Fansided

Will Aaron Rodgers get his revenge against Vikings?

By Russell S. Baxter

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 15: Anthony Barr No. 55 of the Minnesota Vikings hits quarterback Aaron Rodgers No. 12 of the Green Bay Packers during the first quarter of the game on October 15, 2017 at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 15: Anthony Barr No. 55 of the Minnesota Vikings hits quarterback Aaron Rodgers No. 12 of the Green Bay Packers during the first quarter of the game on October 15, 2017 at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Everything changed for the Green Bay Packers a year ago when they faced the Vikings at Minnesota. Can Aaron Rodgers frustrate another NFC North rival?

He will be there.

Last Sunday night at Lambeau Field, the worst appeared to have happened. Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down and grabbed his knee. Moments later, he was carted off the field. By halftime, the Chicago Bears had built a 17-0 lead. New head coach Matt Nagy and his team would extended that advantage to 20 points.

But here was Rodgers, ready to go after intermission and back on the field with 9:14 to play in the third quarter. He would lead his team to a field goal on his return.

But the two-time NFL MVP was just getting warmed up. The next three times the Packers got the football, Rodgers led them to touchdowns. When it was all said and done, Mike McCarthy’s team rallied for a 24-23 win, kicking off the season in dramatic fashion.

But what about this Sunday? Defeating a divisional rival such as the Bears was huge. Now here come the defending NFC North champion Minnesota Vikings and that top-ranked defense of a year ago. Following the victory over Chicago, NBC’s Michelle Tafoya asked Rodgers if he would be ready for the Purple Gang?

“I’ll play next week.”

But will he? Rodgers has since been diagnosed with a “knee sprain.” So what about Sunday? “I want to play, obviously, but just taking it one day at a time,” said the prolific passer on Wednesday (via Zach Kruse of PackersWire.com. “See how it feels tomorrow. See how it feels Friday, Saturday. And then hopefully ready to go Sunday.”

Let’s also not bury the lead. A year ago, the Packers got off to a 4-1 start and were in Minnesota to face their NFC North neighbors. Rodgers would go down early in the contest with what proved to be a broken collarbone, courtesy of a somewhat-controversial hit by Vikings’ linebacker Anthony Barr. The Packers’ prolific passer would be lost for the vast majority of the season. He attempted a comeback in Week 15 at Carolina but just wasn’t himself in a 31-24 loss in which he threw just as many interceptions (3) as touchdown passes.

Rodgers’ career numbers versus the Minnesota Vikings are completely off the charts. He actually made his first NFL start on a Monday night against this longtime divisional rivalry in 2008 and came away with a victory. Including a playoff encounter in 2012, he’s made 19 starts and his team has won 12 of those contests. He’s thrown 40 touchdown passes compared to only six interceptions. He’s dealt with some fierce Minnesota defenses, sacked 59 times in those games. A lot of that punishment came at the hands of one-time Vikings’ defensive end Jared Allen.

But the time is now. And this Minnesota defense is capable of humbling any quarterback in the league. Mike Zimmer’s team cooled off San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo last week. Unbeaten as an NFL starter entering the game (7-0), the still-young signal-caller completed less than half of his throws (15-of-33) for 261 yards and one scores. But he was picked off three times and sacked three times as well in a 24-16 loss.

More fansided.com: Each NFL team’s most beloved quarterback

It’s hard to believe that Rodgers won’t be on the field Sunday. There’s a lot at stake for the team and the player, who would certainly like to show the Vikings that he’s still very much alive and kicking…and throwing. More significantly, if the Green Bay Packers can hold serve at home against the defending division champions, the team would be off to a 2-0 start and both wins within the NFC North. It’s a huge game for a variety of reasons.

Home/Green Bay Packers