Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always
Speaker 1: by my partner in crime, Weston the Hodcowits were coming
Speaker 1: to here from our studios at lambeau Field West. It
Speaker 1: will be a Sunday night football kickoff in prime time
Speaker 1: at lambeau Field. It's going to be cold. They're talking
Speaker 1: single digit temperatures at kickoff. But rewind a little over
Speaker 1: a month and we were talking about a Vikings team
Speaker 1: that plays a lot of close games. They win some,
Speaker 1: they lose some. They're right around five hundred. Well, here
Speaker 1: we are with two weeks to go in the regular season,
Speaker 1: and the Vikings haven't changed. They still play a lot
Speaker 1: of close games. And whether they lose on the last
Speaker 1: play of the game to the Detroit Lions or whether
Speaker 1: they nearly blow a twenty nine to nothing lead to
Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh Steelers but barely hang on for the victory,
Speaker 1: it seems like this is still the same Minnesota Vikings team.
Speaker 1: This has been their m O all season long. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And unfortunately for the Vikings, the past few seasons have
Speaker 1: kind of followed this similar trend. Uh, And let's be honest, Mike,
Speaker 1: it's not an anomaly when it happens at often. They're inconsistent.
Speaker 1: They're extremely talented. They have the best young receiver in
Speaker 1: the game, Kirk Cousins can look like an All Pro
Speaker 1: at times, and certainly, as we've talked about time and
Speaker 1: time again, Mike Delvin Cook is a real threat in
Speaker 1: the run game. But defensively, there's been some erosion there
Speaker 1: in the past few seasons, and when they need to
Speaker 1: come up with clutch performances or beat teams that they
Speaker 1: should beat to be a playoff contender, they just haven't
Speaker 1: been able to do it. All that being said, this
Speaker 1: is not a team you can take for granted at
Speaker 1: seven and eight coming in here at lambeau Field. They're
Speaker 1: very dangerous. They're very dynamic on both sides of the ball,
Speaker 1: and as they Grimy Packers saw at US Bank Stadium,
Speaker 1: if you don't capitalize on your opportunities against Cousins and company,
Speaker 1: you are going to find a way to lose that
Speaker 1: football game. Yeah. Absolutely, I mean, these two teams played
Speaker 1: a doubt at US Bank Stadium back in November. I
Speaker 1: don't know, in single digit temperatures, if we're going to
Speaker 1: see the same type of offensive fireworks come Sunday night.
Speaker 1: But for the Minnesota Vikings, and this is what I've
Speaker 1: been saying in in following them most of the season,
Speaker 1: they're an extremely dangerous offense when they've had their big
Speaker 1: three as far as their offensive weapons healthy and able
Speaker 1: to play. And I'm talking about Dalvin Cook, justin Jefferson
Speaker 1: and Adam Theland. Now they just put Adam Theland on
Speaker 1: injured reserve with an ankle injury. Apparently he had to
Speaker 1: undergo surgery after reaggravating an ankle injury in the Vikings
Speaker 1: previous games. So they don't have the big three. They
Speaker 1: have Jefferson, they have Cook. It just seems to me
Speaker 1: that offensively they haven't been the same when one of
Speaker 1: those three guys has been missing. Yeah, as you said,
Speaker 1: I mean, Jefferson is really becoming a dynamic force in
Speaker 1: this league and unfortunate for the Packers gonna have to
Speaker 1: deal with them for some time in the NFC North's
Speaker 1: much like the Packers of the late nineties and two
Speaker 1: thousand's had to deal with Randy Moss in the NFC Central.
Speaker 1: It's just the reality of it. But as you said,
Speaker 1: the problem beyond, Jefferson has been getting Feeling and Cook
Speaker 1: both healthy and available. You saw it last week with Feeling,
Speaker 1: how frustrated he was, how frustrating this year has been
Speaker 1: for him. Because when when he has been healthy, he
Speaker 1: has been really good in this offense. So the Packers
Speaker 1: saw some of that. But to lose him now with
Speaker 1: this ankle injury, which you know in the long run
Speaker 1: will help him, you know, get him back. Have is
Speaker 1: there bigger aspirations out there for the Vikings in two?
Speaker 1: I would think so. But to not have him on
Speaker 1: Sunday is going to be really interesting because he is
Speaker 1: as big play uh Born is Jefferson in terms of
Speaker 1: his ability to generate, you know, game explosive type moments.
Speaker 1: Feeling is the guy that moves the chains for them,
Speaker 1: and I think could be a real force in this
Speaker 1: game at lambeau Field and colder temperatures, the running game.
Speaker 1: We know what they can do. You've seen it with
Speaker 1: Cook and you've seen it with Madson too, when when
Speaker 1: he's been available, you know, and he's had to be
Speaker 1: the guy he's been able to play up to that.
Speaker 1: Now his numbers aren't as extraordinary as Cooks are, but
Speaker 1: he's consistent. So I feel like those two elements are
Speaker 1: going to be really interesting to track here, as we'll
Speaker 1: talk about with the Packers, I mean A J. Jones,
Speaker 1: A J. Dillon and Aaron Jones, the same problem that
Speaker 1: the Vikings in the issues that they've had defensively, they're
Speaker 1: going to have to contend with. But I still think
Speaker 1: Jefferson is going to be a guy the Green Bay
Speaker 1: is gonna have to keep an eye on and could
Speaker 1: potentially be a game breaker here. But if you can't
Speaker 1: contain Cook and he goes off in a similar fashion
Speaker 1: like you know this past week, what what happened with
Speaker 1: Nick Chubb, it's going to be a long evening at
Speaker 1: lambeau Field. Yeah, absolutely, the Packers. The Packers know what
Speaker 1: this Viking offense looks like when Dalvin Cook gets rolling
Speaker 1: and and this Packers defense is trying to figure out, um,
Speaker 1: exactly what it needs to do to start amping down
Speaker 1: on the run after what has happened the past couple
Speaker 1: of weeks, particularly with Chubb on the defensive side of
Speaker 1: the ball for Minnesota really hard to figure out in
Speaker 1: some respects because this is a unit that has forty
Speaker 1: four sacks on the season, which is tied for first.
Speaker 1: I believe in the NFC with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Speaker 1: They have five guys on their team, not all of
Speaker 1: them active, some of them are injured and not they have,
Speaker 1: but they have five. They have five guys who have
Speaker 1: recorded five or more sacks this year. That's not easy
Speaker 1: to do. And as much as you have the old
Speaker 1: mainstays in the middle of this defense in Eric Kendricks
Speaker 1: and Anthony Barr and Harrison Smith, there's just been so
Speaker 1: much up and down, inconsistent play elsewhere, particularly in the
Speaker 1: coverage aspect of things. At cornerback. They're playing with young cornerbacks.
Speaker 1: There was some sort of a blow up with Bashad
Speaker 1: Breland and the coaches and practice a couple of weeks ago,
Speaker 1: and they just flat out released him. This is it's
Speaker 1: It doesn't look like a Mike Zimmer defense except for
Speaker 1: those occasions, and we saw last week against the Rams.
Speaker 1: Except for those occasions when an Anthony Barr or an
Speaker 1: Eric Kendricks or Harrison Smith is making a big play
Speaker 1: that can suddenly change a game. And that's how the
Speaker 1: Vikings stayed in it against the Rams last week. The
Speaker 1: interceptions they got against Matthew Stafford with the with their
Speaker 1: main guys. But but if those guys aren't stepping up
Speaker 1: and making big plays, this just strikes me as a
Speaker 1: very ordinary defense. I've said it time and time again.
Speaker 1: I really respect Rick Spielman. I love what they've built
Speaker 1: there in Minnesota. I don't think him and Zimmer get
Speaker 1: nearly enough credit for how competitive this team has been
Speaker 1: for the better part of a decade now. But what
Speaker 1: happened in the secondary, and obviously, more specifically the cornerback position.
Speaker 1: Harrison Smith is still one of the best in the game.
Speaker 1: I'm a huge fan of Xavier Woods, and he made
Speaker 1: some big plays for them this season. But I don't
Speaker 1: know what you think about this, but I kind of
Speaker 1: look at their cornerback scenario is sort of where the
Speaker 1: Packers were in two thousand thirteen with their safeties. They
Speaker 1: made it a big, abrupt shift, but the plan hasn't
Speaker 1: really come together, so to speak. Now, some of that's
Speaker 1: out of their control, you know, Jeff Gladney, these issues
Speaker 1: they've had, You know, with some of these draft picks,
Speaker 1: they did what was best for their team moving forward.
Speaker 1: But the fact of the matter is you still didn't
Speaker 1: hit on those positions. And and Xavier Rhodes is a
Speaker 1: different type of player at this time. Trey Wayne's different
Speaker 1: type of player. I understood their reasons for the direction
Speaker 1: they win, but if you're gonna go that direction, what's
Speaker 1: the next plan, what's the next step. That's where they've
Speaker 1: been lacking. And as good as they are in the
Speaker 1: linebacker unit, as good as they are on the back
Speaker 1: end with their safeties, the issues of trying to figure
Speaker 1: out what their defensive front is gonna look like and
Speaker 1: what the cornerbacks are gonna look like. I think it's
Speaker 1: been one of the undoings from Minnesota for these last
Speaker 1: two seasons. Well as far as the Packers are concerned.
Speaker 1: The questions that are lingering out here for this game
Speaker 1: mostly hinge on where things are with the COVID list,
Speaker 1: right because the Packers of over the last week week
Speaker 1: plus they put a bunch of guys on the reserve
Speaker 1: COVID Night Team list. But the NFL has changed the
Speaker 1: protocols and the return to play rules in terms of
Speaker 1: um the length of time that that players need to
Speaker 1: be out after they test positive. All this and I'm
Speaker 1: gonna confess West, the rules have changed like so much
Speaker 1: it's hard for me to keep track of exactly how
Speaker 1: this is gonna work. But one area I think that's
Speaker 1: that's worth talking about here, that that the Packers are
Speaker 1: entering this game, I think with a lot of uncertainty
Speaker 1: is on special teams. Because you have both a Mari
Speaker 1: Rodgers who has been your primary return man, and Corey
Speaker 1: Bojorke as your punter and your holder for Mason Crosby.
Speaker 1: Both of those those guys are on the COVID list.
Speaker 1: Now it's possible that they could come back and be
Speaker 1: able to play on Sunday night. It's also possible that
Speaker 1: they won't UM. And this is just at the time
Speaker 1: when the Packers special teams that have gone through obviously
Speaker 1: a lot of struggles throughout the course of the years,
Speaker 1: seemed to be finally maybe settling down a little bit UM.
Speaker 1: But now you have this uncertainty with your personnel to
Speaker 1: deal with. So many times in this business we have
Speaker 1: to just kind of read the tea leaves right and
Speaker 1: at the time in which we're taping this, this could
Speaker 1: change in an hour. But at the time in which
Speaker 1: we're taping this, the Packers have not made a move
Speaker 1: at punter. They do not have a backup punter right now,
Speaker 1: at this point in time, the holding situation, well the
Speaker 1: backup holders, Randall Coup He's not available either. Does that
Speaker 1: mean that would be Jordan's Love? Could that be jj
Speaker 1: Molson the backup kicker. You just don't know. But the
Speaker 1: fact that Green Bay at this very moment on Thursday
Speaker 1: which we're taking this, have not made a move at
Speaker 1: Punter would make you believe that there might be some
Speaker 1: hope there that Corey bojork has will be available for Sunday.
Speaker 1: Reportedly he would fit inside that timeline to be allowed
Speaker 1: to play on Sunday. It still is a challenge. And
Speaker 1: the other thing that I think so so many times
Speaker 1: gets lost is we automatically shift to well, it's five days,
Speaker 1: it's ten days, they'll be ready, they'll be good to go.
Speaker 1: Then you listen to what Kenny Clark had to say
Speaker 1: on Wednesday about how rough his boat with COVID was,
Speaker 1: because the question was kind of asked to him like, hey,
Speaker 1: could you have you know, potentially played with this new thing,
Speaker 1: and Kenny's an answer wasn't whether or not he was
Speaker 1: going to play, it was yeah, I had three days
Speaker 1: where I felt really bad and I had a bad
Speaker 1: cough and all these things. We got to think about
Speaker 1: the player. We have to think about the person though
Speaker 1: first and and ultimately that's where this is going to
Speaker 1: come down to, to have fifteen guys with the COVID
Speaker 1: reserve list. People were kind of writing at me about,
Speaker 1: you know, Jire Alexander. It's very exciting that Jire Alexander
Speaker 1: was activated on Wednesday. And I didn't want to be
Speaker 1: Debbie Downer to everybody, but it's like, listen, guys, that
Speaker 1: was the last day of his window, and the Packers
Speaker 1: presently have nine spots open on their fifty three man roster.
Speaker 1: JayR Alexander was going to get activated, so we already
Speaker 1: saw Colvy and Landon has been promoted for this week
Speaker 1: as a COVID replacement. We might see even more potential.
Speaker 1: You know, practice squad players have to be called upon two.
Speaker 1: It's the nature of the beast. As far as the returners,
Speaker 1: as were as the sounds, I don't really have a
Speaker 1: ton of concern there because we've seen multiple times from
Speaker 1: multiple seasons Chandon Sullivan can step in, whether it be
Speaker 1: kickoffs or punt returns. He's done both now for Green
Speaker 1: Bay in a pinch, not just what he did a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks ago, but even going back to seasons,
Speaker 1: so they have Sullivan. Patrick Taylor could be called upon
Speaker 1: there too, So I think they're okay in that regard.
Speaker 1: The big thing is going to be a horc as though,
Speaker 1: as a holder, as a punter, as a Pro Bowl alternate.
Speaker 1: That the guys brought a lot to Green Bay and
Speaker 1: it would be really hurt this football team not to
Speaker 1: have him. Yeah. Absolutely, well, I want to get to
Speaker 1: our keys to victory for this game, but first wes
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Speaker 1: Cousin Subs, we believe in better keys to victory here
Speaker 1: for the Packers to emerge from Sunday Night Football with
Speaker 1: another win. It's it's stating the obvious, but based on
Speaker 1: what happened last week, we sat here and talked about
Speaker 1: how you can't let Nick Chubb dictate the tempo and
Speaker 1: and and control the game and give the Browns the
Speaker 1: opportunity to score as many points as they did. It's
Speaker 1: the same thing here. And I know Justin Jefferson is
Speaker 1: better than any wide receiver that Cleveland Browns put on
Speaker 1: the field on Christmas Day at Lambeo. But it still
Speaker 1: has to start with containing Dalvin Cook because if he
Speaker 1: is in command out there, that's going to make for
Speaker 1: a really, really tough day for green Bay's defense. That's
Speaker 1: what interesting. What's interesting what you said though, is about
Speaker 1: not allowing you know, Nick Chubb to dictate the terms
Speaker 1: of the game. Nick Chubb didn't dictate the terms of
Speaker 1: the game. Now, how much of that was on Cleveland
Speaker 1: and their game plan? How much of that was on
Speaker 1: green Bay. The reason why green Bay got off to
Speaker 1: the start I did in that game was because of
Speaker 1: how that first half played out in the unwillingness for
Speaker 1: the Browns to commit to Chub for whatever reason. That's
Speaker 1: not going to be the case on Sunday. The Minnesota
Speaker 1: Vikings are going to try to run this thing through
Speaker 1: Cook and at times Madison too, so that that will
Speaker 1: be pivotal. But to me, Mike, it's very simple. You're
Speaker 1: talking about this, and you're writing about this, but this
Speaker 1: is going to be a really cold game. Barring some
Speaker 1: kind of crazy front that moves in, we're all anticipating
Speaker 1: it's gonna be one of the coldest in this series.
Speaker 1: The Packers play at lambeau Field. They are undefeated in
Speaker 1: the month of December at lambeau Field underneath Matt Lafleur,
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Vikings playing a dome. They won their game
Speaker 1: at us Bank Stadium, partially based upon the fact that
Speaker 1: they were at home. Green Bay needs to defend its turf.
Speaker 1: The Packers are one game up right now in the conference.
Speaker 1: They have two divisional games against the Minnesota Vikings in
Speaker 1: the Detroit Lions. If we were back in Week one,
Speaker 1: maybe even after that loss to New Orleans, and we
Speaker 1: said this is the scenario that's gonna play out for
Speaker 1: you this season. This is the optimal scenario for green Bay,
Speaker 1: no question about it. You have to defend your place.
Speaker 1: And if it's zero degrees, if it's minus ten degrees,
Speaker 1: if there's no even you know, water in the stadium available,
Speaker 1: you have to be able to be able to cultivate
Speaker 1: harness that ability and come out victorious. I think that's
Speaker 1: what it comes down to. So yes, a lot of
Speaker 1: it's the run, but a lot of it's how they
Speaker 1: play defensively. A lot of it is what kind of
Speaker 1: energy do you have left in the fourth quarter when
Speaker 1: you don't want to be out there anymore. That's gonna
Speaker 1: be the real challenge for this matchup. You have to
Speaker 1: imagine the Minnesota Vikings. They're gonna do everything they can
Speaker 1: to try to replicate these elements this week, but you're
Speaker 1: not gonna be able to do it. It's Sunday. Is
Speaker 1: gonna be too much of a different animal? Yeah? Absolutely.
Speaker 1: And I'm very curious to see because we we've seen
Speaker 1: the Packers. Aaron Rodgers has played in plenty of these games.
Speaker 1: He's played in the cold, He's played in the cold
Speaker 1: without some of his best weapons on offense, and and
Speaker 1: the Packers of function very well offensively. I'm curious to
Speaker 1: see what Kirk Cousins and this Vikings passing offense. Assuming
Speaker 1: the Packers can do enough against Cook to make to
Speaker 1: make the Vikings have to throw the ball in key situations,
Speaker 1: what's this Vikings passing off It's gonna look like in
Speaker 1: single degree temperatures. Because I remember before the first meeting
Speaker 1: this season, we were talking about how going into that game,
Speaker 1: Kirk Cousins had thrown only two interceptions all season long,
Speaker 1: and in the controlled climate of US Bank Stadium indoors,
Speaker 1: the Packers legitimately had opportunities for four interceptions in that game, right,
Speaker 1: including one right at the very end that could have
Speaker 1: turned the tide. And and uh and given the Packers
Speaker 1: a walk off victory instead of a walk off defeat.
Speaker 1: If the if the weather has the impact on the
Speaker 1: passing game that I think it could have for the Vikings,
Speaker 1: I think the Packers are going to get some opportunities
Speaker 1: against Kirk Cousins, and you've got to take advantage of
Speaker 1: you have to catch the ball. You have to make
Speaker 1: him pay for his bad passes. Because Kirk Cousins was
Speaker 1: going to be the goat at US Stadium back in
Speaker 1: November with the number of balls he put in range
Speaker 1: for the Packers to intercept, and he ended up he
Speaker 1: ended up being the hero. And I and I think
Speaker 1: and I think that's uh. I think that's something that
Speaker 1: the Packers have to turn the tables in that regard
Speaker 1: in this game. Absolutely, and in the other aspect of this,
Speaker 1: and I'm really I'm just curious to see how it
Speaker 1: plays out. I don't know if it's a key to victory.
Speaker 1: I don't know. What we're going to see is like
Speaker 1: how much cover too, is there going to be out there,
Speaker 1: because yes, a lot of teams want to do that.
Speaker 1: A lot of teams want to give more coverage to
Speaker 1: Davante Adams, and maybe they still will, but you would
Speaker 1: think the strong safety will be creeping in the box
Speaker 1: a little bit more in this game. And furthermore, this
Speaker 1: is the perfect West Coast offense type of game too.
Speaker 1: And you obviously have Kubiak there now and in Minnesota
Speaker 1: the sun and then certainly what Matt Laflour does. This
Speaker 1: seems to be a game to where you could get
Speaker 1: back to some of those principles Marquis Veldes. Scantlin could
Speaker 1: be back as he works his way back off the
Speaker 1: COVID list, he could still end up being a home
Speaker 1: run threat. It's weird when you get to teams that
Speaker 1: are going to have an entire entire week to prepare
Speaker 1: for single digit temperatures to try to figure out what
Speaker 1: is going to be the best game plan for their
Speaker 1: office in the elements and then to close on this
Speaker 1: really quickly, How neat is it to Mike and you've
Speaker 1: covered so many you know, sunsets and you've seen so
Speaker 1: many seasons now for the Packers. How cool is it
Speaker 1: when you get to the point where now we are
Speaker 1: talking about, well, this game, this defense could look different
Speaker 1: with Rashawn Gary on the field after he wasn't there
Speaker 1: last month, a guy that had seven sacks first two
Speaker 1: seasons was playing thirty of the defensive snaps. Now he
Speaker 1: becomes a core player for Green Bay. It hurts this
Speaker 1: defense not having him on the field last month in
Speaker 1: that matchup against the Vikings where they could have trouble
Speaker 1: getting a Kirk Cousins. Well he's back now. Preston Smith
Speaker 1: has six sacks and six games. Again it's Packers Vikings
Speaker 1: that the rivalry sells itself. The narratives are right there
Speaker 1: to be had, The storylines are all over the place.
Speaker 1: But what these two teams are going to bring on
Speaker 1: the field on Sunday night makes it a really compelling matchup.
Speaker 1: To me, well, have a read portions of things aside
Speaker 1: looking at the playoff picture, there's there, there are scenarios
Speaker 1: that are important to both teams here, starting with Green Bay.
Speaker 1: As we touched on on our last episode, if the
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys lose late Sunday afternoon to the Arizona Cardinals,
Speaker 1: the Packers will take the field Sunday night with a
Speaker 1: chance to lock up the number one seed and clinch
Speaker 1: it with one week left to go. If the Cowboys win,
Speaker 1: the Packers need to win to maintain their advantage, because
Speaker 1: if the Cowboys win and the Packers lose, and those
Speaker 1: two teams are tied for the best record, the Cowboys
Speaker 1: are the ones um with the tiebreaker. From Minnesota's point
Speaker 1: of view, the Vikings are seven and eight. There within
Speaker 1: a group of five or six teams that are fighting
Speaker 1: for the last two wild card spots, the six and
Speaker 1: seven spots in the NFC the scoreboard watching that the
Speaker 1: Vikings fans will be doing. Houston is at San Francisco,
Speaker 1: Philadelphia is at Washington. If the four party Niners and
Speaker 1: the Eagles both win, the Vikings are essentially playing for
Speaker 1: their season on Sunday night, they would have to beat
Speaker 1: the Packers. If the Niners and the Eagles both win,
Speaker 1: the Vikings would have to beat the Packers in order
Speaker 1: to stay alive in that wild card chase heading into
Speaker 1: Week eighteen. So if San Francisco in Philadelphia win, regardless
Speaker 1: of what happens with Dallas, the Packers could be in
Speaker 1: a position to end their NFC North Rivals season and
Speaker 1: knock them out for good. In so some interesting scenarios
Speaker 1: to ponder with the game being at night and everything
Speaker 1: else that happens during the day, you know, will lead
Speaker 1: to Okay, what exactly is on the line at seven
Speaker 1: twenty when the ball kicks off. Yeah, And as we
Speaker 1: talked about earlier this week on on our first show,
Speaker 1: the fact that you have Dallas in Arizona, two teams
Speaker 1: who are heading in very different directions. Right now, Dallas
Speaker 1: is feeling like, you know, it's the king of the
Speaker 1: world with with how this that matchup played out against Washington.
Speaker 1: Washington which at a time looked like they could potentially
Speaker 1: be a kind of an underdog playoff hopeful too, you know,
Speaker 1: they're they're basically out of it. And then the other
Speaker 1: side of things, you have Arizona that needs to be
Speaker 1: able to get some momentum back here if it's really
Speaker 1: going to be able to put together a playoff bid.
Speaker 1: Green Bay sitting in the driver's seat here at twelve
Speaker 1: and three. They're in a good spot because they don't
Speaker 1: have to worry about all that. If you do take
Speaker 1: care of business in the North, you do get the
Speaker 1: first round by you are the number one seed in
Speaker 1: a much different looking playoff scenario than it was a
Speaker 1: year ago when fans were just getting reintroduced, especially in
Speaker 1: Green Bay, back into stadiums. I think that can be
Speaker 1: a huge catalyst for them, a huge push for them.
Speaker 1: For Minnesota. The thing that I have to imagine Mike
Speaker 1: Zimmer's message is going to be this week is you
Speaker 1: guys have actually played in these games. Nobody wants to
Speaker 1: see the Minnesota Vikings in January because they know in
Speaker 1: any given week they can be anybody in that NFC field.
Speaker 1: So yeah, that the stakes are really high. You almost
Speaker 1: wishing away. You know, this is gonna be the fifth
Speaker 1: year out of six that they're gonna be playing Detroit
Speaker 1: in the finale. Um you almost wonder why the NFL
Speaker 1: is just not why they have really haven't tried to
Speaker 1: incorporate the Vikings more into those last week scenarios, because
Speaker 1: this this could have been really interesting theater if they'd
Speaker 1: just switched things around. But be that as it may,
Speaker 1: the Packers just have to take care of business and
Speaker 1: the conference is there's. Yeah, one last thought before we go.
Speaker 1: I know we don't talk much about the a f
Speaker 1: C on on this show and some of those matchups,
Speaker 1: but the other show I have to I have to
Speaker 1: just get your thoughts on what I think is a
Speaker 1: really intriguing a f C match up here on Sunday.
Speaker 1: I think believe it's in the early time slot. Kansas
Speaker 1: City at Cincinnati Joe Burrow five passing yards last week.
Speaker 1: The Bengals will have that offense at home, going against
Speaker 1: the Kansas City Chiefs team that has won what is
Speaker 1: it seven or eight in a row. I think whatever
Speaker 1: Their winning streak is a um where the Chiefs have
Speaker 1: gone from actually being below five hundred at three and
Speaker 1: four when the Packers visited Arrowhead Stadium to now the
Speaker 1: Chiefs are the ones in the driver's seat for the
Speaker 1: number one seed in the bye in the a f C.
Speaker 1: This is a really interesting uh and a potential playoff
Speaker 1: preview type of game. And getting back to what we
Speaker 1: were talking about before with teams that nobody wants to
Speaker 1: face right now, Kansas City is as hot as it comes. Yeah.
Speaker 1: The thing is, I don't think anyone was in or
Speaker 1: any disillusions. I mean, you understand how good Patrick Mahomes
Speaker 1: is and how much he's going to affect the game.
Speaker 1: But they were going through a rough spot and they
Speaker 1: figured it out. It happens to win eight in a row. Now,
Speaker 1: to put themselves in this spot is great. And I'll
Speaker 1: tell you what Man Between Borrow between what to has
Speaker 1: done in Miami to bring back the Dolphins and actually
Speaker 1: give them some playoff hopes. Now that that rookie class
Speaker 1: from a year ago, you're seeing the maturation with it,
Speaker 1: you know, justin Herbert. They had a bad loss last week,
Speaker 1: but I mean certainly appears to be the answer there
Speaker 1: for the Chargers long term. Baltimore, who was right up
Speaker 1: there with everyone, Well, now they've fallen off and now
Speaker 1: they're on you know, the outside looking in. That The
Speaker 1: real interesting test for for Cincinnati is how much have
Speaker 1: they grown from the team that I think everybody thought
Speaker 1: was going to be a real darling this year to
Speaker 1: a team that can you go and knock off the
Speaker 1: two time defending you know AFC champion. That's the Ultimate Tests,
Speaker 1: and with all due respect to Burrow, I mean this
Speaker 1: is going to be a much different type of defense
Speaker 1: than what he saw a week ago. Is feeling a
Speaker 1: lot better about itself right now than where the Ravens
Speaker 1: are at. Soh yeah, it's I I. We won't be
Speaker 1: able to watch it, but it'll be fun to actually
Speaker 1: just see exactly how that thing plays out. Yeah, all right, Well,
Speaker 1: with that, we will call it a wrap on this
Speaker 1: edition of Packers Unscript and be sure to follow all
Speaker 1: of our coverage of the team and everything with Sunday
Speaker 1: Nights game. We'll have it all for you on Packers
Speaker 1: dot com. For West, I'm Mike. Thanks for tuning in everybody.
Speaker 1: Happy New Year. We'll see you next time.