“They’re nice and everything,” Sam Darnold said about Packers fans, “but when you start to talk about football, they’re not shy about speaking their mind about who they think the better team is.”
Tensions are rising between Vikings and Packers fans ahead of the 129th chapter in this storied rivalry, which brings some of the biggest stakes possible for a regular season game.
A Vikings victory maintains their control over pursuing the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC that comes with a first-round bye in the playoffs, home-field advantage and a division title. A Packers victory locks Green Bay into at least the No. 6 seed, avoiding current No. 2 seed Philadelphia in their opening round.
So, Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold isn’t expecting to hear from a childhood friend who grew up a Packers fan. This buddy, whom Darnold prefers to leave unnamed, reached out prior to Darnold’s first game against the Packers: a 31-29 victory at Green Bay on Sept. 29.
“He’s probably not going to reach out to me this week,” Darnold said Thursday. “He’s thinking maybe that’ll change something. No, but he’s a great buddy. Hopefully he’ll reach out, but if not, I won’t be surprised.”
Darnold, the face of the Vikings’ unexpected success with a career-high 32 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, has become familiar with Packers fans treating him a little differently now.
“It’s the whole entire NFC North, man,” Darnold said. “It’s an incredible kind of rivalries or bitterness, I guess you could say. It’s awesome to be able to run into Packers fans. And I’m not going to lie they’re nice and everything, but when you start to talk about football, they’re not shy about speaking their mind about who they think the better team is. It’s just fun, man. It makes everything more fun, makes the game more fun. That’s the reason we play.”
This will be Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson’s 10th game against the Packers in his NFL career, and while his teams are 5-4 since he arrived, they are 0-3 in December and January.
Where does Sunday’s matchup fall on Jefferson’s list of top Vikings-Packers games?
