It will be a big rivalry game on Sunday at US Bank Stadium. The Minnesota Vikings are still hoping to fight for an NFC North title, and the Green Bay Packers play for seeding in the NFC. But more than that, both teams want to show they are real contenders against a tough opponent.

So, we talk to Tyler Forness, who covers the Vikings for A to Z Sports, to talk about how the team arrives for the second game of the season against the Packers.

Sam Darnold has been more of a go big or go home than Jordan Love, with a higher percentage of big-time throws, but also a higher percentage of turnover-worthy plays. Is this a positive or negative for the Vikings?

Sam Darnold is the reason that the Vikings' offense has been humming this season. He shares a similar philosophy to head coach Kevin O’Connell: the both want the big play. That has resonated in a big way for the Vikings with those 31 big time throws. Early in the season, the turnover-worthy plays were a major concern, but have taken a major drop since the disaster of a game they had against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

• Weeks 1-10: 17 BTT, 14 TWP
• Weeks 11-16: 14 BTT, 7 TWP

The biggest difference in those two timeframes? Darnold is playing much more under control. He will still make a boneheaded play every now and then, but they are coming less often and he is finding explosives more often with his ability to maneuver in the pocket. When Darnold does give you a fumble on a sack or throws up a 50/50 ball, you better take advantage of it.

Last year, Brian Flores’ defense fell in the second half of the season. Has this trend repeated itself this season?

It is not for two main reasons: Flores has much better personnel for what he wants to do, and their weaknesses aren’t as glaring.

The biggest fault of the Vikings’ defense last season when they allowed an average of 30.0 PPG in the final four weeks was the dagger concept with that deep dig route. They are still somewhat susceptible to it, but their varied coverages along with better, smarter players has minimized that impact. Plus, the Vikings are rushing the passer much better than they were last year.

If you’re gameplanning against the Vikings’ offense, what do you do to stop Kevin O’Connell’s unit?

Easy: punch the wide receivers in the mouth and don’t stop. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are arguably the best wide receiver duo in the National Football League, but they aren’t physically imposing players. They win with athleticism and route running nuance, not by overpowering their opponents. If you can knock them off of their spot and impact the timing of the deep concepts the Vikings love to use, it can cause a ripple effect that will make things tough for the Vikings offense.

It’s possible to say that the Vikings’ results have been better than the performance, but not to the same degree it was in 2022. What are the main differences between these two versions of the Vikings?

The 2022 season was a really interesting one. They were for lack of a better term “fluky,” but they were great in terms of being situational masters. When you look at the games the Vikings won, the offense came up big in critical situations and the defense collapsed in way too many games.

This season, the Vikings offense is more explosive and consistent, paired with a defense that is arguably the best in the NFL. The Vikings have done a great job controlling games this season, but come up big with plays that are sustainable. It’s not a 17-point comeback on the road against the Buffalo Bills or a 33-point comeback against the Indianapolis Colts where you need everything to go your way. They are getting game-winning drives from Darnold like last week against the Seattle Seahawks and getting insurance points to seal wins against the San Francisco 49ers and Packers in Week 4.

The Vikings don’t need something to happen in order to get the win, they are doing it themselves consistently and it’s reflected in the underlying metrics.

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