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YTD 58-49-4
MINNESOTA VIKINGS @ GREEN BAY PACKERS -6
Minnesota (4-5) at Green Bay (2-7) @ 9:00 PM. EST. *ABC Network
The Green Bay Packers owe the Minnesota Vikings one. Actually, make that two.
In each of their last two meetings with the Vikings, the Pack has left the field as a heartbroken bunch. In an NFC Wild Card matchup at Lambeau Field this past January, the Vikings handed Mike Sherman and company a 31-17 setback, bringing a bitter end to a season that had seen the Packers rebound from a 1-4 start to win the NFC North title.
It appeared that Green Bay would offer a measure of revenge for that indignity when the teams met at the Metrodome in Week 6, but a 17-0 halftime lead for the Packers dissolved into a 23-20 Minnesota triumph. The win for the Vikes was sealed on a 56-yard field goal by Paul Edinger as time expired.
A win for the Packers on Monday night would not only offer the Vikings their due, but would also give Green Bay some much-needed positive momentum. The Pack went to Atlanta and scored a 33-25 upset last Sunday, and will be attempting to cling to its hopes of a winning 2005 season.
Minnesota will also be seeking to maintain a recent positive string. Mike Tice's crew ranked as one of the league's biggest first-half disappointments when it started the year 1-4, but has gone 3-1 since to resuscitate its NFC North title and postseason hopes. Last Sunday, the Vikings earned a 24-21 win at the Giants in a game that marked the first road victory of the season for the team.
SERIES HISTORY
Green Bay leads the all-time regular season series with Minnesota, which dates back to the 1961 season, by a narrow margin of 44-43-1. The Vikings were 23-20 home winners over the Pack in Week 7, erasing a 17-0 halftime deficit to notch the win. The Packers swept the 2004 regular season series with their longtime division rival, winning by identical scores of 34-31 in Weeks 10 and 16. Minnesota's last regular season win at Lambeau Field occurred in 2003, when the team prevailed by a 30-25 count.
The teams' only postseason meeting to date was the aforementioned 31-17 Vikings upset of the Packers at Lambeau Field in an NFC Wild Card game in January.
Sherman has a 7-5 record against the Vikings all-time, including the playoff loss, while Minnesota's Tice is 4-4 versus both the Packers and Sherman as a head coach.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
It is dangerous to predict big things for a Packers team that is so depleted and so inconsistent, but Favre and company have much in their favor heading into Monday night's contest. Green Bay should be able to move the football easily against a Minnesota defense that still hasn't found itself, and should be able to limit a Viking attack that hasn't run with anything resembling peak efficiency since Brad Johnson took the reins. What's more, the Packers will be fired up after two straight losses to their division rival, and Minnesota is unlikely to play well outdoors on back-to-back weeks.
• GREEN BAY is 12-3 ATS in the last 15 games on MNF.
GB 30
Min 20
MINNESOTA VIKINGS @ GREEN BAY PACKERS -6
Minnesota (4-5) at Green Bay (2-7) @ 9:00 PM. EST. *ABC Network
The Green Bay Packers owe the Minnesota Vikings one. Actually, make that two.
In each of their last two meetings with the Vikings, the Pack has left the field as a heartbroken bunch. In an NFC Wild Card matchup at Lambeau Field this past January, the Vikings handed Mike Sherman and company a 31-17 setback, bringing a bitter end to a season that had seen the Packers rebound from a 1-4 start to win the NFC North title.
It appeared that Green Bay would offer a measure of revenge for that indignity when the teams met at the Metrodome in Week 6, but a 17-0 halftime lead for the Packers dissolved into a 23-20 Minnesota triumph. The win for the Vikes was sealed on a 56-yard field goal by Paul Edinger as time expired.
A win for the Packers on Monday night would not only offer the Vikings their due, but would also give Green Bay some much-needed positive momentum. The Pack went to Atlanta and scored a 33-25 upset last Sunday, and will be attempting to cling to its hopes of a winning 2005 season.
Minnesota will also be seeking to maintain a recent positive string. Mike Tice's crew ranked as one of the league's biggest first-half disappointments when it started the year 1-4, but has gone 3-1 since to resuscitate its NFC North title and postseason hopes. Last Sunday, the Vikings earned a 24-21 win at the Giants in a game that marked the first road victory of the season for the team.
SERIES HISTORY
Green Bay leads the all-time regular season series with Minnesota, which dates back to the 1961 season, by a narrow margin of 44-43-1. The Vikings were 23-20 home winners over the Pack in Week 7, erasing a 17-0 halftime deficit to notch the win. The Packers swept the 2004 regular season series with their longtime division rival, winning by identical scores of 34-31 in Weeks 10 and 16. Minnesota's last regular season win at Lambeau Field occurred in 2003, when the team prevailed by a 30-25 count.
The teams' only postseason meeting to date was the aforementioned 31-17 Vikings upset of the Packers at Lambeau Field in an NFC Wild Card game in January.
Sherman has a 7-5 record against the Vikings all-time, including the playoff loss, while Minnesota's Tice is 4-4 versus both the Packers and Sherman as a head coach.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
It is dangerous to predict big things for a Packers team that is so depleted and so inconsistent, but Favre and company have much in their favor heading into Monday night's contest. Green Bay should be able to move the football easily against a Minnesota defense that still hasn't found itself, and should be able to limit a Viking attack that hasn't run with anything resembling peak efficiency since Brad Johnson took the reins. What's more, the Packers will be fired up after two straight losses to their division rival, and Minnesota is unlikely to play well outdoors on back-to-back weeks.
• GREEN BAY is 12-3 ATS in the last 15 games on MNF.
GB 30
Min 20
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