When: 1 p.m. ET, Sunday Where: TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis TV: Fox

The last time the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers faced each other, the Packers took a 28-0 lead at halftime on a rainy Thursday night at Lambeau Field.

Since then, the Packers have had halftime leads of 24 points or more in three of their four games. The Vikings, who faced the Packers without rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater last time, will have the rookie on the field on Sunday as they try to slow down the league's hottest team at TCF Bank Stadium.

ESPN Vikings reporter Ben Goessling and ESPN Packers reporter Rob Demovsky preview Sunday's matchup:

Goessling: Rob, it seems like the decision to move Clay Matthews to inside linebacker on a part-time basis has paid dividends in the past few weeks. What has that done for the Packers' defense, and do you expect they will keep Matthews inside?

Demovsky: Ben, they'll keep him there until they find another playmaker they can put in the middle of the defense, which means he'll stay there the rest of this season. They would have loved to have gotten a guy like C.J. Mosley of Alabama in the draft last year, but he was gone by the time they picked at No. 21 in the first round. So after trying three different inside linebackers -- Brad Jones, Jamari Lattimore and Sam Barrington -- at the spot next to A.J. Hawk, they more or less had no choice but to find someone more athletic to play there. And that guy was Matthews. It's saved their run defense. The interesting thing is how defensive coordinator Dom Capers has used Matthews in other spots as a pass-rusher. He still played Matthews some at his old outside linebacker spot last week against the Eagles, but then he also lined him up even wider at the end of a five-man front, where Matthews was essentially outside of the outside linebacker.

We all know what kind of impact Adrian Peterson could have made on the field, but how much has his situation off the field impacted the Vikings' season, and how has first-year coach Mike Zimmer handled it? Can they finally put it behind them after this week's ruling?

Goessling: If there's one silver lining for the Vikings, it might be what you just mentioned. Captain Munnerlyn said as much on Tuesday when I talked to him about the ruling; he said the Vikings now at least know Peterson's "not coming through that door," and they can focus on the players they have on the roster. I think the Vikings have done a fairly good job of blocking out the Peterson issue, but it's probably easier to compartmentalize it when they know he's done for the year, in all likelihood. Players almost universally wanted him back, but after the NFL dragged its heels following Peterson's plea deal, there was a growing sense among them that it wasn't going to come to fruition. As Munnerlyn put it, "I don't think the organization is going to let that happen or NFL let that happen."

It's interesting to look at the stats and see that the three teams to beat the Packers this season are the three teams that blitzed Aaron Rodgers the least. Is the key to beating Rodgers still pressuring him with four guys? What avenue can the Vikings take to slow him down?

Demovsky: Rodgers has proved it time and again that if you blitz him, he'll make you pay. Part of the reason is his ability to get rid of the ball so quickly. Part of the reason is he's so good at recognizing where the blitz comes before it even happens. And then there's his ability to use his feet to avoid rushers, and once he gets out of the pocket, his receivers know how to run the scramble drill. And now that the offensive line is protecting better than ever, it's even more difficult to get to Rodgers. The teams that have had the most success against Rodgers are the ones that can pressure with four and leave both safeties back in coverage. However, if you do that, you're vulnerable to Eddie Lacy and the running game.

The Packers didn't get to see Bridgewater in the first meeting. What will they see when they put the film on to prepare for him this week?

Goessling: They'll see a quarterback who's very much a work in progress. Bridgewater is coming off one of his worst games of the season, against the defense that Rodgers shredded the week before. He's looked too tentative at times, and is still adjusting to the differences of the game at the NFL level, where cornerbacks are better and pass-rushers more disruptive. Bridgewater has done a good job of limiting turnovers, he's shown a knack for being able to step up in the pocket and he's able to extend plays with his feet, but he needs to be more accurate and more decisive. It hasn't helped that he hasn't had Peterson. Cordarrelle Patterson is still learning the finer points of the wide receiver position, Greg Jennings (as you know) is a guy who needs a good quarterback to excel, and the offensive line has been an issue all season. Bridgewater will probably be better for all the struggles he's faced this season, but it's been a rough stretch for him as a rookie.

What do you think is the ceiling for this Packers team? They're playing as well as any team in the league right now; do you see them rounding into contending form, or might they be peaking too early?

Demovsky: I don't think they're peaking too early because they've won every game at home, whether it was early in the season and now. What they have to do is show they can beat a good team on the road and shut down a great quarterback. If they do that, then maybe you'll be able to say they have a championship-caliber defense. So far, they've won games when they've gotten takeaways. That formula works against lesser teams, but the great quarterbacks don't typically turn the ball over, so they have to find other ways.

The Packers have been protecting Rodgers well of late. He's commented after several games that he's barely been touched. Meanwhile, the Vikings got very little pressure on Jay Cutler last Sunday. How can they get any pressure on Rodgers this time around?

Goessling: As we've talked about, it probably won't happen with blitzes. The Vikings didn't bring much extra pressure after Rodgers the first time, and they know the risks of trying to heat him up with blitzes. The good news for the Vikings is, Everson Griffen has been on quite a roll. He didn't have a sack last Sunday, but he's got nine for the season, and his quickness off the edge has really helped him develop into a good pass-rusher, particularly in the past few weeks. Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd has also been playing well, and Tom Johnson has proved to be a nice pickup as a slippery pass-rusher in nickel situations. It's likely we'll see Anthony Barr and Chad Greenway on the Vikings' double-A gap blitz a few times, but in the games where the Vikings have rushed especially well, they've done it as a team. Zimmer is big on preaching pass-rush discipline, where players choke off escape lanes for the quarterback and eventually take him down as they collapse the pocket as a group. The Vikings were struggling to do it well when they saw the Packers last, and after a poor week against the Bears, they'll have to get back on track with it to get to Rodgers this week.