Green Bay Packers started the game off in the worst way possible. They fumbled on third down and Minnesota recovered. We all thought ‘Here we go again.’ Green Bay started this way in San Francisco. And they looked this flat against Los Angeles earlier in the year. The good thing is history doesn’t always repeat itself. Green Bay dominated the Minnesota Vikings. This was one of their most impressive victory of the season. Packers win 23-10 and take the NFC North.

Player of the Game: Za’Darius Smith – What a fucking game from Za’Darius Smith. Seriously, this is the best game he played as a Packers player. Smith played his ass off. He had seven tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 5.5 quarterback hits. Smith also hit Kirk Cousins five times. He is an absolute monster and yes, Smith deserves to be mentioned as an NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Him playing more inside plus Kenny Clark being healthy slowed down the running game issues.

Honorable Mention: Aaron Jones – Another great game from Jones. Part of me thought that the Vikings defense is good, not great. The stats tell us otherwise, yet Jones exploited their run defense. He rushed for 154 yards on 23 carries including a 56-yard touchdown to seal the game. Jones rushed for an average of 6.7 yards per carry. That’s incredible. Many people talk about how it’s Jones’ team versus Aaron Rodgers, and while that’s probably not true, this team goes with how Jones plays.

One Thing I Liked: Defense showed up yet again – I tried to tell people about this all week. This defense has been playing its ass off since the San Francisco. I also mentioned that the San Fran game, the defense didn’t actually look terrible. They figured some stuff out in the final month of the season, and they’re peaking at the right time. I don’t know if any playoff offense wants to face this defense right now.

One Thing I Didn’t Like: The turnovers were brutal – Vikings fans are going to their Christmas Eve tonight saying ‘We could have got blown out.’ Very true. If not for the turnovers, Green Bay wins by 20 or 30 points. Minnesota tried to punch every ball out. Green Bay needs to be better about ball control in the coming weeks.

Next up: Green Bay finishes up the year in Detroit. We’ve seen some weird games in the last few weeks, and the Packers cannot let down. Come into Detroit and take care of business then everyone goes on ice in the second half. Detroit’s defense is terrible, so, this might be a get-right spot for Rodgers.

Charlie.