Week 16 of the National Football League starts Thursday night, so I'm putting out my prediction solely for this game right now. You can catch my prediction for the Saturday game and all of the Sunday games tomorrow, right here on Pro Football Critics.

SOMETHING TO PLAY FOR

Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers. Despite both teams having 6-8 records, the winner of this contest will have a slight chance at making the postseason still. Both teams have had their share of inconsistencies this season. While the Packers have had a potent offense at times under the legendary Brett Favre, the team still has its weeks where the offense struggles all around. Fortunately for the Packers, they were finally able to win a game last week after Favre played rather poorly, throwing three interceptions against the Detroit Lions. The Vikings have watched veteran quarterback Brad Johnson struggle all season long, and finally pulled the trigger on him late last week in favor of rookie Tarvaris Jackson. Jackson will get the start this week, as the team hopes he can give them a boost to end the season.

Picking the Packers at Lambeau this late in the season used to be a sure thing, but that's not the case the past few seasons. The Packers have six wins this season, but only two of them have come on the road. The Packers have even suffered a couple of blowouts at home, but like the Vikings, they are still mathematically alive. In this game, I know that Vikings fans are excited about the possibilities for Jackson. Unfortunately, I expect the Packers defense to give him some problems throughout the game, although he shouldn't play too bad. The Packers will have a tough time getting their running game going against the Vikings solid defense. The Packers will have to hope Favre doesn't have one of his "heave it up for grabs" type of games, otherwise the Vikings defense will be able to pull out a win themselves. Packers 21, Vikings 17

Predictions Record to Date: 140-84(It looks like I won't reach 100 losses.)
Last Week: 12-4(Pretty good record around crunch time.)

Remember, I'll be back with the rest of my football picks tomorrow.

-Chris Pokorny