Minnesota Vikings And Green Bay Packers each has nothing left to play for when they go head-to-head on Sunday at US Bank Stadium. Minnesota has been out of the playoffs since Dec. 14, leaving Green Bay in seventh place in the NFC.
Sunday's game could be reminiscent of a preseason game as the Packers will start third-string quarterback Clayton Thune. Jordan Love and Malik Willis have been injured in the last few weeks, so Green Bay will give each an extra week of rest.
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This should mean we get another dominant performance from a Vikings defense that has been on fire the last few weeks. This could be Brian Flores' last game in Minnesota, and since he has nothing to lose, there's no reason to believe he won't throw everything he has at the Packers' backups.
Here are three keys to the Vikings' defense on Sunday.
Stop running
Minnesota's defense hasn't been very good to start the season, allowing over 200 yards twice in its first seven games. But they got better in the second half of the season, helping the offense in third-and-long situations, which allows Flores to put exotic pressure on opposing defenders.
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They performed admirably against Lions on Christmas Day, holding Detroit to 68 yards on 30 attempts. The Vikings should be able to have similar success against the Packers, who will likely use a vanilla style offense to try and protect Thune.
Clayton's Tune by Pressure Packers
Minnesota harassed Jared Goff during the Christmas Day win, sacking him five times. The Lions were unable to contain the Vikings' passing game in large part because several starters missed the game and left with injuries.
Sunday should provide plenty of opportunities for Minnesota to catch the Packers in the passing game. Thune is only in his third season and doesn't have the experience that Goff has. This should mean the Vikings can knock Thune out of the water if they can consistently get him to third-and-long.
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Revolutions of power
The outcome of this season for Minnesota has been strange. They are ranked 8th in scoring but have only scored nine goals in the first 11 games of the season. Five of those nine came in a Week 3 win over the team Bengals.
But recently, conclusions have been coming in groups. The Vikings defense has allowed 11 turnovers in its last five games, including six against the Lions.
Look for Thune to put the ball at risk if Minnesota can force Green Bay to throw the ball on Sunday. Pass interceptions and opportunities to take the ball away from him in the pocket could give the Vikings the same recipe for success they found against Detroit.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Keys to Vikings defense against Packers offense in Week 18
