We all should have seen this coming, but not for the typical Minnesota reason of everything going wrong the moment you start believing.

No, we should have seen the Vikings 30-13 blowout loss to the Packers coming because, well, the law of averages is a powerful thing.

The Packers had lost three games in a row – two excusable road losses at Denver and Carolina, then a head-scratcher at home to Detroit. The Vikings had won five in a row – many in skin-of-their-teeth fashion.

Green Bay was simply too good to keep playing the way it was. The Vikings were operating on thin margins. Both of those trends collided and reversed in a big way Sunday.

This certainly wasn't one of those games that hinged on a handful of plays, as so many in the NFL seem to be these days (and the type of game the Vikings have thrived in this year). Green Bay was better from start to finish.

Yes, there were a couple of major events — including the pass interference on third and long late in the first half that set up the Green Bay touchdown that really turned the game on the scoreboard — but the Packers were the better team in the passing game, running game, on defense and special teams.

If the Packers are the team Mike Zimmer feels the Vikings have to prove themselves against, there's still a lot to prove. Maybe the rematch in Lambeau in early January will be a different kind of game.