Vikings vs. Packers Final Score Predictions: Will J.J. McCarthy get his third NFC North road win or will Jordan Love finally get the best of Brian Flores?
It’s a fascinating matchup between the Vikings and Packers.
The Minnesota Vikings are 4-6 and traveling to take on the 6-3-1 Green Bay Packers. It’s a fascinating matchup between the two teams, especially with all of the injuries across the board.
The story is going to be focused on J.J. McCarthy and Jordan Love. The Vikings signal caller has been incredibly up and down in his first five starts, but there has been more positives in his game than you would expect based on the coverage of his game.
For Love, it’s also been up-and-down, but he’s arguably coming off of his best game of the season last week against the New York Giants. The Vikings are 4-2 in the last six meetings, but is this team good enough to get the win on Sunday? Our NFC North writers gave their predictions.
Vikings 24, Packers 20
The Vikings are a fascinating team. They might be 4-6, but their road record is significantly better than their home record, sitting at 3-2. That record includes two wins in the NFC North over the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions. J.J. McCarthy got both of those wins and played better in those games than he has in his other three.
The Packers are gashed with injuries, including a whopping 17 players on the initial injury report, with the top five wide receivers on it. Brian Flores has been really successful against the Packers over the last two years, with the Vikings winning three of those games. It’s evident on film that the Vikings’ offense is cooking outside of the missed throws, and it’s only a matter of time until those end up hitting and the Vikings have an offensive explosion. That could come on Sunday, and it wouldn’t be a surprise.
– Tyler Forness, A to Z Sports Minnesota
Packers 21, Vikings 14
The Packers have had ups and downs on both sides of the ball, but it’s still a good team, Matt LaFleur is a really good head coach, and Jordan Love is a really good quarterback. Love is first in adjusted EPA/play, third in completion percentage over expectation, and eighth in success rate, and he’s clearly elevating what the Packers have on offense. The same applies to Micah Parsons on defense, putting everything in position to succeed.
The Vikings also have talent, but J.J. McCarthy hasn’t shown much, and the skill position players surprisingly haven’t helped him as expected. Minnesota’s defense will always be dangerous with Brian Flores, but it hasn’t been as effective as last year — especially against the run.
Green Bay is still learning how to play offense without Tucker Kraft, and it won’t be any easier while Jayden Reed is also out. The Packers are the most unpredictable team in football, capable of beating the Detroit Lions and losing to the Cleveland Browns, but I’ll bet on the better quarterback.
– Wendell Ferreira, A to Z Sports Green Bay
Packers 28, Vikings 17
The Green Bay Packers took a marginal step forward last Sunday against the New York Giants to end a two-game losing skid, but still didn’t look all the way back offensively. Head coach Matt LaFleur’s gameplan was just enough to beat the Giants, who were playing with an interim head coach and Jameis Winston at quarterback.
The more I look back at that game, the passing game looked more polished compared to the prior two weeks, and the running game still found some juice even without Josh Jacobs. Defensively, the unit stepped up when it mattered most to seal the game. I saw enough from Green Bay to believe they can really have a get-right game this weekend against the Minnesota Vikings back at Lambeau. After Week 11, I’m not at all confident in Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy and believe this could be a two-score win for the Packers.
– Kole Noble, A to Z Sports Chicago
Packers 24, Vikings 21
The Vikings have been a really hard team to figure out. They beat the Lions and then struggle against the Bears. This one is hard to pick. The Packers have also been a weird team and they don’t at all look like the Week 1 version of themselves. This one feels like a toss up, but I have to go with the home team here.
– Mike Payton, A to Z Detroit
Final Prediction for Packers vs. Vikings
The Packers are predicted to get the win by our writers with a 3-1 margin. They also predicted a score of 23.5-19, which signals a close divisional rivalry game. Anything can happen in the NFC North.
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