Every NFL fan has to love December football. Teams playing for their playoff lives every week makes for high drama, and Week 16 of the 2019 season is no exception. The Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles will face each other to decide the NFC East, but there's a more important (and more exciting) matchup on tap.
The Minnesota Vikings host the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football in a huge game. The Vikings are trying to steal away the NFC North crown, while the Packers fight desperately for a first-round bye. Green Bay has a great record, but their passing attack has lacked any sort of explosiveness. In order to come out with a much-needed win, Packers wide receiver Davante Adams needs to have a huge game.
While Green Bay is sporting an 11-3 record, they don't look too hot offensively. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is averaging only 230 passing yards per game, far below his career average. Running back Jamaal Williams leads the team in touchdown receptions with five. Adams is the team leader in receiving yards with 788 despite missing several games with a toe injury.
While he does lead the team in yardage, Adams has been largely unimpressive. His best game came in Week 13 against the New York Giants when he caught six balls for 64 yards and two scores. The Giants have a far weaker secondary than the Vikings, so things won't come nearly as easily this time.
The other Green Bay receivers have proven themselves to be wildly inconsistent, meaning that without Adams, there's not much of a passing game to speak of. Xavier Rhodes is no longer the lockdown corner he once was, so Adams has to take advantage of this huge matchup advantage. If Adams doesn't contribute, the Packers' offense will come to a grinding halt against the 20th ranked pass defense in the league.
Another thing Adams can help with is the lack of a run game. Minnesota won't be intimidated by Green Bay's outside receiving threats, allowing them to put eight men near the line of scrimmage on most plays. If Adams can just win one or two one-on-one matchups for big plays, it would force the Vikings to dedicate more resources to him.
The Packers are facing the eighth-best run defense in the league, so no yardage will come easy. A legitimate outside threat would go a long way in opening lanes for Aaron Jones and Co.
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