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| (Photo: SI.com) |
It was just a little under a week ago when Adrian Peterson became second all time in single season rushing yards after falling short of the all time record by just nine yards. The team that stood in the way of that record was the Green Bay Packers, the same team the Vikings will meet for the second week in a row. Superbowl MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the threatening Green Bay Packers will go head to head with the explosive Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings.
The Packers come into this game following a regular season finale loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Unlike the last game, veteran cornerback Charles Woodson will be on hand and ready to go this week after missing several games with an injured collarbone.
Green Bay hopes to use its advantages against a Minnesota Viking team that has not won a playoff game since 2004. Perhaps their biggest threat is their offense led by quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. In 2012, Rodgers completed 371 of 552 passes for a total of 4,295 yards and an impressive 39 touchdowns.
Rodgers’ biggest receiving threat as of late, Jordy Nelson will also be on hand this week after being listed as probable with a knee injury. The five year pro out of Kansas State racked up 745 receiving yards off of 45 receptions and scored seven touchdowns. With wide receiver, Greg Jennings, not having the year many expected him to have; Nelson has become a huge target for Rodgers.
Green Bay’s defense is not to be counted out either. With the return of Charles Woodson and the unpredictable threat of Clay Matthews, the Vikings can expect a greater defensive effort than the one they saw last week.
The Minnesota Vikings are looking to have a repeat performance from last week. Quarterback, Christian Ponder, leads the Vikings offense into this game with the perhaps the best back in the league today backing him up. Ponder finished the regular season with 300 pass completions for 2,935 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Perhaps there is no greater threat than AP. Peterson became one of just a handful of 2,000 yard single season rushers as he rushed for 2,097 yards falling nine yards shy of Eric Dickerson’s 1984 record. The Packers will have their hands full knowing that in both regular season match-ups, AP rushed for over 200 yards. The nation will watch to see if it will be the explosiveness of Adrian Peterson or the toughness of Green Bay’s defense that will come out on top.
The Wildcard match-up will take place at the historic Lambeau Field Saturday night at 8:00 pm on NBC.
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