With Aaron Rodgers under centre, the Green Bay Packers are a threat to any team in the league — without Rodgers, the Packers are just another team. Early in the game at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the Packers were transformed from top-tier threat to ordinary as Rodgers was injured and had to leave the game. Green Bay backup Brett Hundley was unable to get the team going consistently, and the injuries piled up as the game went on (it might have been quicker to list the un-injured players by the end of the fourth quarter – “Injured Packers were carted off the field as if the driver were getting paid by the body”). If Rodgers is out for an extended period, Green Bay is going to continue to struggle.

For the Vikings, Sam Bradford didn’t practice all week and was listed as inactive on the injury report, so Case Keenum got the start again (in hindsight, I was wrong to worry about signing Keenum … he’s been far better than a random journeyman backup quarterback, and I’m glad he’s on our roster). Pro Football Talk reported that Bradford’s injury may be more serious than the team has revealed and that it could keep him out for several more games. In happier quarterback news, Teddy Bridgewater will get a medical evaluation on Monday and could be activated from the PUP list as early as Wednesday if the evaluation is positive. The Vikings would then have three weeks to allow Bridgewater to practice before deciding to restore him to the active roster or put him back on the PUP list for the rest of the season.

At the Star Tribune, Jim Souhan discusses the Vikings’ quarterback situation:

Bridgewater’s return seemed the stuff of silly dreams and bad scriptwriting before Bradford failed to finish a half last Monday in Chicago, but those who have watched Bridgewater lately rave about his recovery. “He looks great,” receiver Adam Thielen said.

If Bridgewater is cleared to practice and looks like the team’s best quarterback, the Vikings will face a typically torturous decision.

Do they plod along with Keenum? Do they test Bradford’s knee again? Do they prepare Bridgewater to take back what 14 months ago was his job, knowing that to play him is to risk exposing him to free agency in March?

It’s instructive to remember what Vikings general manager Rick Spielman did when Bridgwater injured his knee. Spielman went after the best quarterback he could find, regardless of cost.

If Bridgewater is cleared to play and Bradford doesn’t recover, Bridgewater might become the team’s best option, regardless of cost.

Go on, Jim. Throw more red meat to the Bridgewater Underground.

The Vikings’ wide receiver corps was missing Stefon Diggs with a nagging groin injury, so expectations were higher for Adam Thielen (who certainly performed to expectation: nine catches for 97 yards), Laquon Treadwell, and Michael Floyd. Floyd left the game with an injury, but Treadwell finally had a good game, highlighted by this very Cris Carter-ish reception:

Harrison Smith had a great game, including an interception that was at least as dramatic as Treadwell’s catch: video at the link.

On third-and-2 from his own 48, Packers quarterback Brett Hundley dropped back and looked for a target. Under pressure from Danielle Hunter, Hundley threw toward Jordy Nelson. Smith read the play and immediately began backpedaling before diving to the side and hauling in a one-handed interception.

“He’s a good football player. He’s smart, he’s tough, he’s physical, he’s instinctive,” Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer said after the game. “That was the play that they had run against us in the past, and they had run it earlier this year. We happened to be in a little bit of a different coverage, but he saw it and made a great play.”

When asked about the flashy play, Smith’s response was anything but.

“I was really just making sure I got it knocked down, and then I had a chance to finish,” the safety said nonchalantly.

Smith had quite the outing Sunday, helping the Vikings to a 23-10 lead over the Packers. In addition to the interception, he set a personal single-game best with 1.5 sacks.

At the Daily Norseman, Christopher Gates handled the Stock Market Report for the absent Don Glover, including the Buy/Sell recommendations:

Buy: Aaron Rodgers’ injury changed the game – Yes, any time a team loses one of the best quarterbacks of all time and arguably the best quarterback in the game right now, it changes things. Of course the game is different if Rodgers plays all four quarters but, well, he didn’t. And as a result, the NFC North and the NFC as a whole have both gotten a lot more interesting.

Sell: Rodgers’ injury is the only reason the Vikings won – Obviously, you’d rather face Brett Hundley than Aaron Rodgers. But, regardless of who was playing quarterback for the Packers, the Vikings’ defense is still really, really good, the Packers’ offensive line is still really, really not good, and the Packers’ defense was still short-handed. I thought Minnesota could win this one before the Rodgers injury, but we’ll never know. Oh, and if nobody noticed, the Vikings were missing a few guys, too (like their #1 quarterback and their #2 quarterback and their #1 running back and their #1 wide receiver and one of their starting safeties). But, you should be prepared to hear all about how the Vikings only beat the Packers because of the Rodgers injury for at least the next few days.

Buy: Mike Zimmer is a better football coach than Mike McCarthy – I mean … duh.

Sell: Mike Zimmer has all the nuances of coaching down – However, there are still things that Zimmer needs to work on as far as awareness. Specifically, I’m thinking of the play where Case Keenum hit Jerick McKinnon on a pass that, after watching the replay, hit the ground before McKinnon caught it, but the officials ruled a completion that went for a first down. Zimmer told the offense to rush to the line before the play could be reviewed. . .however, Mike McCarthy had already burned both of his challenges, meaning the play couldn’t be reviewed (fortunately for the Vikings). The Vikings wound up burning a timeout in that situation, and while it didn’t come back to bite them, it’s something that Zimmer (or someone on his staff) needs to be aware of.

Buy: The NFC North just got interesting – The Vikings and the Packers are now both 4-2, with the Detroit Lions at 3-3 after getting 53 points dropped on them by New Orleans today. Heck, even the Chicago Bears have decided to join the party, beating the Vikings’ opponent next week (the Baltimore Ravens) in overtime. With Rodgers likely not being back this season, this could come down to the Vikings and the Lions to battle this out. Yes, I know that when Rodgers got injured in 2013 the Packers won the NFC North, but that was largely because the Lions and Bears thought they would be generous and hand it to them … the Packers went 2-5-1 in the eight games that Rodgers missed.

Sell: Printing playoff tickets already – On paper, the Vikings should be considered the favorites in the NFC North. However, games aren’t played on paper … after all, the Detroit defense that got 53 points dropped on them by an offense that scored just 19 against Minnesota gave up all of seven to Minnesota a few weeks ago. The only thing that anybody knows about the National Football League is that nobody really knows anything about the National Football League. However, the Vikings should … should … be able to get to the bye week at 6-2 and then we get to see where things take us from there.