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Week 5 of the NFL season kicks off with an NFC North Divisional game between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings, on Thursday Night Football.
Minnesota Vikings (2-2) vs. Green Bay Packers (2-2), Thursday, October 2, 8:25 PM. ET. CBS
The Vikings are coming off a big win against the Atlanta Falcons, who got to see just how good rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is. Bridgewater was making his first professional start, but played like a seasoned veteran, completing 19-30 passes for 317 yards, while running for 27 yards and a touchdown. In a game and a half, Bridgewater has already surpassed Matt Cassel, who started Minnesota’s first three games, as the teams leading passer.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, it wasn’t all good news on Sunday, Bridgewater was carted off the field in the fourth quarter due to a sprained ankle, his status for Thursday night’s game is in question, and if he manages to play, the team doesn’t know how much the ankle will affect his play.
Aaron Rodgers told Green Bay fans that were worried after the team’s 1-2 start to relax prior to their game on Sunday, and he gave them a performance to put their minds at ease on the road against their rivals, the Chicago Bears.
Rodgers went 22-28, for 302 yards, and 4 touchdowns against the Bears, who have played very well this season, but are dealing with injuries on the defensive side of the ball. The win gives the Packers their fourth straight win at Chicago, and also gives Aaron Rodgers a 10-3 record against the Bears as a starting quarterback.
The Packers haven’t lost a home game to the Vikings in their last four meetings, and will try to keep the streak going on Thursday night. Even with the big win against Chicago, the Packers still have a lot of work to do on offense, Eddie Lacy, last year’s Rookie of the Year has not been a factor in any of the games this year, and only has 161 yards on 53 carries.
The Packers will have to find a way to get Lacy more involved in the offense, to prevent opponents from coming after Aaron Rodgers on every possession.
The Vikings running game exploded for 241 yards and 4 touchdowns against the Falcons, after combining for 113 yards in their first two games without Adrian Peterson. The fact that Atlanta has a really bad run defense had a lot to do with it, but it is also a good sign for Vikings fans that their running game is finally turning around, which will also make things a whole lot easier on their rookie quarterback.
Game Line: The Packers are favored to win the game by 9 points, the Over/Under is 47.5 points.
Personal Pick: The Packers will win an easy game at home.
The Vikings looked very good on Sunday against the Falcons, and will win this game if they can put on another performance like that. Unfortunately for them the status of Teddy Bridgewater is unknown, and even if he plays, he will be limited, making it hard for the Vikings to win the game.
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