Green Bay Packers: 5 Bold predictions vs. Vikings, Week 2

2. Cook held to fewer than 50 rushing yards

As mentioned, Kirk Cousins only had to throw 10 passes in the Vikings season-opening victory and the biggest reason for that was the effectiveness of running back Dalvin Cook. The Falcons defense had no answer for the now-healthy ball-carrier and it showed. Cook finished the Week 1 victory with 21 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns.

That won’t happen against this Packers defense, though. With the revamped front seven in Green Bay, they showed in their Week 1 win that they are effective against the run, limiting the Bears to just 3.1 yards per carry on the day. They’ll gameplan to limit Cook and put the clamps on the running back from start to finish, forcing Cousins to try and beat them.

1. Packers ride strong team effort to double-digit win

There’s no question that the Vikings were dominant in Week 1 while the Packers looked a bit flawed. At the same time, though, the competition had a great deal to do with that in my opinion. The Falcons defense is a viable problem for that group this year while the Bears are one of the best defensive teams in the league. For my money, Green Bay is just the better team in this Week 2 matchup.

It won’t be an exceptionally explosive game for the Packers on Sunday at Lambeau Field but it’ll be effective. Continuing to showcase their much-improved defense and getting some balance into their offense, Green Bay will win their home-opener against the rival Vikings in convincing fashion.