With Sunday’s 23-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers have officially won more divisional matchups this year than they did during the entire 2024 season, and that’s with 4 NFC North
games left to go! The Packers were missing a slew of players, including RB Josh Jacobs, WR Matthew Golden, and LB Quay Walker.
Heading into today’s game, they had the toughest remaining schedule in the entire league, plus Brandon McManus was kicking. The odds were stacked against them. Guys stepped up against the Vikings, leading the team to a win and a firm hold on 2nd place in the division. Let’s take a look at who stood out.
Winner: Emanuel Wilson
When it was announced this week that Josh Jacobs was likely going to be a game-time decision, I think a lot of us assumed the Packers would run a very pass-heavy offense against the Vikings. WELL. With 22 pass attempts to 42 rushes, it’s safe to say that was wrong. I thought all this time Matt LaFleur had a big crush on Josh Jacobs, and it turns out it’s just run plays in general. To be fair, it was announced that QB Jordan Love is playing with an AC joint sprain in his non-throwing shoulder, so the commitment to the run makes a little bit more sense today.
In his first-ever NFL start, Emanuel Wilson stepped in and stepped up. Much like the guy he filled in for, he had moments where it seemed like it took the whole defense to bring him down. He was able to pick up extra yardage when it didn’t look likely, and his vision on certain plays was stellar. Wilson finished the day with 107 yards on 28 carries (3.8 avg), and 2 TDs. With 807 career rushing yards and 5 total rushing touchdowns heading into the game, this was a career moment for the RB. He played the workhorse role perfectly today, and his NFL journey has been really cool to watch.
Winner: Big Sleepy and Kingsley Enagbare
We don’t hear much on game days about DT Nazir Stackhouse, affectionately nicknamed “Big Sleepy” due to his narcolepsy diagnosis. DL Kingsley Enagbare has had some great games in his time with the Packers, but has been a largely under-the-radar player. On the Vikings’ third drive of the first half, both players had back-to-back defensive stops to force a turnover on downs when the offense was deep into Packers territory.
On 3rd and 1, the Vikings attempted a sneak with TE T.J. Hockenson, because why not? Isaiah McDuffie was credited with the tackle (he was credited with all the tackles), but Stackhouse was the one who blew up the play, causing no gain, and a crucial 4th and 1. The Vikings then had RB Jordan Mason run up the middle, and Enagbare was there to make the stop for a loss, and a subsequent turnover on downs. At this point in the game, the Packers were only up by 4, so a stop on back-to-back short-yardage attempts gave the Packers a huge momentum swing.
Winner: Brandon McManus
It’s been a very up-and-down month for the Packers at the kicker position. After Lucas Havrisik stepped in and set a new franchise record with a 61-yard field goal in October, the team went back to McManus the very next week. This was, in hindsight, far too early. McManus had been dealing with a quad injury, and as Matt LaFleur admitted, was not yet at 100%. He missed 4 FGs in 3 weeks, including in 2 games that were lost by 3 points. To give McManus a little more rest, the team went back to Havrisik last week against the Giants, and he promptly missed two XP attempts in a very windy game.
I was not optimistic going into today’s game, and remained unmoved after McManus’ opening kickoff failed to make the landing zone, thus allowing the Vikings to quickly move the ball downfield and get a FG within 2 minutes. HOWEVER, McManus was perfect for the remainder of the game. He was 3/3 on FGs with a long of 40, and was 2/2 on XP attempts. We’ve reached the point in the season where I’m simply praising people for doing their jobs, but I’m glad things seem to be back to normal, fingers crossed.
Winner: Isaiah McDuffie
Have a day, Isaiah McDuffie! The Packers LB made the most of Quay Walker’s absence today by being absolutely everywhere on the field. He had multiple key stops on third downs, helped the defense hold the Vikings to less than 150 total offensive yards (they were quite offensive), and he notched his first-ever NFL interception. McDuffie finished the day with 9 total tackles (5 solo), 0.5 sacks, and 1 PD.
Bonus Winner: This Play
This was just…sick.
The 7-3-1 Packers have a quick turnaround as they head to Detroit to face off against the 7-4 Lions on Thursday to play in their third-straight Thanksgiving Day game. Can they make it a third-straight Thanksgiving Day win and sweep the Lions in 2025?
