The best Christmas gift the Vikings could ask for is a shot at the division title in a Week 17 game against the Green Bay Packers.
A win over the Giants on Sunday night will assure them of that opportunity, but a New Year’s resolution to start winning games in Green Bay would be a smart next step.
In all games between the division rivals, the Packers are 15-4-1 in the past 20 meetings with the Vikings, but Lambeau Field has been incredibly unkind to the Vikings.
In their past nine trips to the frozen tundra, the Vikings have left with only one victory. That lone win was Brett Favre’s return to Lambeau in 2009. The others:
October, 2014: Packers 42, Vikings 10
Green Bay led 42-0 midway through the third quarter. Christian Ponder threw 2 interceptions, including one that Julius Peppers returned 49 yards for a touchdown.
November, 2013: Packers 26, Vikings 26
Aaron Rodgers missed this game with an injury, but the Vikings still found a way to blow a 23-7 fourth-quarter lead as Matt Flynn guided the Packers to a come-from-behind tie.
January, 2013: Packers 24, Vikings 10 (playoffs)
A massive bruise on his arm kept Christian Ponder from starting, so the Vikings rolled into Lambeau on the arm of Joe Webb. Green Bay was up 24-3 until Webb hit Michael Jenkins for a 50-yard touchdown with under four minutes to play in the game.
December, 2012: Packers 23, Vikings 14
Adrian Peterson rushed for 210 yards, including an 82-yard score, but the Packers blanked the Vikings in the second half and won with relative ease. Christian Ponder was 12-of-25 for 119 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.
November, 2011: Packers 45, Vikings 7
Aaron Rodgers threw for 4 touchdowns while Christian Ponder had more incompletions (18) than completions (16).
October, 2010: Packers 28, Vikings 24
It was close for the majority of the game until Brett Favre, in his final game at Lambeau, threw an interception for a touchdown to Desmond Bishop. Favre’s final touchdown pass came later in the game, and it just so happened to go to Randy Moss.
September, 2008: Packers 24, Vikings 19
Another close game, but as luck would have it, Aaron Rodgers outgunned Tarvaris Jackson.
November, 2007: Packers 34, Vikings 0
Brett Favre, this time playing for the Packers, threw for three second-half touchdowns on his way to 351 yards in the game. Adrian Peterson hurt his knee in this game, too. Minnesota’s leading receiver that day was Robert Ferguson. Good luck with that.
Whatever happens, there’s a good chance the Vikings will be playing the Packers in the first round of the playoffs. The question is: Will the game be in Green Bay or Minneapolis?
Week 17 could decide it all.
