MINNEAPOLIS -- On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings will put their one-game NFC North lead on the line when they face the Green Bay Packers at TCF Bank Stadium. But if the standing say the Vikings are the team being hunted, players certainly don't feel that way.

Not that they should. The Packers have won the division the past four years; the last time they didn't, they won Super Bowl XLV. They were undefeated through this season's first six games, and are 9-1-1 against the Vikings in this decade.

But after three consecutive Packers losses -- including their first to the Detroit Lions at home since 1991 -- the Vikings have reason to think they can turn things around and beat Green Bay at home. Here are five reasons why they can:

1. Adrian Peterson is rolling: The running back leads the league with 961 rushing yards this season, and ran for 203 on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders. He's averaged 8.1 yards per carry in the fourth quarter this season, including 3.9 after contact. And he's facing a team against which he's run for 1,648 yards and 11 touchdowns in 14 career games. The Packers are 24th in the league against the run this season, and if Peterson has a big day, he'll not only put points on the board, he'll help the Vikings control the flow of the game in a way the Packers probably won't be able to do. Speaking of which ...

2. Aaron Rodgers hasn't been himself: The quarterback who has strafed the Vikings for 3,747 yards and 32 touchdowns in 14 career games hasn't gone over 7.7 yards per pass in the Packers' three-game losing streak, and his chemistry with his receivers has been off without Jordy Nelson to command attention. The Packers often rely on their receivers to win one-on-one matchups, rather than creating ways for them to get open, and that doesn't work as well with Nelson out and defenses free to concentrate on Randall Cobb. The Packers will likely try some different things Sunday after the Lions loss, but if the Vikings can cover as well as they have for much of the season, they might not need to worry about Rodgers' big-play ability as much as usual.

Adrian Peterson has been strong in the fourth quarter this season and could allow the Vikings to control the tempo Sunday. Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

3. The Vikings' defensive line can control the game: Linval Joseph, who won NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against the St. Louis Rams on Nov. 8, has been one of the best nose tackles in the league this season. He's helped the Vikings rank fifth in the league against the run after the San Francisco 49ers shredded them for 230 yards in Week 1, and he's flanked by two defensive tackles (Sharrif Floyd and Tom Johnson) who can get to the quarterback. With James Starks having surpassed Eddie Lacy as the No. 1 running back, the Packers' ground game has been in flux. And if the Vikings can keep the Packers in third-and-long situations, they'll have opportunities to blitz Rodgers -- as teams have been doing more often lately -- without as much fear of him burning them downfield. Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer talked about the importance of preventing Rodgers from escaping the pocket, where he's at his most dangerous, but the Packers' offensive line hasn't protected Rodgers as well this season, and the Vikings might be able to rattle him more than usual.

4. Their special teams are better: According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Vikings have the seventh-most-efficient special-teams units in the league this season, with 9.18 expected points added (the Packers are 12th at 2.53 expected points added). They've enjoyed a 6.5-yard advantage over opponents in average drive-start field position, while the Packers have a margin of just .4 yards. And with Cordarrelle Patterson and Marcus Sherels each posting a return touchdown this month, the Vikings have been able to create some extra points in the often-overlooked third phase of the game. The Packers, on the other hand, have seen punter Tim Masthay struggle, and their return units have been relatively benign.

5. They want it more: Yes, the Packers need to turn things around after three straight losses. Yes, this is an organization that has dominated the division for a long time, and yes, they should be confident they can pull back into a first-place tie Sunday. But the Vikings come in with a full complement of confidence after winning five straight games, and they know what a victory over the Packers would say about their legitimacy in the NFC. It would also put the Vikings in firm command of the NFC North, with a two-game lead over Green Bay and only a division win away from securing the tiebreaker. In a stadium that figures to be rocking by the late-afternoon start, the Vikings are in prime position to stand up to the Packers.