The Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers were expected to compete for an NFC North title this season.

Instead, both teams are fighting to remain in the NFC wild-card hunt.

There will be major playoff implications when the Vikings host the Packers on Sunday Night Football. At 5-4-1, Minnesota is currently one game up on Green Bay (4-5-1) for the final NFC wild-card spot.

Neither team came out on top the first time these teams met on Sept. 16. Minnesota’s Daniel Carlson and Green Bay’s Mason Crosby combined to miss four field goals, including three potential game-winning kicks in a 29-29 tie. After going 0-for-3 including two misses in overtime, Carlson (now a member of the Oakland Raiders) was replaced by Dan Bailey. Crosby went 5-for-6 in that game. However, Crosby has struggled with consistency all year, including a missed 47-yard field goal attempt in last week’s 27-24 Packers’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

The fact that both teams had a chance to win their initial meeting on field goals wouldn’t have been possible if Green Bay hadn’t conceded a 20-7 fourth-quarter lead. It’s one thing to blame the defence and placekicker for not being able to clinch a victory, it’s quite another to put the blame on the offence. However, with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback the Packers should be able to lean on their offence when the game is on the line.

Fourth-quarter scoring has been a major issue for Green Bay on the road this season. It’s one of the biggest reasons why the Packers are 0-5 as the visiting team. Green Bay has averaged just 3.8 fourth-quarter points in their five losses, including getting shut out in the final frame of losses to the Washington Redskins and New England Patriots.

Green Bay had four separate fourth-quarter drives that ended with field goal attempts in its first meeting with Minnesota. If they are going to beat the Vikings in the rematch, the Packers need to finish drives with touchdowns rather than settle for field goals.

Rodgers struggled to push the ball downfield in that tie with Minnesota. While he completed 26-of-27 pass attempts that travelled within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, Rodgers went just 4-of-10 on his pass attempts that travelled 10 yards or more downfield. He was also sacked four times.

Nobody would second-guess Rodgers’ play based on a stat line that includes 3,073 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and just one interception. However, his 61.8 completion percentage ranks 26th in the NFL among qualified starters and only five quarterbacks have been sacked more than Rodgers (30) this season.

Simply put, Rodgers will need to be better if Green Bay is going to win this week and contend for a playoff spot, particularly in the fourth quarter. If that doesn’t happen, the Packers could end up falling further back in the NFC wild-card race this weekend.

Meanwhile, there is also a lot of pressure on Kirk Cousins, the quarterback lining up opposite of Rodgers on Sunday.

After signing a three-year, $84 million deal that made him the highest-paid player in NFL history in the off-season, Cousins was anointed the missing piece that could take Minnesota to the Super Bowl after they fell just short of that goal last season. However, Cousins has struggled with consistency. While he owns the league’s best completion percentage under pressure (65), he has also committed the second-most turnovers (13) in the NFL.

Cousins was solid in his first meeting with the Packers, completing 35-of-48 pass attempts for a season-high 425 yards and four touchdowns with just one interception. The Vikings have a capable run game and a solid defence, but in order to take that next step as a true contender they will need Cousins to play to his potential the rest of the way this season.

Minnesota has reached a crucial point in its schedule with a home game against Green Bay, followed by road games against the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks the following two weeks. Meanwhile, the Packers have a much more manageable schedule the rest of the way but need to capitalize on this opportunity after losing three of their last four.

Sunday’s game might not be “must-win” territory for either side just yet.

However, with just six games left on the schedule the pressure is on both NFC North teams to secure a win on Sunday Night Football.