmas Eve, stop on by and watch this one with us. We'll have a new Open Thread at the start of each quarter, as we always do.
SKOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL VIKINGS!!!!