NFL: Favre returns to Lambeau Field
If there was one game highlighting the Week 8 slate, it is the Minnesota-Green Bay NFC North dual set for 4:15 PM ET on Fox.
In case you have been hibernating, the Packers welcome back Brett Favre to Lambeau Field for the first time. They are a three-point favorite at last check, but bettors at Sportsbook.com have backed the Vikings at a 74% clip as of last check. Is the wrong team favored here?
It seems like they played just yesterday, but Sunday is already time for the much anticipated rematch between Brett Favre’s Vikings, and his old team, the Packers. This game is even bigger than the last meeting, as this will be the first time Favre will return to Lambeau Field.
It’s also important because the lead in the NFC North Division will be on the line, with Green Bay having a chance to pull even with a win.
The Vikings won round one but are off their first loss and looking to improve a 1-5 ATS record in their L6 pre-bye week divisional games. They are also just 1-5 SU & ATS in their L6 divisional road games. Green Bay is on a 7-1 SU & ATS surge as divisional hosts and has won six of the L9 at home vs. Minnesota, who owns a 7-2 ATS edge in those games.
In a perfect world, this rematch would be played sometime in late December with snow falling and Brett Favre making his long-anticipated return to Lambeau Field, home of the Cheeseheads. Instead, it’s being played less than a month after he led Minnesota to a 30-23 victory over Green Bay at the Metrodome in Week 4. If only Favre had ended his retirement earlier, the NFL could have turned it into a made-for-TV event.
As it stands, little has changed since the early October meeting that snapped the Vikings six-game losing skid in this series. Both teams are still winning, and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is still looking like the new mascot for Target thanks to the giant bull’s-eye on his back.
Forgive Rodgers if he asks Minnesota’s Jared Allen to wear a Halloween mask or some other costume, because he’s probably seen enough of the defensive end who sacked him 4.5 times in the earlier Monday nighter.
Left tackle Daryn Colledge drew the initial assignment for Green Bay but left with a knee injury, and things only got worse from there. Chad Clifton, the normal left tackle, has missed three of the last four games, and Rodgers, sacked an NFL-high 25 times, continues to take a pounding. He did throw for 246 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-3 win at Cleveland last Sunday.
Favre’s dream season was derailed last week in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers returned two fourth-quarter turnovers for touchdowns in a 27-17 win.
The biggest problem facing Minnesota isn’t the offense, Favre’s age or the health of running back Adrian Peterson, whose bruising style always seems to leave him questionable. It’s the loss of cornerback Antoine Winfield to a foot injury that may sideline him for up to six weeks.
The Vikings allowed 248.3 yards passing per game through the first six but played well in Winfield’s absence last week, limiting Ben Roethlisberger to 175 yards on 14 completions. Rodgers, however, enjoyed plenty of success despite the heavy pressure in the first meeting with Minnesota, completing 26 of 37 throws for 384 yards.
PREDICTION
The Lambeau fans will finally get a chance to shower Favre with emotion after he “retired” and then mounted consecutive comebacks with two different teams. This is one of the biggest home games Green Bay has played in recent memory, if only because the fans have waited two years to see Favre live. A juiced-up crowd, plus a banged up secondary, are the root causes for the Vikings’ downfall. GREEN BAY 36, MINNESOTA 28
