An interesting stat has come to light about one upcoming NFL game.

For the first time since 2000, the Minnesota Vikings are favored on the road against the Green Bay Packers.

The two main rosters for this is due to the Vikings being so good this year and the Packers placing Aaron Rodgers on injured reserve.

After being officially eliminated from playoff contention on Monday, the Green Bay Packers are playing things safe with their superstar quarterback. The Packers announced Tuesday that Rodgers has been placed on injured reserve and quarterback Joe Callahan was signed to take his place on the 53-man roster.

"He's a special player, stating the obvious," McCarthy said Tuesday after Rodgers was placed on IR. "But he definitely laid it out there for us."

“I think it’s in everybody’s best interest,” McCarthy said. “I’m not going to sit here and fake who your quarterback is going to be. It’s important for Brett Hundley to get all the reps."

Hundley has completed 161-of-252 passes (63.9 percent) for 1,534 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions in nine appearances and seven starts this season.

“Very important for Brett Hundley. He’s excited,” McCarthy said. “These are opportunities you can’t get in the preseason to play against a high-caliber opponent this time of year. This will be his first cold game under 10 degrees or 15 degrees, whatever comes in. This is a great experience for him.”

"Aaron’s effort and everything he put in to getting back to play shows you the will and the character of the football team," McCarthy said. "He’s the leader. I think he did a lot of really good things in the Carolina game. To come back, that was a challenge for him. They’re an excellent defense. I think it shows you his competitive spirit and his will to be a champion. ... He’s a special player. That's stating the obvious. But he laid it out there for us."

The Packers will finish the season with back-to-back games against NFC North opponents, Minnesota and Detroit.

“We have a chance to finish strong with two division games – two teams that are playoff teams,” McCarthy said. “We’re an established program but we’re no different than any other program. We have to find ways to improve each and every year, whether it’s player instruction, player acquisition, player finance. That’s what the evaluation period is for after the season.

"Unfortunately, we’ll start our process earlier than we have in prior years. At the end of the day, we need to finish strong these next two weeks.”