Brian Robison calls Vikings facing Packers without Aaron Rodgers ‘bittersweet’

The Minnesota Vikings have clinched the NFC North championship and have their sights set on gaining home-field advantage through the playoffs when they face the Green Bay Packers Saturday night.

What they don’t have is a crack at one of the NFL’s all-time great quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers.

‘We surely believe that Aaron Rodgers is the best’

Rodgers returned from the injured-reserve list last week to face the Carolina Panthers, but now that the Packers are out of the playoff picture, he is back on IR. That means the Vikings will go against backup Brett Hundley.

“I think it’s bittersweet,” Vikings defensive end Brian Robison told Alex Marvez and Gil Brandt on Late Hits. “I think us, as a defense, we want to face the best, we want to beat the best and we surely believe that Aaron Rodgers is the best. But at the end of the day, at the same time, you’re facing a Green Bay Packers team that really has struggled, but they’re still capable of putting up points. We saw them against Pittsburgh that was a very good football team, and they almost beat them.

‘We’ve got to pour everything we’ve got out of this game plan’

“So it’s not like we’ve got to go into this thing halfhearted. We’ve still got to come in there, we’ve got to pour everything we’ve got out of this game plan, make sure we put ourselves in the best position to be successful Saturday night and get after them.”

Still, Robison would have liked to see Rodgers behind center.

‘You definitely want to play the best’

“Anytime you face a good football team with players like Aaron Rodgers or anybody like that of that stature, you definitely want to play the best,” he said.