The first time the Packers played the Vikings, they withstood a 210-yard rushing effort by RB Adrian Peterson to win 23-14 at Lambeau Field.
In the 16th week of the regular season, the Packers made a major change at one of the most important positions on the team.
For the first time in many weeks, the Packers are mostly healthy as they head into Saturday's wild-card game against the Vikings.
The Packers defense simply has to play better than it did last week against the Vikings, when it allowed 37 points, if Green Bay wants to win the wild-card round rematch and advance in the playoffs.
On Wednesday, McCarthy introduced a possible dual-returner scenario, utilizing both Randall Cobb and newly discovered play-maker Jeremy Ross.
Green Bay Packers WR Jordy Nelson still has not been cleared to play against the Vikings.
Charles Woodson is 36 years old, has spent 15 years in the NFL and missed the Green Bay Packers' last nine games with a broken collarbone. He's also an eight-time Pro Bowler, the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year and quite possibly the key to the Packers beating the Minnesota Vikings.
The news for the Packers' banged-up defensive line got worse Wednesday when rookie DE Jerel Worthy's season ended with a knee injury suffered against the Vikings.
The Packers' road to a third consecutive NFC North division title in 2013 will be more treacherous than the one they traveled this season.
The Packers offense was great on Sunday, but the defense was horrendous, and that put the Vikings into the playoffs and denied Green Bay a first-round bye.
The Packers have already locked up a playoff berth, but that doesn't mean they won't be motivated against the Vikings on Sunday. They can improve their seed, and then there's this: not being on the wrong end of an Adrian Peterson record.
Packers DL B.J. Raji was named a 2012 Pro Bowl alternate, despite subjectively having a better season than the one that got him selected as a starter last year.
For the past couple of weeks, coach Mike McCarthy has insisted that veteran DB Charles Woodson, who's missed two months with a broken collarbone, would play as soon as he's ready. The Packers were not going to intentionally rest Woodson to give him extra time to fully heal for the playoffs, McCarthy said.
When Randall Cobb was injured returning a punt in last week's 55-7 win over the Titans, his immediate fear was that it might be career-ending. But even with a leg that was "hurting pretty bad," he jogged off the field under his own power because his mom was in the stands and moms tend to fret.
The Packers' offense got a boost Wednesday when WR Jordy Nelson and RB Alex Green returned to practice.