In a postgame interview on the field after his Packers kept their playoff hopes alive with a 41–17 win over the Vikings, Aaron Rodgers correctly listed in order the reasons this team has freed itself from the blender of irrelevance.
• Keisean Nixon—in an era in which the return game has gone by way of the home encyclopedia—has logged a game-altering play nearly each week since Thanksgiving, and ripped off a 105-yard touchdown that stunned an unprepared Minnesota kickoff unit.
• Jaire Alexander played one of the best games a cornerback has logged against an elite wide receiver in the past half decade, holding Justin Jefferson to one catch for 15 yards. This was complete with a spirited rendition of Jefferson’s touchdown dance, the Griddy, after a broken-up pass. Vikings fans are so worked up that their Reddit page requires a tinfoil hat in order to enter.
