The Green Bay Packers (9-6-1) are going to the playoffs — with absolutely no momentum. They have lost their last 3 games and they are locked into the No. 7 spot in the NFC playoffs.
As sluggish as things are for the Packers, the Vikings (8-8) are finishing their season on a high note. They have won 4 games in a row and their victory over the Detroit Lions in Week 17 lifted them out of the NFC North cellar.
That's cold comfort for a team that finished the 2024 season with a 14-3 record and had a chance to win the No. 1 seed in the season finale. They lost that game and the Wild Card game the following week, and it was downhill throughout the current season until the 4-game winning streak.
The Packers' season will come down to their postseason performance, but the Vikings will have to decide if their end-of-the-year winning ways are real or an illusion. The Vikings were banking on quarterback J.J. McCarthy becoming a leader and a dynamic performer this season. Instead, he has gone through painful growing pains and key injuries.
If he plays this week after a hairline fracture on his passing hand, the Vikings will have a big more evidence to base their decision on what they will do next season at the quarterback position. It probably won't be enough to anoint McCarthy as the starter when the 2026 season kicks off, but it will be a factor to consider.
Malik Willis will throw for 225-plus yards and 2 TD passes
This game will not help or hurt the Packers in the standings, but if they lose to the Vikings they will be going into the playoffs with a 4-game losing streak. They have a slew of injuries — starting QB Jordan Love (concussion) is unlikely to play — and that should leave the game in the hands of backup QB Malik Willis.
The problem with that is Willis has a shoulder injury and he could use the rest as well. If Packers head coach Matt LaFleur wants to protect his high-level backup quarterback, he will allow him to sit out and let Clayton Tune play quarterback.
But there is something of a problem with taking a 4-game losing streak into the postseason, and LaFleur is just enough of an old-school football man that he is not going to swallow a 4-game losing streak without fighting it. Look for Willis to play in this game and give a solid account.
He will play well enough to keep the Packers in the game, and they are not going to allow the Vikings to finish the season on a 5-game winning streak without fighting hard.
As many injuries as the Packers have, they should have their key receivers in the lineup. Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed will likely play against the Vikings. Willis will make the most of the opportunity and do enough damage to keep the Packers within the 5 1/2-points that Minnesota is favored by.
Vikings offense will struggle with McCarthy or Max Brosmer at QB
The Vikings would like McCarthy to play, but if he can't grip the ball well enough to throw it with conviction, it will mean that rookie Max Brosmer will get another turn at quarterback.
O'Connell loves to talk up all the quarterbacks he has been associated with, and that's because he is a new-school, Dr. Feelgood kind of leader. He is the opposite of the old-school coaches that used to dominate the NFL landscape with demanding ways and brutally high standards.
He does know quite a bit about quarterback play and he is clearly good at communicating and coaching those who play the position. That doesn't mean he can make everyone who has played the position into a winning NFL QB1. Brosmer does not fit that description and McCarthy may not as well.
Whoever is playing against the Packers will have Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison as primary targets. Jefferson is one of the best receivers in the league, but he has had a subpar season. He has not had the kind of quarterback play that he needs to produce at a high level.
Addison is one of the league's top big-play threats at the wideout position. He has also fallen short this season, and while the QB difficulties are part of the reason, he has not been fully prepared to play his best football and he has often been distracted. That has to change next year if Addison is going to become an elite receiver.
Packers will come up with upset
The Packers are not likely to have many of their starters, but LaFleur has no interest in his team bringing a 4-game losing streak into the postseason. The short-handed Packers will walk into U.S. Bank Stadium and come out with the upset victory. Pride means something to this team, and it will show in the season finale — no matter how it looks from the outside.
