NFL Game Picks Week 11: Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings

They had the 26th ranked defense coming into the game.

The Green Bay Packers appeared on the verge of turning the NFC North title chase into a runaway after opening the season with six consecutive victories.

In the wild-card race, the Kansas City Chiefs took a big step forward by beating the San Diego Chargers 33-3, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are also in good shape. It is highly unlikely that with seven losses already this season that the Cowboys can comeback, but if they can string together two or three wins now they could get back into contention in a poor NFC East. But as yet, the Cowboys have shown no such signs of claiming a win let alone pulling off a string of wins in a row.

On kickoffs, Crosby had a solid day keeping the ball away from unsafe returner Cordarelle Patterson, his only blip a ball that rolled out of bounds at the end of the half. He said there might have been a little more conversation than usual during the week, but that his players mostly just stayed the course and worked hard.

Adrian Peterson has 961 yards in nine games, four more yards than he had after nine games in his 2,000 yard season in 2012. Datone Jones took Bridgewater down twice in the effort. His completion percentage for the season is just 63.3 percent, which falls below his career-worst mark of 63.6 percent his first season as a starter in 2008.

Indeed, they get Houston at home and only Pittsburgh on the remaining schedule has a winning record.

In both instances, the Vikings never got out of their own end. Unfortunately, that play will be remembered longer for the fumble than it will for the carry that put him over 1,000. The Packers have gone 9-1-1 against the Vikings since 2010.

The problems with this team are not really changing much.

On a folding table inside the Vikings’ locker room, the post-game snacks were spread out and untouched. Now it’s Green Bay who has a (one-game) lead and the Vikings are sitting with the fifth seed in the NFC.

Added to that, the Packers defense is still strictly so-so, ranking 21st in the league.

Offensive tackle Matt Kalil was especially problematic. The road ahead gets tougher as December NFL football is right around the corner. St. Louis Rams at Baltimore Ravens – Open: Pick, Move: -2.5Speaking of those Rams, the hype train has seemingly come to a screeching halt after back-to-back losses at the Minnesota Vikings and versus the Bears. Aaron Rodgers was somewhat inaccurate on the day, and he completed less than 50 percent of his passes.

The Packers were able to ride Lacy without sacrificing the best attributes fellow running back James Starks provides. The Bridgewater-Johnson connection was big a year ago and Johnson is a play maker. Packers running back Eddie Lacy, who was inactive against Detroit because of a groin injury, ran 22 times for 100 yards.

Not even Peterson could get anything going against Green Bay. His performance was questionable to say the least, with two holding calls, an offside and an inability to keep his quarterback clean.

“This team you saw play today, it wasn’t us”. He returned later in the game….

Crosby had field goals of 42, 47, 40, 42 and 52 yards for the Packers. Take out the two Bay Area results, and they start to resemble a more average team still in need of growth. Rodgers is on the injury report this week for the first time this season. But the Vikes roughed up Rodgers and the offsetting penalties gave them new life. That enabled the Packers to extend a drive and score a touchdown.

Point well made by the Packers: We’re still in charge here. The hands to the face on Bridgewater on the play that knocked him out of the game was the most egregious. The Packers goes as he goes.