Three Matchups To Watch Against The Packers

Win in these three key areas and the Vikings will likely leave Lambeau victorious.

When the opening kickoff sails through the air on Sunday, it will have been 996 days since the Packers last beat the Vikings. Green Bay's most recent victory came on Christmas Eve in 2016, and the Vikings have gone 3-0-1 since.

With sole possession of first place in the NFC North on the line, here are three key matchups that may well determine whether or not that number of days reaches quadruple digits.

1. Xavier Rhodes vs. Davante Adams

The much-maligned Rhodes offered a promising first step towards a bounce-back season last weekend, allowing zero catches to Julio Jones while covering the Falcons' star on 70 percent of his routes. The context to that performance, impressive as it was, is that it came against a player that Rhodes has always played his best against.

Davante Adams is another story and a different type of challenge. Adams has scored a touchdown in four straight games against the Vikings, although Rhodes was only in coverage for two of those. Here's what Adams has done with Rhodes covering him over the past four meetings:

We can actually get more specific than his full game statlines since PFF tracks it. So vs rhodes specifically, last 3 yrs, games where they both played:

2016 wk 16: 0/0 (Rhodes shadowed nelson)
2017 wk 6: 3/6 for 21
2018 wk 2: 8/11 for 64, 1 TD
2018 wk 12: 3/4 for 34, 1 TD https://t.co/cCL3YV5zCb

— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) September 11, 2019

Especially last year – a year in which Rhodes struggled against just about everyone – Adams has been able to get the best of him more often than not. Rhodes' ability to contain the Aaron Rodgers' best weapon will likely have a major impact on how successful the Vikings' defense can be at getting off of the field.

2. The Vikings' interior OL vs. Kenny Clark

Much like Rhodes going from Jones to Adams, things don't get much easier for the interior of the Vikings' offensive line as they go from facing Grady Jarrett one week to taking on Kenny Clark the next.

Clark, a fourth-year star from UCLA, has become one of the most disruptive defensive tackles in the entire league. He was a big reason why the Packers shut down the Bears in the opener, collecting six pressures as a pass rusher and wreaking havoc against the run.

Making matters worse for the Vikings is the fact that their interior line play was a concern coming into the season and a big issue against the Falcons. Garrett Bradbury had his good moments and his *this is my first NFL game* moments. I thought his performance was better than his horrible PFF grade would suggest, but he was shaky.

Left guard Pat Elflein struggled even more than Bradbury. Elflein may not play this weekend (he has a knee injury and was limited in Thursday's practice), which would force the Vikings to turn to Dakota Dozier (seven career starts), backup center Brett Jones or fourth-round rookie Dru Samia. Clark is probably somewhere licking his chops. Expect a lot more outside runs and designed rollouts for the Vikings offense.

3. Everson Griffen vs. David Bakhtiari and Danielle Hunter vs. Bryan Bulaga

If the Vikings are going to pull the upset on Sunday, they will need to prevent Rodgers from having a huge day. The best ways to do that are to be solid in coverage (see Rhodes vs. Adams above), throw different looks and blitzes at him, and perhaps most importantly to be able to get consistent pressure off the edge, even when only rushing four.

That last element is where this crucial two-part matchup comes in. Griffen and Hunter are two of the best defensive ends in the league, and Bakhtiari and Bulaga are two of the best offensive tackles in the league. It's power against power.

When asked about Bakhtiari, Griffen praised the Packers' left tackle but also offered some tongue-in-cheek commentary on his blocking style.

Everson Griffen jokingly bagging on David Bakhtiari "He holds pretty good" (via @vikings) pic.twitter.com/tEXMRMJWKb

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) September 12, 2019

The two have gone at it many times, with varying results. The same goes for the Hunter-Bulaga matchup. These are four elite NFL players, and if one duo can get the better of the other, their team has a great shot at winning this Sunday's ballgame.

Also important: Rodgers vs. Zimmer battle of the minds, Preston and Za'Darius Smith vs. Vikings OTs, Diggs/Thielen vs. Alexander/King, Dalvin Cook vs. Packers LBs, Dan Bailey vs. Vikings Kicker Curse.