Sunday football, week 17 - Vikings @ Packers

Time: 8:30 PM ET, Jan. 2, 2022
Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisc.
Current Line: GB -6.5 Total: 47.5

The ultimate goal, of course, for the Green Bay Packers is to win Super Bowl LVI. To get there, Green Bay would love nothing more than the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. That would guarantee a well-deserved week off as well home-field advantage through the NFC Championship game. Beating the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night is just one more piece of the puzzle.

The Vikings actually handed the Packers one of its three losses this season. Back on November 21, Minnesota beat Green Bay 34-31 at home at U.S. Bank Stadium. Since that win, the Vikings have gone a measly 2-4 and have essentially played themselves out of a playoff berth. Head coach Mike Zimmer’s team isn’t mathematically eliminated from the postseason just yet, but the chances of making it are extremely slim.

Minnesota lost 30-23 to the L.A. Rams last week. WR Adam Thielen, who is the NFL’s best at his position this season, is done for the year. That takes away a big piece of the Vikings offense. The passing offense ranks ninth in the league with QB Kirk Cousins leading a passing game that averages 255.5 yards a game. Justin Jefferson is going to have to make up for the absence of Thielen.

The Vikings will also turn to RB Dalvin Cook who has rushed for 1,067 yards and six touchdowns this season. Minnesota will want to try and take advantage of a Green Bay run defense that has been gashed recently. The Packers have given up 137, 143, and 219 (to Cleveland last week) in their past three games.

Even with a win over Green Bay, Minnesota (7-8) would need to win next week and then need a number of teams ahead of them to lose in order to qualify for the postseason. Plus, there is one thing that the Vikings do not have – QB Aaron Rodgers.

If you’re betting on the NFL, one of the better bets on any given week is on Rodgers and the Packers. The bet becomes an even better one when Rodgers is at home. It’s also safe to say that when Rodgers is playing an NFC North Division opponent, you have pretty solid chance of a winning bet.

For his career, Rodgers is 68-37-4 against the spread when playing at home at Lambeau Field. That’s a pretty solid winning percentage of 65 percent. Betting on the Packers to cover at home with Rodgers under center is a winning proposition. But wait, there’s more.

Rodgers, who declared this season that he owned the Chicago Bears, has been ridiculously dominant over his NFC North Division foes. In his career, Rodgers and the Packers are 49-28 ATS in division games. Again, that’s a solid winning percentage – 64 percent.

Break it down even further and we arrive at why we should play Green Bay and Rodgers once again. In all home games against NFC North opponents (Minnesota, Detroit, and Chicago), the Packers with their three-time MVP under center are 25-12 ATS. That’s over 67 percent!

Rodgers is playing as well as any quarterback in the league right now. He has 3,689 yards passing and 33 touchdowns. He has thrown just four interceptions and is having another MVP-worthy season. A win on Sunday combined with an Arizona win over Dallas will give Green Bay the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. The loss would all but eliminate Minnesota from playoff contention.

The Packers have one of the best records against the spread in the NFL this season. In 15 games so far, Green Bay is 12-3 ATS. The Packers are also 6-1 ATS in home games this season. Minnesota is 8-7 ATS overall and 5-3 ATS in road games. The Vikings have covered just twice in their last five games. Plus, the Vikings have covered the spread in just five of the last 15 games when playing Green Bay on the road.

This one is pretty simple. Don’t bet against Aaron Rodgers. Don’t bet against him especially when he’s playing a division team at home with the No. 1 seed in NFC playoffs on the line. Back the Pack -6.5.

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 2
1PM ET
Dolphins @ Titans
Jaguars @ Patriots
Raiders @ Colts
Chiefs @ Bengals
Giants @ Bears

4:05PM ET
Texans @ 49ers
Broncos @ Chargers

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Full  schedule for week 17 here can be found here!