The second half of the Vikings-Packers home-and-home arrives this week, and this one heads to Lambeau Field with Green Bay carrying the edge and Minnesota trying to stop its slide.
These teams already met to open the regular season at U.S. Bank Stadium, and that game looked like it was tilting hard toward the Packers.
Green Bay had built a 22-10 lead with about five minutes left in the third quarter before Minnesota flipped the script. The Vikings’ defense started forcing turnovers, the offense finally cashed in, and the purple ripped off 29 straight points over the final 20 minutes of regulation to win 39-22 and start the year 1-0.
Minnesota then rolled through its first six games and stood as the NFL’s last unbeaten team. Since then, though, the offense has gone quiet.
Losses to the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills followed, with both teams taking advantage of Minnesota’s inability to sustain drives and keep the defense off the field. That wear and tear eventually caught up to the Vikings’ top-ranked defense, and the result was back-to-back defeats.
In response, Minnesota brought in quarterback Kirk Cousins from the Las Vegas Raiders at the trade deadline, hoping to solve those offensive problems.
Green Bay comes in on a much hotter run. After a 1-2 start, the Packers have won five of their last six and are fresh off a 45-27 win over the New England Patriots in Foxborough in Week 9.
Jordan Love threw three touchdown passes, and the Packers’ defense picked off Drake May three times in a game that felt even more lopsided than the final score showed. At 6-3, Green Bay is somehow sitting in last place in the NFC North, which remains the best division in football.
Kickoff is set for noon Central Time, with FOX carrying the game nationally.
A sizable chunk of the country will be able to watch the rematch on free television, according to the Week 10 coverage map from 506 Sports. The Vikings-Packers matchup is shown in the red portion of the map.
The betting market isn’t giving Minnesota much love either. FanDuel Sportsbook opened the Packers as 4.5-point favorites, with the over/under set at 42.5 points.
In Other News...
Vikings Head Into Green Bay With One Injury Concern Getting Bigger
The Vikings are heading into Green Bay with the injury report still carrying real weight, and the concern only grows when you look at who is not taking part. Blake Cashman, T.J. Hockenson, Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, Jauan Jennings, Kyler Murray and Kyle Van Noy were all listed as non-participants, leaving Minnesota to manage a week that already had a thin margin for error.
The tight end spot remains the clearest pressure point for the offense, especially with Josh Oliver out for the season and no late trade-deadline help arriving to ease the load. Kirk Cousins is expected to start at quarterback, but the Vikings will need the rest of the roster to hold up around him if they are going to navigate a division trip with this many moving parts. [Read more 🡒]
Kirk Cousins Is Already Reclaiming Control Of The Vikings Offense
Kirk Cousins was back in the middle of things Wednesday, taking part in his first full practice with Minnesota after arriving in a trade from the Las Vegas Raiders for a 2027 third-round pick. The scene around him made it clear how quickly he has re-entered the Vikings orbit, from the song the team played in his honor to rookie safety Jakobe Thomas giving up his No. 8 jersey to make room for the veteran quarterback.
Justin Jefferson also noticed the way Cousins has stepped back into the huddle and the meeting room, pointing to his leadership and the way he communicates on and off the field. For a Vikings offense that knows exactly what Cousins can bring, the early signs are less about a reunion and more about how fast he can settle back into the role of organizing everything around him. [Read more 🡒]
Vikings Fans Just Saw The Concern With J.J. McCarthy Under Pressure
J.J. McCarthy gave the Giants enough to keep things interesting for most of the afternoon against Washington, completing 23 of 36 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown and an interception. For Minnesota fans still following his development, the bigger takeaway was less about the box score and more about how the game tightened when the Commanders started bringing more pressure after halftime.
In the final minute, McCarthy was forced into a series of hurried decisions, and the stress of the moment showed up in the worst possible way. Washingtons increased blitzing helped speed up his process and exposed how much more comfortable he looked when the pocket was cleaner, leaving a late interception to close the door and raise the same old question about how he handles pressure when the game is on the line. [Read more 🡒]