The slumping Minnesota Vikings don’t have much time to rejuvenate their fading hopes for a second straight postseason berth.
The Vikings (4-6) have lost four of their last five games. Their next shot to turn things around comes Sunday at Lambeau Field, which has been surprisingly friendly territory for them lately.
The Vikings have won in Green Bay each of the last two seasons. A victory Sunday would give the Vikings three straight road wins over the Packers (6-3-1) for the first time since 1991-93, a streak that included two games in Green Bay and one in Milwaukee.
“The atmosphere and the environment’s fun,” Vikings safety Josh Metellus said. “Anytime you can go to a place and feel like it’s you against the world, as a competitor, it lights something up in you.”
The Vikings swept their two regular-season matchups with the Packers last season, winning 31-29 in Green Bay and 27-25 at home. That gives the Packers plenty of incentive. As center Sean Rhyan said, “we owe them.”
“We’re a new team this year,” Rhyan said. “We’re going to go out there, play four quarters, and leave it all out there.”
The Vikings also are a new team in at least one respect. J.J. McCarthy has taken over as quarterback for Sam Darnold, who left for the Seattle Seahawks after throwing for 652 yards and six touchdowns with two interceptions in the Vikings’ two wins over the Packers last season.
McCarthy has completed just 52.9% of his passes with eight interceptions and six touchdowns, though he also has run for two scores.
“I kind of make the analogy of a cork about to come off a bottle, just understanding that it’s one to three little things that I need to change about my game that is going to make a huge difference in the outcome of every single drive in every game,” McCarthy said. “I feel like it’s really close, but it all comes down to the consistency of the fundamentals in my game.”
This game starts a critical stretch for the Packers.
They beat the defending NFC North champion Detroit Lions on the season’s opening Sunday, but they haven’t played a divisional game since. The Packers’ next three games are against NFC North foes.
They went 1-5 in divisional games last season.
“We lost to Minnesota twice last year,” Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon said. “We lost to Detroit twice last year and then split with Chicago. We’re 1-0 against Detroit. We’re ready to go 1-0 against Minnesota and then 1-0 against Chicago. Division games are the biggest games. It’s playoff atmosphere.”
Packers’ RB situation
Josh Jacobs left the Packers’ 27-20 victory over the New York Giants with a knee bruise, leaving his status uncertain for Sunday’s game. Jacobs, who earned his third Pro Bowl selection last season, has rushed for 11 touchdowns this year to rank second in the NFL to the 15 from the Indianapolis Colts’ Jonathan Taylor.
Emanuel Wilson likely would get the bulk of the carries with help from Chris Brooks if Jacobs is unable to play. Wilson rushed for 40 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries against the Giants.
Watson’s emergence
Packers quarterback Jordan Love is missing a couple of his favorite targets, as tight end Tucker Kraft’s season is over because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament and Jayden Reed hasn’t returned after surgeries on his shoulder and foot in September.
Christian Watson has picked up the slack since recovering from a torn ACL. In his fourth game back, Watson caught two touchdown passes against the Giants, including the winner with 4:02 remaining.
Wilson’s return to Green Bay
Last year’s game at Lambeau Field marked a homecoming for Vikings running back Aaron Jones, who had rushed for 5,940 yards with the Packers from 2017-23.
This time it will be Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson making his Lambeau Field return. Wilson began his career in Minnesota from 2017-20 but spent the last three seasons in Green Bay. He rejoined the Vikings this year and has a team-high 63 tackles.
Turnover troubles
Neither the Packers nor Vikings are generating as many takeaways as they did last season.
The Vikings forced 33 turnovers to tie for the NFL lead last season but they have just nine takeaways this season. They have picked off three passes to rank next-to-last in the NFL after having a league-high 24 in 2024.
“We’ll continue to emphasize it,” defensive coordinator Brian Flores said. “I think people say they come in bunches at times. I don’t necessarily believe in that. We’ve just got to continue to work at it.”
The Packers have forced eight turnovers, including Evan Williams’ last-minute interception in the end zone to seal the win over the Giants. The Packers had 31 takeaways last season.
This game could represent an opportunity for their defense in that regard. The Vikings have committed 18 turnovers for the league’s second-highest total, behind only the Seattle Seahawks’ 20.
AP reporter Dave Campbell contributed.