Four thoughts on a strange weekend of sports and rivalries:
• Vikings/Packers: We've written this before, and we'll write again now: Without Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers are essentially the Minnesota Vikings. We had plenty of evidence as the Packers went winless without Rodgers, but the point could not have been driven home more beautifully than it was Sunday, with the rarest of NFL rarities: the tie.
Both teams leaned heavily on the run game Sunday, with the two best players on the field offensively being Adrian Peterson and Eddie Lacy.
And both teams had quarterbacks who made plays and kept them in the game — just not enough plays to win the game when it mattered most. Christian Ponder and Matt Flynn (in relief) had numerous chances with the ball in their hands to win the game. Instead, neither team won.
It was a stark reminder of just how important great QB play is in the NFL. If Rodgers would have played Sunday, there is virtually no chance the Packers lose. End of story.
• Gophers/Badgers: Gophers head coach Jerry Kill was adamant in the aftermath of his team's 20-7 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday that Minnesota is beyond moral victories and playing close against the Badgers is not cause for success.
He is right.
That said, there are losses that make you re-evaluate the direction a program is heading or just how much progress it has really made … and then there is what happened at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday: The Gophers, winners of four straight coming in, played the best team they have faced all season. Their defense was stout, their offense misfired. They were beaten by a better team, but they also showed the yawning gap between the two programs has closed considerably.
