The Packers will be without linebacker Brandon Chillar for a couple of weeks with a fractured hand.  Chillar has played in 7 games for the Packers this season and he has 36 tackles (2nd on the team), 1 sack and 1 tackle for a loss.  Look for rookie Clay Matthews to get more playing time due to Chillar’s injury and that’s likely a good thing.

 Brett Favre returned to Lambeau Field Sunday and he led his Minnesota Vikings (7-1) to a victory over his former Green Bay Packers (4-3).  Favre and the Vikings offense built a 17-3 lead going into halftime and it looked like it might be a blowout as the Vikings opened up the second half with a touchdown.  Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense finally responded though and scored 17 straight points to put the Packers back in the game.  Rodgers had another good game, but lacked protection once again.  He went 26/41 for 287 yards and three touchdowns.   Ryan Grant only got 30 yards on 10 carries.  Jared Allen and the Vikings defense did exactly what they did in the last match-up, blowing by the Packers’ offensive line and getting to Rodgers.  Allen led the Vikings with three sacks and they had six as a team.

The Packers defense could not do much to contain Favre, especially in the redzone.  He had four touchdown passes and no interceptions, while connecting on 17/28 passes for 244 yards.  They also gave up a huge passing play when Favre hit Percy Harvin for a 51-yard touchdown to open the second half.  The Packers offensive line really needs to get it together, as they have been giving up a ton of sacks all year.  If Rodgers can continually put up big numbers, despite getting sacked five times a game, imagine what he could do with good protection.

The Browns were winning this game 3-0 early in the 2nd quarter and then the Packers destroyed them the rest of the game.  Aaron Rodgers had a lot of time to throw the ball as he was not sacked for the first time this season.  Rodgers completed 15 of 20 passes for 246 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 23 yards (5.8 ypc).  Matt Flynn finished up the game at QB by completing 1 of 2 passes for 12 yards.  Ryan Grant was unstoppable as he had his best game of the season rushing for 148 yards on 27 carries (5.5 ypc) with a TD run.  Donald Driver only caught 2 passes but he still finished up with 84 yards receiving and a TD.  Little used TE Spencer Havner had the best game of his NFL career catching 2 passes for 59 yards with his first NFL TD reception.  James Jones only caught 1 pass for 5 yards but it was a TD reception.  The Packers finished up with 460 total yards on offense (202 rushing, 258 passing) in this game as they had possession of the football for 35:54!

Linebacker A.J. Hawk led the way for the Packers in this game with 8 tackles and 3 tackles for a loss.  OLB Aaron Kampman also had a great game finishing with 5 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for a loss and 3 QB hits.  The Browns finished up with a whopping 139 total yards on offense (58 rushing, 81 passing) in this game.  The Packers improve to 4-2 after this dominating win.

The Green Bay Packers (3-2) shut out the Detroit Lions (1-5) today and wide-receiver Donald Driver became the Packers’ franchise leader in career receptions, passing Sterling Sharpe’s 596 receptions.  Aaron Rodgers had a big game with two touchdowns and 358 passing yards on 29/37 attempts, but he lacked protection once again.  The Lions were able to sack Rodgers five times and forced him into an interception.  The Packers defense completely shut down the Lions offense though, so they got plenty of points from Rodgers and the Packers offense.

Daunte Culpepper started for the Lions today, since their starter Mathew Stafford sat out with a knee injury.  The Lions were also without their best offensive player in wide receiver Calvin Johnson.  Culpepper joined them on the sideline after injuring his hamstring in the 3rd quarter and Drew Stanton replaced him.  Both Culpepper and Stanton struggled with the Packers defense playing great.  They combined for only 71 yards on 11/25 attempts and 3 interceptions (2 from Stanton).  Rookie Clay Mathews had a great day for the Packers D, accounting for five tackles and two big sacks.  The Packers could have, and should have put up more points than they did.  They will need to do a better job getting touchdowns in the red-zone against other teams who are much better than the Lions.  They are on the road against the Cleveland Browns next week.

The Green Bay Packers (2-2) had long been the beneficiary of Brett Favre’s ability to play well on the big stage, but on Monday night they fell victim to Favre and the Minnesota Vikings’ (4-0) defense.  Favre threw three touchdowns and passed for 271 yards on 24/31 attempts (77%).  Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense fought as hard as they could, but the Vikings front line was too much for the Packers offensive line to handle.  Rodgers did throw two touchdowns and a career high 384 yards on 26/37 attempts (70%), but often held on to the ball too long and threw an interception.  The Vikings ended up with eight sacks, with Jared Allen accounting for 4.5 sacks and a safety.

The Packers running game was effective, as they averaged 4.8 yards per carry, but they were playing catch-up most of the game and finished with only 82 rushing yards.  They had to pass most of the time, since they were down early, so they could not stick with the running game.  The Packers defense was able to shut down Adrian Peterson, as he only had 55 yards on 25 carries (2.2 avg), but they were not able to stop Brett Favre and the Vikings’ passing game.  Favre came out with a focus and determination to beat his former team and looked like a man on a mission.  He was able to build a big lead on the Packers and the Vikings’ defense was able to contain Aaron Rodgers from leading the Packers to a Favre-like comeback and held on for the victory.  The Packers have a bye next week.