Will Aaron Rodgers take revenge on the Vikings?

Everything changed for the Green Bay Packers a year ago, when they faced the Vikings in Minnesota. Can Aaron Rodgers frustrate another NFC North rival?

He will be here.

Last Sunday night at Lambeau Field, the worst seemed to have arrived. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers grabbed the knee. Moments later, he was removed from the field. At half-time, the Chicago Bears took the lead 17-0. New head coach Matt Nagy and his team extended this advantage to 20 points.

But here is Rodgers, ready to intervene after the intermission and return to the field with 9:14 to play in the third quarter. He would bring his team back to a field goal on his return.

But the double MVP of the NFL was just warming up. The next three times the Packers got the ball, Rodgers led them to touchdowns. In the end, Mike McCarthy's team rallied to win 24-23, starting the season dramatically.

But what about this Sunday? Defeating a divisional rival like the Bears was huge. Now, here is the reigning champion of NFC North, the Minnesota Vikings, and the highest ranked defense of a year ago. After the Chicago win, NBC's Michelle Tafoya asked Rodgers if he would be ready for the purple gang?

"I will play next week."

But is he going? Rodgers has since been diagnosed with a "knee sprain". And what about Sunday? "I want to play, of course, but just take it one day at a time," the prolific smuggler (via Zach Kruse from PackersWire.com) said on Wednesday, "so hopefully ready to go on Sunday."

Do not bury the lead too. A year ago, the Packers took a 4-1 start and were in Minnesota to face their NFC North neighbors. Rodgers would throw himself at the start of the competition with what turned out to be a broken collarbone, thanks to a slightly controversial move by Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr. The prolific passer of the Packers would be lost for the vast majority of the season. He attempted a comeback in the 15th week at Carolina, but was not able to lose 31 to 31 in a loss.

The number of Rodgers quarries compared to the Minnesota Vikings is completely out of date. He made his first NFL start on Monday night against this long-standing divisional rivalry in 2008 and won. Including a playoff game in 2012, he made 19 starts and his team won 12 of these competitions. He threw 40 touchdowns against just six interceptions. He faced a few defenses from Minnesota, returned 59 times in those matches. Much of this punishment was inflicted by Vikings defensive end Jared Allen.

But the moment has come. And this Minnesota defense is able to humiliate any quarter of the league. Mike Zimmer's team refreshed Jimmy Garoppolo of San Francisco last week. Unbeaten as an NFL starter entering the match (7-0), the caller, still young, made less than half his throws (15-of-33) for 261 yards and a point. But he was eliminated three times and sacked three times in a 24-16 loss.

It's hard to believe Rodgers will not be on the field on Sunday. There is a lot at stake for the team and the player, who would certainly like to show the Vikings that he is still very much alive and kicking … and throwing. More importantly, if the Green Bay Packers can serve at home against the champions of the defending division, the team will leave 2-0 and the two victories in the North of the NFC. It's a huge game for a variety of reasons.