Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spafford, joined by the one and only Weston Hodkowitz. We're coming to you here from our studios at Lambeaufield to preview Sunday Night Football West. It'll be the Packers and the Vikings in primetime at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Obviously the second meeting between
the Packers and Vikings this year. And when you look at this Minnesota Viking season, it's really strange how it breaks down because I know they've changed quarterbacks multiple times and they may be making another change at that spot this week, which we can talk about. But the Vikings started the season zero to three, correct, then they won six out of seven games, with the only loss in
that stretch coming to the Kansas City Chiefs. But now since then they have lost four out of five games, with the only win in this most recent stretch coming by a score of three to zero against the Las Vegas Raiders, one of the oddest games of the twenty twenty three season across the board. So they've lost four
out of five, including two in a row. Their playoff hopes are just as much on the line as the Packers are, and this is a team that's still trying to figure out exactly what they want to do at quarterback to try to get themselves into the postseason.
There's a lot going on there right now Minnesota, and first and foremost the big part of this and I wrote about it, and you talked a lot about how this matchup is gonna be different from the first time, but just the way that this season has turned for Minnesota.
After that game at lambeau.
Field, there was a lot of people I remember covering that game afterwards it was almost like that both teams had lost when you went into the locker rooms afterwards, because Minnesota thought whatever hopes they had and maybe building upon what they did the previous year in a thirteen win season under Kevin O'Connell could probably be thrown down the toilet with losing Kirk Cousins for the remainder of
the season. Josh Dobbs sprinkled a little bit of you know, magic fairy dust on them for a minute, he did. Then he came back down to earth. Nick Mullins, who was the one that was originally kind of signed to be the backup to Kirk Cousins. Well, then he has a four interception game against Detroit. Jaren Hall, the fifth round pick that originally was going to be the backup and the replacement for Cousins when Mullins was still on IR he got a concussion, only placed ten snaps.
So it's just been this.
Whirling dervish right now in that state, trying to figure out what their you know, focal point of their offense is going to be. But it's funny. It's not just that though, right. I mean, they've had questions in the backfield in terms of who their lead back is.
TJ.
Howkinson tears his ACL justin Jefferson misses the middles part of the season with the hamstring injury. There's just been all these different things that have kind of crept up on Minnesota and ultimately here they are, And in a lot of ways, I think it's poetic Week seven, just like last year in Week seventeen, the greemd Packers trying to keep their playoff hopes alive, except this time Minnesota sitting in the exact same seat.
Yeah, exactly last year at this time, the Packers were, as you say, fighting to stay in the playoff chase in Minnesota was you know, had already clinched the NFC North title at that point and they were looking ahead to what they were going to do in the postseason. Yeah,
a lot of changes. The loss of TJ. Hockinson is a big one for this Minnesota offense because with Justin Jefferson missing nine games with a very troublesome hamstring injury, Hawkinson had been the leading pass catcher both receptions and
yards for this Minnesota offense. He now goes down. Jefferson has been back in the lineup for the last three weeks, with his production steadily climbing to where in the lost to the Lions last week, he had six catches for I believe it was one hundred and forty one yards. Big game, had a touchdown there. So that's a that's a big weapon for Minnesota to get back, and it seems like Justin Jefferson is sort of back to his old self. And then you have Jordan Addison who is
on the injury report. They're saying he's day to day with an ankle injury. He had a big game against the Packers back in week eight in late October at Lambo and then kJ Osborne, who's sort of been this you know, steady guy who produces when they need him to, and he's he's always there and he had one of his better games against the Packers back when Jefferson was not playing a couple of months ago. So obviously on
the defensive side for the Packers. The matchup, the matchup here is going to be interesting just how the Packers play this out because jay r Alexander has been suspended by the team for one game, so he will not be matched up with with Justin Jefferson as as he has the last couple of times these two teams have met up. And Darnell Savage might be coming back at safety.
He's back at practice now after missing some time. And you've got you know, Carrington Valentine, Corey Ballentine, Keishawn Nixon is there as the nickel. Not quite sure how the Packers are going to are going to match up against this Minnesota offense, but we may not know until later today or Friday exactly who's going to be quarterbacking for Minnesota with all all of this going on.
Yeah, and it's one of those things too where publicly that is what the Vikings are saying privately, obviously you're building a plan around somebody. To me, again, if I was a betting man, and as you said on yesterday's show, there is no gambling in Bushwood, sir, But I would think Hall gets the call because he is the one guy that is under contract for next year for Minnesota.
They did invest the draft pick into him, and he was the guy they were going to turn to in the first place when Cousins went down.
Right, and they did.
He started the game at Atlanta, but then, as you said, he got a concussion early on in that game. That turned things over to Josh Dobbs, who would literally been signed just days before that, hardly knew any of the playbook, and suddenly there was this magic going on with Josh Dobbs that helped the Vikings get to seven wins, which is which is where they are right now.
But this is where it gets tricky for them because you look at that game against Detroit and you had Nick Mullins throw for over four hundred yards. They had no running game whatsoever. I think Chandler might have been their leading rusher with like twenty one yards or seventeen yards something like that.
Yeah, he only carried the ball like eight times. Then they turned over. Sorry to interrupt, but they had turned over their running game to Chandler from Alexander Madison, and Chandler had had like one hundred and thirty some yards in the overtime loss to the Bengals the previous week. Then, but suddenly the running game disappears and it's all on Mullins. He throws for four hundred plus yards but throws four picks and Kevin O'Connell's thinking about changing quarterbacks.
Yeah, and the way that Minnesota built this thing out this year, I mean, it wasn't necessarily surprised that that's the way they were trying to construct the offense. Because you know, Josh Oliver gets signed, he's considered one of the top blocking tight ends of the National Football League. You want to be able to establish yourself in that way to compliment what you're getting from Justin Jefferson and obviously the huge investment with Addison. You want to be
able to play it both ways. And you see why it's necessary in a game against Detroit where Vikings lose that game by six points, but they throw for that many yards all because of the turnover differential margins. So that's why Green Bay it's going to be very interesting to see how they match up with them defensively losing Jire Alexander. There's no circumstance that you can explain to me a scenario in which the Packers are better on the field with Jiry Alexander not there.
But things happen behind the scenes.
Obviously, there was a lot of consternation about how the beginning of the game started in Carolina, and this is where we are with the one game suspension here for joh So that means Krington Valentine likely will be thrown back in there. Eric Stokes more is going to be expected from him with two games now underneath his belt because the Vikings are going to hit you. They're not the deepest coren the National FOOTBA League. I think there's only five guys on their active roster at that position,
but Jefferson, Addison and Osbourne. And Osbourne is the one I in my eye on because I think he does not get as much respect as he deserves. I think he could be a solid number two, number one receiver for a lot of teams in the NFL. But when you have someone that's as dynamic as Addison and honestly the best receiver in the game right now in Justin Jefferson. You're not going to be able to get as many opportunities.
But whoever the quarterback is out there for the Vikings on Sunday Night, does have three really solid guys to turn to.
Yeah. Well, and when you look at this Viking season, as up and down as it's been, as as kind of crazy as it's been, it's really come down to the turnovers, wes. And that's why Kevin O'Connell continues to try to figure out what to do at quarterback. He knows he has offensive weapons. Even with TJ. Hawkinson being injured. As we've rattled off all these guys, O'Connell knows he
has offensive weapons. He wants a quarterback that's going to protect the football and give his team the best chance and not put his defense in bad situation with the turnovers. Minnesota has turned the ball over thirty times this season, which is tied for the second highest total in the league. And here's how it breaks down. They're a seven and eight football team that in itself is somewhat remarkable. They have thirty turnovers and to still be in the playoff
front here with two games to go. But they have turned the ball over seven times in their seven victories. They have turned the ball over twenty three times in their eight losses. It, you know, we say it all the time. Obviously, the turnover margin, the turnover differential is always going to play a big factor in this league. And you know, when you look at it from the Packers side of things, green Bay's green Bay defensively has
struggled to get takeaways. They haven't you know, they haven't hit that stretch yet this year where you know where they come in bunches, where you get on a run where suddenly you know the ball is always finding their hands. Packers need that to happen on Sunday night at US Bank Stadium. They need, they need, they need something like that to go their way because that's been the formula to beat Minnesota is to get them to turn the ball over, no matter who's playing quarterback.
Yeah, it was, as I said, it was the difference in that game against the Lions. Detroit does not win that football game without being plus three in the turnover margin in that contest. Here's what I find that's the most funny though, Mike, because there's years where you and I have sat down here and we've talked about plus and minus with turnover differential and how that affects wins and losses. This year, it makes no sense at all.
I mean, here are your bottom basically nine teams in terms of turnover differential this season, starting with minus six at Carolina and Tennessee. The results are what they are,
But then you got ten. Then you have Philadelphia in Cleveland in New England at minus seven, completely different seasons that they've been through, the New York Jets minus eight, Minnesota in the playoff hunt at minus nine, Washington minus ten, and we've obviously seen how things have gone for the Commanders, but they're tied for last in the league with Kansas City at minus ten and Kansas City currently sitting in
a wild card positioning. None of these teams, I would you know, even now with the issues that Phillies had, I don't think you'd say, Okay, they're in the Baltimore, Miami, San Francisco category right now. But there's good football teams in there that just have not been able to win that differential. Yeah, Green Bay is smack dab in the middle right at zero in terms of their nept differential. They've actually done an acceplent exceptional job in the second
half the season protecting the football. But again, as you outline trying to find ways to get the ball to take away, it's always going to be a point of emphasis in a football game that you need to be able to generate turnovers. But Michael, if there was ever a game where you're going to put down that exclamation point, it's this one because it really probably is going to be the difference between a winning a loss.
Yeah, you need the Packers need the defensive effort that they brought to Detroit on Thanksgiving where you were disrupting Jared Goff, you were getting you know, the strip sacks and obviously the defense scored a touchdown in that game on Thanksgiving, and there's you know, that's of immeasurable value
in these types of games. Since then, we saw Keishaw Nixon get the big interception of Patrick Mahomes in the fourth quarter in the victory over the Cheese but that was the that was the Packers only takeaway in that game. And yes, the Packers technically statistically they got two takeaways against the Giants, but they were those were literally giveaways by the Giants. The Packers didn't do anything to get
the ball. One was the punt that hit the unsuspecting guy and created a live ball situation and the Packers fell on the other one is Saquon Barkley just fumbling the ball completely on his own when he when he trips and and and goes to the ground. So those takeaways almost don't even count. I mean, I know they
count statistically, but they don't really count. And then other than that, you had the the early strip sack of Baker Mayfield against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which then ended up not having as big an impact on the games as you would want that one to. So the Packers have to take the football away in this game because
because that has been the bugaboo for Minnesota. And you know, I mean, we'll we'll be in the press box, and at us Bank Stadium, it's an open air press box, so we get a little bit more of you know, the stadium atmosphere than when we're behind the glass. But what I was going to say is that when when there are issues that impact a team throughout the course of a season, and it can be it can be whatever. It can be missing field goals, it can be penalties.
In this case for Minnesota, it's turnovers. You know it. As soon as Minnesota turns the ball over once fumble or interception on Sunday night and the Packers get the football, You're going to feel it in the stadium, in the attitude of the fans there, you know there, their shoulders are going to slump like, oh, here we go again, and there's going to be somewhat of you know, that
feeling on the sideline for the Minnesota vikings. The Packers can't let Minnesota just have one of these games where they get to protect the football, because because it can,
it'll play a huge factor on Sunday night. I want to talk about a little bit about Minnesota's defense as well, because when we were discussing the first meeting between these teams this year, there was a lot of talk about, you know, Brian Flores and the blitz happy defense and everything, and you know, Minnesota's blitz percentages being at the top of the league, and then in that game at lambeau Field, Flora's hardly blitzed at all a relative to what their
tendencies have been I really don't know what to expect in that regard comes Sunday night.
Now.
It's obviously I always think it's easier. It's easier to dial up the blitzes when you're playing at home because you have that advantage of the opposing offense being on the silent count and you can time things up a little bit better than when you're on the road and you don't have that advantage in terms of dialing up pressure looks. But that aside, really, I think it's going to be very interesting to see how Minnesota approaches things because they just lost Dj Wantam, their number two sack
leader on the team. They've lost him now to an injury. You have Daniel Hunter who's got fifteen and a half sacks this year with two games left to go. He's having a tremendous year, and you know, the Vikings have just been very unpredictable. I think in that sense, in terms of how Flora's is going to go about things weak to week.
Well, one of the big reasons I think I don't know what Flores's operation of philosophy was going to be in week one, but I think sometimes I honestly think that all the injuries probably did affect how much they blitzed this season, because I don't want to say it's quantity over quality, but it is really jarring how much this team has blitzed over the course of the year. In respect to where they rank in sacks, they're pretty much middle of the pack. Yeah, it comes to sex,
but they generate pressure and they try to do it consistently. Now, what's interesting is you mentioned Wanham. They already lost Marcus Davenport earlier this season. Davenport was seen as sort of the replacement for, you know, Zadarius. When Zadarius leaves and goes to Cleveland, he was going to be the running
partner with Hunter. I've been so freaking and pressed by Danil Hunter this year because again, every time you hear neck injury, Mike, every time you hear fusion and that type of stuff, and knowing that he wasn't able to play through it for that amount of time, your mind always goes to bad places. We've seen it in Green Bay. How sometimes guys just don't get back from that. Hunter's
done that and he's actually gotten better now. I don't know if that's just his skill set meshing well with floras a scheme or exactly what the philosophy's been there. But Daniel Hunter is a problem and Green Bay's gonna have to account for him in this matchup. But overall, just being able to kind of wear down Minnesota is going to be vital in this game. The Green Bay Packers' offense that the Vikings are going to be seeing is vastly different than the one that they saw in Week seven.
The quarterback's different, the offensive line is playing much differently. We saw this pass Sunday for the first time since man I don't even know how long Rashid Walker took every snap at left tackle rather than that rotation, and then obviously over at right guard, you've had almost a steady rotation now between John Runyon and Sean Ryan at that spot. The Packers, I think you're seeing more continuity. I think you're seeing more consistency, and obviously just more
swagger amongst that receiving court. One of the better safety could takes that you're going to see in the National Football League with what the Vikings deploy and how they use those guys. But overall, I'm expecting a totally different game from week week seven. I just I feel like these two teams good bad or in between are much different and much chance, you know, in terms of how they've laid out and where they're.
At in this part of the season.
Yeah, and handling Daniel Hunter, whether Flores decides to blitz or not, or blitz a lot or not. Handling Daniel Hunter will be key here because you look back at the last handful of games West and and the guys that the the top notch pass rushers the Packers have gone up against, whether you're talking about into your an interior guy like Aaron Donald for the Rams or t J. Watt on the edge for the Steelers, or Aiden Hutchinson Brian Burns. Last week we didn't hear boo out of
him for for Carolina. The only edge guy, the only the only top notch pass rusher who in my opinion, had a had an outsize impact on a game over the last couple of months Yere against the Packers was Caveon Thibodeau for the Giants. That's really the only the only guy the Packers didn't didn't handle quite right, But otherwise all of the top pass rushers from these opposing teams over the last six or seven games, the Packers have done a really really good job. Can they do
that against Hunter as well? And then if they are, what does Flores dial up in terms of pressure looks to try to just get Hunter one on one where the Packers can't you know, chip with a tight end and help out or help out with a running back because the running back has to have his eye on, you know, somebody blitzing from somewhere else. All that kind of stuff. That's the that's the x's and o'sh chess match that that goes into this.
And it is funny now without uh, with where they're at right now with these injuries behind Hunter, in terms of active players, you're leading sack sack artists I guess you could say from Minnesota are Harrison Smith with three and Harrison Phillips with three. And Phillips is basically a run stuffing nose tackle And that's just it's just kind of the way it's.
Been for them so far.
Yeah, And I want I should have mentioned Chris Jones for the Chiefs as well. We didn't hear much out of him. When you know, another top notch guy you know on the defensive front for the other team that the Packers handled well, So hopefully that continues. Well, we've touched on we've touched obviously on the on the turnover issue already. What else do you see as a key to victory for green Bay in this game?
Aaron Jones.
I was doing some research with the story that I wrote on Thursday morning, and if you go back and you look at Aaron Jones and some of his best performances of his career, in addition to them just coming against the Minnesota Viking, several of them actually come at us Bank Stadium. And last week, despite all the things that was working against green Bay going into that game, Aaron Jones was the guy that got everything going offensively. He had twenty one carries, one hundred and twenty seven
rushing yards. He looked like, I don't want to say the old Aaron Jones, but he looked like the healthy Aaron Jones. Yeah, and it has been so long since we've seen that. And when you get that type of production again, he has more rushing yards than any other team in.
The National Football League.
And obviously they play they play the Vikings a lot, but if you look at his production against the Vikings compared to the Lions and the Bears. I mean, this guy's done a lot of damage against them over the years. We don't know what this is going to be like yet. In terms of the skill position players for green Bay, Luke Musgrave is back, but he's still on injured reserve with the designation to return from the last rated kidney.
Jaden Reid practicing again with the toe. But you have Dontavian Wicks now dealing with a chest injury in addition to his ankle injury, and Christian Watson is still working his way back from the hamstring.
Mike.
Those are the top of the line players for green Bay. Those are your studs, so to speak. And the fact that Aaron Jones was able to give Green Bay what he gave them, and the fact that he's starting to finally get healthy at the right time, I look at him as being the catalyst for what could potentially be a playoff push here. I think he's fresh in the hamstring injuries behind him. As long as that knee is in a good spot, he can get his condition as football,
you know, speed and everything back. I just think the skuy's the limit for Aaron Jones right now. He's definitely motivated for sure.
Yeah. And the other thing I would say too, I'll go back to what we talked about on our last show and reviewing the Carolina game is whoever is that quarterback for the Vikings? The the Packers can't can't let the guy develop this you know, boost of confidence that's going to suddenly, you know, morph him from you know, from your average everyday quarterback into some kind of a
of a superman. Because because we've we've seen, we've seen what that mental edge, what that edge of confidence can can do for quarterbacks that that have been struggling and then they get things rolling and then it's just too hard to flip the switch the other way. And obviously turnovers turnovers would play into that. But whether or not you get turnovers, you also just don't want to don't want that opposing quarterback to settle in and feel like
he's feel like he's in command of the game. That's where that's where the Packers defense has has lost control of things, is when the opposing quarterback is in command, not your defensive front in terms of disrupting things.
It's a great point. And the other aspect I look at that is. Conversely, take away green May. I know Green Bay has been through a lot this season, obviously trying to work through some stuff right now defensively, but
just keep this in mind too. If you could generate a turnover early in this game, you have Kevin O'Connell on the bench with two other quarterbacks behind him, two other clipboards sitting there, and now you start doing the mental math and okay, do we pick the right guy to be out there?
Is this?
Then you start thinking, then you start questioning. I think that's another really important piece of this is that if you do if you get that pick, whoever starts, it doesn't matter who it is. If you get a pick early, if you force a fumbler early, if you generate in a takeaway and get points off of it, the questions immediately start from Minnesota. It's not just them, it's any team that would be in that situation.
Yeah, absolutely, I totally agree with you. There a little bit of sponsor business here. West Serious XMNFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute NFL news that true football fanatics need twenty four to seven, three sixty five and at Cousin subs, we have something for everyone, like our Wisconsin Cheese Kurds, mac and Cheese, golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired with your favorite sub or sub in a bowl Cousin Subs fifty years of better.
All right, the.
Playoff picture and the other games that Packers fans will be keeping an eye on on Sunday leading up to the Sunday night football kickoff. I'll just rattle them off here, Wes, and I'll let you comment on what you want to you have. Atlanta is at Chicago, The Los Angeles Rams are at the New York Giants, who have now gone back to Tyrod Taylor at quarterback instead of Tommy DeVito. Pittsburgh sticking with Mason Rudolph after his big game at
quarterback against the Bengals. Pittsburgh is at Seattle, and then New Orleans is at Tampa Bay, and not that that one has. I can't figure out necessarily what's going on in the NFC South and how things would affect the Packers, But the bottom line is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinch the NFC South with a victory over the Saints this weekend, and if you're the Packers, that is exactly what you want because you lost to the Buccaneers. You don't want to get involved in some kind of a tiebreaker with
them in the wildcard chase. So if the Buccaneers win the South and their division champion, they get themselves the four seed or whatever the case might be, then that's a good thing. And then you're just you're looking at the rest of the picture.
My big dad joke this week has been the Packers have been eliminated from winning the NFC South Championship. They are not eligible for it. So that being said, it comes down to this race to nine wins. The Buccaneers already at eight wins. If they win eight, if they win ten, as long as they win the NFC South, it is what it is. The thing you're more concerned about as a Packer fan is making sure that Atlanta in New Orleans don't get those don't get to nine. Yeah,
and I look at the Bears game this week. Sure, I'm sure there's momentum that could be extracted for Chicago if they would happen to beat Atlanta, But the Packers don't have that tie breaker. The farther away that Atlanta is from the playoff conversation, the better for green Bay simple as that Seattle Rams, That's where my eyes are and just seeing exactly how green Bay is going to be able to shuffle through all that. Pittsburgh is great matchup.
It's gonna be difficult going into that field and trying to get a victory. But Steelers are hungry. They're on the cusp of this thing too. You have Mike Tomlin trying to keep his record going of here of you know, having whatever it is, sixteen consecutive non.
Losing yes, not having a losing season.
You know that there's a lot on the line there for them, and a lot of pride that they're trying to get. And also a team when we're talking about the turnover differential margin currently tied for the league lead right now I think at plus ten on the season, which is kind of incredible considering some of the issues
they've had at quarterback this year. And then the Rams are the team that I think I am going to be most closely following, not only because green Bay has the actual tiebreaker against them, but just because this is one of those teams that is peaking and you can feel them peaking if they come crashing down to earth a little bit against the Giants, that would be wonderful, but ultimately even though it would be more of a nail bier seeing what could happen the last week of
the season when they got a square off against the forty nine ers. And for that reason, if the Washington Commanders want to beat the forty nine ers and keep this thing close to and give the forty nine ers plenty to play for in week eighteen, Hey, who am I argue with you? Let's go Jacoby Brissette.
Yeah, there we go. That is the other thing to look at is if you're if you're a Packers fan, you want you want the Philadelphia Eagles to keep pace with the San Francisco forty nine ers for that one seed, or even the Detroit Lions for the Lions, Yeah, because you want the Niners to not have the one seed wrapped up, so that the Niners are still trying to clinch the one seed and that first round by when
they face the Rams in week eighteen. Hopefully the Packers can get the win over the Vikings, and then we are looking at those scenarios. But I agree with you with regard to the Rams. You look at you look
at all these teams. You look at all these teams in the NFC Wildcard picture, and I know I mentioned Seattle on our last show with them getting you know, back to back last minute touchdown drives, you know, to get to get two wins, you know, to to turn the tide of their season after they'd been on a rough losing streak there. But I would say, of all of these teams in the wildcard hunt, the Rams are
the team that is surging the most. We talked a lot about the Ravens at the end of our last show, Well, the Rams were in Baltimore and took those guys to overtime. As as as dominant as the Ravens have been lately, they almost lost to the Rams in their own yard.
Because that's how tough the Rams are right now. So I agree with you, if, if, if, somehow the Giants can you know, bring the Rams back down to earth a little bit, that start that starts to kind of change the whole wild card picture as well, because I do think, I do think that team. Matthew Stafford's got that team playing pretty well. And Sean McVeigh knows all about playoff chases and how to make a run.
Healthy Stafford, healthy Pooka, healthy Cup, healthy Williams. It's been a problem for the National Football League, and they are a team that can definitely get on a run, and as you're trying to kind of claw your way into this playoff picture, I think they're a team that you definitely have to keep in the consideration.
Yeah, well, if you're a Packers fan, you are fans this weekend of the Bears, the Giants, the Steelers, and the Buccaneers. Quite frankly, those are the ones to keep an eye on, but probably more so than any rooting for the Giants and the Steelers to hopefully give the Rams and the Seahawks respectively some trouble.
Yeah, in Detroit and Dallas is gonna be a fun football game. On top of that, you know, I mean there are some really interesting matchups, obviously the Miami Baltimore matchup for Week seventeen, for the time in which at one point there was a lot of like, Okay, let's see what happens here down the stretch. No, I mean, there's a lot of compelling action, and certainly it's going to help kind of weave together this final story as we get ready for the postseason.
I think what's interesting that Saturday, that Saturday night matchup Dallas against Detroit. Have there ever been two teams throughout the course of one season who have been labeled for real and then a fraud and then they're for real again, and then they're a fraud again, like the Lions and the Lions and the Cowboys that you know, not the national narrative around those two teams has been rather humorous
when you follow it. It's just like everybody, you know, you supposedly, you know, you're supposed to, you know, get hot, and you know, yeah, everybody wants to do that, but the league just doesn't work that way. The bottom line is those are two teams that are headed to the playoffs. They both played fairly tough schedules when you when you look at how things have shaken out, and it's all gonna come down to how they're playing in January and how healthy they are and all of those kinds of things.
You know, the fact that the Cowboys lost last week to the Miami Dolphins, that's not gonna matter one bit with regard to the play aside from the seating and stuff, of course, but the fact that they lost that game is not gonna matter one bit in terms of whether or not they're going to win a game in January with their season on the line. Sometimes we make a little bit too much of that.
It was funny how you said Detroit and Dallas. You kind of took what was me my punchline away from me there, Detroit and Dallas.
You're absolutely right about that, by the way, in terms of the for real or fraud.
Yeah, when the Packers beat the Lions on Thanksgiving, everybody wanted to start writing off the Lions as a fraud, and you and I were both like, hey, you know, that was a big win for the Packers, but you know, don't write off the Lions just yet. And look, they've straightened things out. They've gotten things going in the right direction again.
But it's funny with Detroit and Dallas. W You're like, is there any other teams that been like I was gonna say, Miami's like, hold my clipboard. Yeah, they've kind of on the AFC been that team very much so. But again, peaking at the right time. I will close the show with this because it was a one point I was going to make about the Rams Giants game that did not get a chance to make Mason Crosby. Yes, the fact that he has now.
Forgot to bring him up earlier this week.
Well, yeah, we had a lot going on. Yeah, but Mason Crosby the fact he now he's now kicking against his former team, the Los Angeles Rams.
The team he was with for one week. For one week, did not play in the game.
But but hey, you know, Mason wants to go and hit a game winning kick for the New York Giants.
Have to make with fifty two yarder last.
Week, wouldn't that be? Wouldn't that be something if the if the Packers playoff picture somehow you know hinges on Sunday afternoon on Mason Crosby lining up to try to knock off the Los Angeles Rams, that would be. That would be, that would be.
Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.
Yeah, that's right. Congratulations to Mason Crosby getting back in the scoring column with those kicks he made for the Giants last week, and hopefully he makes some more. So with that, we'll call it a rap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team and all of our coverage of Sunday Nights Big Game from US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. We will have it all for you on packers dot com for WES, I'm Mike. Thank you for tuning in.
Everybody.
We will see you next time.