Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings
Written by: Daniel Collins
Last Updated: Thu Mar 25, 2021, 18:16 PM
Read Time: 5 minutes
The Chicago Bears are the biggest rivals for the Green Bay Packers, but the Minnesota Vikings are a very close second. Some would argue that the Vikings and Packers have been even bigger rivals than the Bears and Packers in the last two decades due to the back and forth nature of this series.
Green Bay and Minneapolis are two of the cities that get the coldest during the winter months, and both the Packers and Vikings are forced to play in some serious weather. The two rivals both compete in the NFC North Division, and they have largely dominated the division in the 21st century.
The Packers and Vikings rivalry got another added boost when Packers Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre suited up for the Minnesota Vikings at the end of his career. Both the Packers and Vikings were looking up at the Chicago Bears in the standings in 2018, but odds are that they will be both be popular playoff picks in 2019 and beyond.
History of Packers vs. Vikings Rivalry
The Packers and Vikings aren’t even close to having one of the longest running rivalries in the NFL, but it is one of the most tightly contested. The first game ever played between these rivals took place on October 22, 1961, and was a 38-7 victory by the Packers. Green Bay and Minnesota have squared off a total of 117 times throughout the years, including two times in the NFL Playoffs. The Packers hold a slim lead in the regular season series, posting a 59-53-3 record against the Vikings.
Minnesota and Green Bay have split their two postseason games between the two teams, with the latest matchup coming in January of 2013. Packers head coach Vince Lombardi went 9-1 in his first ten games against the Vikings, but Minnesota bounced back quickly. The Vikings won seven straight games from 1975-1978, and they won the latest meeting on November 25, 2018. It’s always impossible to pick any rivalry game, but it is easy to make a prediction that any game between the Packers and Vikings will be a classic.
The Green Bay Packers are getting ready to celebrate their 100th anniversary as an NFL franchise on August 11, 2019. The Packers are owned by the community of Green Bay and are in one of the smallest sports markets in American professional sports. Green Bay has been the home of the Packers ever since their creation, and they were an independent team in 1919-1920.
The Packers joined the NFL in 1921 and immediately started racking up NFL Championships and Super Bowls. Head coach Vince Lombardi led the Packers to the first two Super Bowl Championships in league history, and the winner of the Super Bowl in today’s NFL is given the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Some of the most legendary players in NFL history have worn the iconic green and gold of the Packers, and some of the greatest NFL games ever played have taken place at historic Lambeau Field. It’s appropriate that gold is one of the team’s colors, as they are the gold standard of the league.
The Minnesota Vikings didn’t come into the NFL until 40 years after the Green Bay Packers, but they have had their own periods of success. Minnesota entered the league in 1961, but they are still looking for their first Super Bowl Championship.
The Vikings have one of the best winning percentages in NFL history since entering the league and are one of six teams that have won at least 15 games during a regular season. Minnesota has won at least three games in every season dating back to 1963, and they have consistently been one of the top teams in the NFC.
Quarterback Fran Tarkenton is one of the best players to ever wear a Vikings uniform, but Hall of Fame wide receivers Randy Moss and Cris Carter were the most exciting. Fans made lofty preseason predictions for the 2018 Vikings team, but they had a setback and missed the playoffs.
Head to Head Analysis of Packers vs. Vikings
Taking a look back at the last 20 games between the Packers and Vikings will take us all the way back to the 2009 regular season. Green Bay has been much better than the Vikings during this stretch of games, posting a 12-6-1 record against their rival. The Packers have won seven of the 11 games played at Lambeau Field, and the one tie came during the 2018 season at Lambeau. The Packers have also gotten the better of the Vikings in Minnesota, winning five of the nine games played there. The last 20 games give us just a small glimpse into this terrific rivalry, but the Packers are the best pick the majority of the time.
A Glance at Postseason Success in Packers vs. Vikings Rivalry
Even though the Packers and Vikings are close in head-to-head results, there is really no comparison in terms of conference or league championships. The Packers have won 13 NFL Championships, including two Super Bowls, but the Vikings have won just one NFL Championship. Green Bay has racked up nine conference championships, while Minnesota has won just four. The Vikings have made 29 playoff appearances in franchise history, and the Packers have made 32 trips to the postseason. Both teams have been a popular pick to reach the playoffs, but the Packers have been much better once reaching the postseason.
Looking at the outright winner in this series is one way to look at it, but we can also take a look at the point spread and betting line to help us make predictions for future games. The first thing to look at is the results of the last 20 games in terms of over/under betting. Sportsbooks set a betting line and odds for the over/under in each game in regards to total points between both teams. In the last 20 games, the Packers and Vikings have gone “over” and “under” the total ten times.
Green Bay has been the overwhelming favorite in the last 20 games in terms of the point spread. The Packers haven’t always been the correct pick though, as they have posted just a 8-8 record against the spread in games that they were the favorite. The two teams have also split the four games in which the Vikings were the betting favorite. Looking at the past history usually gives us a chance to make predictions going forward, but this rivalry has consistently been unpredictable.
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