Vikings make push for top seed
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin — If the Minnesota Vikings have their way, they won’t have to take another road trip after this weekend, even in the playoffs.
For an opportunity for that to happen, the NFC North champions need to finish out the last two weeks of the regular season with victories over division rivals already out of the playoff picture.
The payoff could be sweet for the Vikings if they can safely navigate the post-season all the way to February — a Super Bowl played in front of hometown fans at U.S. Bank Stadium.
There is something to play for after all when Minnesota visits the Green Bay Packers today.
“The only thing I’ve really told them is we’d like this to be the last plane trip that we have to take, but that’s about the only thing I’ve said,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said.
The Vikings (11-3) head into the second-to-final week of the season having already assured themselves of a home playoff game.
Minnesota wraps up the regular season with a winnable home game against the Chicago Bears on New Year’s Eve, while the Eagles finish with home games against the Raiders and Cowboys.
But Philadelphia is also adjusting to backup quarterback Nick Foles, who will start the rest of the year with starter Carson Wentz out with a knee injury.
Green Bay (7-7) is handing the offence back to backup Brett Hundley after quarterback Aaron Rodgers went on season-ending injured reserve this week.
It was a decision that coach Mike McCarthy said was made in the best interest of Rodgers, who wasn’t completely healed from a collarbone injury.
With the Packers out of the playoffs, it didn’t make sense to further risk the health of their franchise quarterback, who was hurt the previous time these teams met in Week 6 in Minneapolis.
There have been gradual signs of improvement from Hundley since he was thrust into the starting job after Rodgers went down.
“I know for as many things that went wrong that day, he felt like he got better,” McCarthy said. “But he’ll be much better prepared for this opportunity.”
The Vikings, of all teams, know full well how much a backup quarterback can succeed.
Subbing for the injured Sam Bradford, quarterback Case Keenum has kept the Vikings rolling with a 9-3 record in his starts. Keenum has completed 68 per cent of his passes, with 20 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a career-best 98.9 passer rating.
Not bad for a player once considered a journeyman who first entered the league in 2012 as an undrafted free agent with the Houston Texans.
“Case has done an unbelievable job,” Zimmer said. “I think the more he’s played, the more confident he’s been with making the correct decisions.”
SPOILING IT: Out of the playoffs for the first time in eight years, the Packers were a little subdued in the locker room this week. They’re not used to playing games in late December that don’t have post-season implications for themselves. But don’t call them “spoilers.” “I’m not really interested in being a spoiler or an underdog. We’re the Green Bay Packers. That doesn’t change,” McCarthy said. “I fully expect and demand that our team goes out to win the game.”