Can Packers Make Some Noise if They Make the Postseason? Green Bay Surging After Vikings Rout

The Minnesota Vikings made their early noise through a shirtless Kirk Cousins leading the “Skol” chant and blowing into the Gjallarhorn before the Sunday Night Football showdown. The Green Bay Packers, however, are making their noise by igniting a late charge into the postseason.

The Packers dominated their NFC North rival for all four quarters in the 33-10 romp at U.S. Bank Stadium. In the process, a team once 2-5 is now sparking conversations on whether they’re capable of making serious noise in the playoffs.

How the Green Bay Packers Have Ignited a Late Turnaround

During that 2-5 start, the Packers took one to the chin against this same Vikings team on Oct. 29 — and that was in front of the Lambeau Field crowd.

But this time, Green Bay hit Minnesota with a fierce counter-kick to keep their postseason hopes alive. Along with the Vikings rout, here’s what else the Pack has done to position itself for a playoff spot:

• The Packers have won six of their last nine games.
• In all nine contests, Green Bay has never failed to score below 19 points. During the slow start, the Packers scored below 19 four times.
• Including the SNF win over the Vikings, the Packers have gone 4-2 against teams in contention for a playoff berth. That includes the upset wins over the NFC North champion Detroit Lions and AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs.
• Finally, since getting bottled to 270 total offensive yards in the October loss to the Vikings, Green Bay has hit between 321 to 399 total yards in its last six games.

The Packers have found a way to spark their offense following that first Minnesota loss. Jordan Love is the match lighting that flame.

Jordan Love Joining “Hall of Fame” Packers QBs?

Love shredded the Vikings with a combined four touchdowns, three coming through the air.

He even pulled this “Air Jordan” move by throwing off his back foot to hit this touchdown throw.

Air Jordanpic.twitter.com/KmIWGFuzYG

— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) January 1, 2024

And that wasn’t Love’s only back-foot completion.

Jordan Love launching off his back foot 😱

📺: #GBvsMIN on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/cOt1Gy93Av pic.twitter.com/qMEEgGPz9Q

— NFL (@NFL) January 1, 2024

He even created a new weapon with a “G” helmet in second-year wideout Bo Melton. He snatched six passes for 105 yards and scored once while catching from Love.

After enduring a two-interception outing against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 23-19 loss, Love has produced 16 touchdown passes while averaging 305.6 passing yards over the last six games and — more astonishingly — only being picked off once. He got Eli Berkovits of CBS Sports believing Love is the latest Hall of Fame QB to be churned out by the Pack.

The #Packers churning out Hall of Fame QBs…pic.twitter.com/UdRmTbFEYg

— Eli Berkovits (@BookOfEli_NFL) January 1, 2024

Love has his team in a much better position than that slow start. He’s fully aware of the factors he and Green Bay face: win and they’re in.

“There’s a lot of factors that come into this, but this whole team is focused on making sure we get that win and moving on,” Love told reporters postgame. “We know exactly what’s in front of us. We’re trying to get to the playoffs.”

Packers Fully Aware of Avoiding a Repeat of Last Season’s Finale

The 8-8 Packers now control their own destiny — win and they’re in.

However, fans know this situation all too well from a year ago.

MORE: PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor

Green Bay stared at a playoff spot with the Detroit Lions in town. The Packers were eventually denied a postseason appearance, and that loss became the final game of the Aaron Rodgers era behind center.

Head coach Matt LaFleur acknowledges what the Packers are facing once again.

“It really means nothing unless we go and take care of business next week,” LaFleur told reporters postgame.

That 2022 Packers team was also surging late by winning four in a row before falling to the Lions. They were also 8-8 before taking the Lions loss. This time, Green Bay is re-positioned into the playoff mix with one regular season game left.

But now, Love is conducting this reinvigorated machine, Melton and Aaron Jones have sparked the offense lately, and lastly, the Packers have taken down playoff-caliber teams on their road to controlling their own destiny.

Want to predict the rest of the 2023 season with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? Looking for the most up-to-date NFL standings? What about a breakdown of team depth charts or the NFL schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with that and more!