For Vikings fans, this is what it’s all about. Even better that it’s arrived early in the season. Call it what you want, the “border battle” or the “rivalry game” but this Sunday’s Vikings-Packers game is already whipping fans into a frenzy.
“I think more as a fan you’re so concerned with the rivalry and how big of a game it is,” wide receiver and Detroit Lakes, Minnesota native Adam Thielen said Monday, via Vikings.com. “As a player you have to treat it like any other game. Every game in this league is big so you gotta come out and perform your best no matter what game it is.”
Hey @packers and @Vikings, you're up next! #SNF pic.twitter.com/lT1bheIpfG
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 12, 2016
This meeting has been considered one of 2016’s best. Both teams have started the season with wins. Both teams have a mutual dislike of the other. But that doesn’t mean head coach Mike Zimmer is buying into the rivalry hype.
“We need to beat them a lot more often for it to be a rivalry,” Zimmer said at his press conference Monday.
The Vikings are 5-15-1 against the Packers dating back to 2006.
FiveThirtyEight broke it all down with numbers, saying the Packers are favored to win the division but if Sam Bradford can simply equal the production that Teddy Bridgewater – now injured for the season – would have produced, the Vikings could claim a second straight division crown.
There are great games to recall and so many memories. For instance, the Favre days against the Purple. How about the Favre days against the Pack? The first playoff game between the two teams? Lombardi. Grant. Memories are many and if you are a football fan, you likely have your favorites – but this Sunday night could be extra special with both teams carrying Super Bowl hopes and the opening of a new stadium in Minneapolis.
