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It's clear Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer has spent part of his week trying to instill confidence in his defenders that they weren't far off from stopping the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 2, despite a 42-10 final score that was made more lopsided by a pair of Christian Ponder interceptions. Zimmer might have a point. The Vikings forced five three-and-outs in the first half of their Thursday night game with the Packers, and were able to get off the field with a defense that kept Aaron Rodgers from taking deep shots and converted on 7 of 11 third downs. Had the Vikings been able to sustain anything on offense, the thinking goes, the game might have been competitive. The Vikings' problem is, Rodgers was still able to hit a 66-yard TD to Jordy Nelson, and Eddie Lacy rumbled for 103 yards. The Packers have been even better since then, allowing Rodgers to be sacked just six times in the last three games. Rodgers and Nelson have been a lethal combination, and on passes of 20 or more yards this season, Rodgers is 14-of-27 for 652 yards, eight TDs and no interceptions. If the Vikings are able to take away Rodgers' deep shots, and if they get a better performance from Teddy Bridgewater than they did last week, they should be able to keep the Packers within reach for a while at home. But facing the league's highest-rated quarterback, who's playing at the top of his game, the Vikings won't be able to keep Rodgers down all day. Prediction: Packers 30, Vikings 14
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