Vikings vs. Packers Preview, Prediction

Who will emerge victorious in Week 2?

The stage is all set for a matchup of 1-0 teams and bitter NFC North rivals.

The Vikings are looking to show that their impressive start to the season was not a fluke, but rather a sign of sustainable changes on offense and a return to dominance on defense. They'll try to extend their unbeaten streak against the Packers to five games, including three against a healthy Aaron Rodgers, who has had the upper hand in the rivalry for much of his illustrious career.

On the other sideline, the Packers will try to make Matt LaFleur a winner in his first game as a head coach at Lambeau Field. They're coming off a win over the Bears in which Mike Pettine's defense carried the load for Rodgers and the offense. Green Bay will hope Rodgers, Aaron Jones, and the rest of its offensive weapons can get going and put up some points on the Vikings' vaunted D.

Ultimately, the game will likely come down to a number of individual matchups. Read more about three of the biggest matchups.

Of the two teams, the Vikings are dealing with more injury issues. Mike Zimmer will be without starting slot corner Mackensie Alexander and likely CB Mike Hughes as well. It looks like it'll be safety Jayron Kearse playing as a big nickel, which will be a storyline to watch all game long. Also up in the air is who will start at left guard and the second OLB spot for Minnesota, with Pat Elflein and Ben Gedeon listed as questionable.

For the Packers, it would be a major story if left tackle David Bakhtiari is unable to go. He's listed as questionable but was a full participant in practice on Friday.

The path to a Vikings win likely includes continuing to establish Dalvin Cook on outside runs and getting some big plays from Kirk Cousins in play-action, while getting edge pressure on Rodgers and shutting down Jones.

The path to a Packers victory probably features Rodgers taking advantage of the Vikings' injuries at cornerback and Davante Adams beating Xavier Rhodes 1-on-1 several times. Defensively, it means limiting Cook and forcing Cousins into bad decisions.

This matchup will be a great test of where these two teams are at early in the season, and will tell us a lot about if what we learned from their Week 1 wins was real.

The Packers are the favored team at home, but I think the Vikings' newfound running game will open things up for Cousins, who will throw the ball more than ten times.

Prediction: Vikings 24, Packers 20