Lacy getting strong at right time

The heat had been turned up on several under-performing Packers players in recent weeks, but almost all of them answered the bell on Sunday, perhaps none more than the maligned Green Bay defense, which limited Vikings running back Adrian Peterson to just 45 yards and sacked quarterback Teddy Bridgewater six times.

But the heck with that game, let’s look at the Vikings history. Of course not. Are they the best team in the NFC?

Munnerlyn pointed to the Vikings getting walloped at San Francisco 20-3 in the nationally televised season opener on Monday Night Football.

The Packers were out of options when they entered their NFC North rival’s stadium.

Get hot in December and you will be playing in January. The annual Vikings-Packers game is, to some, more anticipated than the Super Bowl. This could signal a shift with Green Bay moving from Aaron Rodgers and the Rodgerettes to a more complete team. Against the Packers, they were pushed around in all facets.

The Packers are coming off a 30-13 road win over the Minnesota Vikings and have owned the Bears lately, going 10-1 straight up in the past 11 meetings and 9-1 against the spread in the last 10. There were times we didn’t block them.

The defense, meanwhile, one week after shutting down Green Bay, held a strong Raiders offense to 50 rushing yards on 21 carries and 164 passing yards. When he did have a chance to redeem himself, he fumbled.

Green Bay went almost two months without putting at least 30 points on the board in a single game. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers said his teammate looked like he was at full strength, which could be trouble for opposing defenses.

The Vikings were committing an average of 6.3 penalties per game through the first nine, the lowest in the league.

There will be no rest for the Pack as they welcome the Chicago Bears to Lambeau for a Thanksgiving Day quarterback feast. “The biggest mistake that we make, is that we let that loss become more than one”. That Week 1 game marked four straight wins for Green Bay against Chicago, going back to the 2013 season. “You lose tonight and you’re 2 1/2 games back and you’re lucky to have a wild-card spot”. An in-game change at that position can lead to a couple of false start penalties, communication errors or a bad snap or two. Green Bay was up 31-16 until the Bears scored with 34 seconds remaining, seemingly toying with them earlier before making its move.

“Sometimes, I forget he’s on my team or who I’m playing with”, Jones said of Rodgers. He did just that with a six catch, 106 yard and one touchdown performance. Then with the season on the line in Week 17, Rodgers hit Cobb with a 48-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to give the Packers a 33-28 win. On the ground, Eddie Lacy rushed for 22 yards.

Minnesota’s other touchdown came late in the first quarter on a 47-yard pass down the left sideline from Bridgewater to tight end Kyle Rudolph for a 6-3 lead.

And on special teams: Blair Walsh missed an extra point and Cordarrelle Patterson was flagged for unnecessary roughness when he head-butted kicker Mason Crosby after a big kick return.

Health-wise, this is not the best time to have such a quick turnaround.

“We know we have the guys capable of doing great things”, Bulaga said.

The wound was cut deep into Wisconsin, and although Minnesota fans may have held previous hostilities towards the former Packer, he was welcomed with open arms.

Carolina has suffered a setback as defensive end Wes Horton was banned for four games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, prompting the Panthers to activate Charles Johnson from the injured reserve list as a replacement.