A prime-time game with NFC North title stakes is a fitting stage for the 21st and final matchup of the 2010s between the Vikings and Packers, who have produced as much intrigue during this decade as any in the rivalry’s 59-year history.
It began with the Packers winning their fourth Super Bowl behind 27-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers, while the Vikings sorted through the wreckage of their failed 2010 season with Brett Favre and an aging roster. Green Bay followed its Super Bowl XLV victory with a stock sale to fund another upgrade to Lambeau Field; the Vikings sought public money for a stadium to replace the Metrodome, where the roof collapsed at the end of 2010.