Though both teams have been heading in opposite directions in the standings this season, a football rivalry spanning more than a half century will still be of interest to many fans Sunday when the Minnesota Vikings host the Green Bay Packers at the Metrodome.

The Vikings have only one win after six games in 2011, while the Packers have started the season 6-0 for the first time since Vince Lombardi was the head coach. However, as the New Orleans Saints found out in the playoffs last season at Seattle, being the defending Super Bowl champion doesn’t guarantee a victory against a team with a losing record.

Much of this week’s pregame hype, though it pales in comparison to two years ago when a quarterback named Brett Favre wore a Vikings uniform and faced his former team for the first time, centers around who will be Minnesota’s starting quarterback.

Ironically, veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb registered good numbers statistically in Sunday night’s lopsided loss at Chicago, where rookie Christian Ponder made his regular season debut for the Vikings and fueled the fire of those wanting Ponder to replace McNabb as the starter.

Now facing a five-game deficit in the NFC North, Viking fans who weeks ago called for a change in quarterback could experience the “Tim Tebow effect,” in which a new starter could energize interest in a team with only one win in 2011, as is the case with the Denver Broncos.

Beating a division rival, which the Vikings haven’t succeeded in doing this season after two attempts, would be a major turning point in a year in which three double-digit halftime leads turned into losses.

For their part, the Packers are saying all the right things publicly about not overlooking Sunday’s game while they are presently the NFL’s only team yet to lose this season. Talk about whether Green Bay could end the regular season undefeated is being countered by statements about focusing on going 7-0 this weekend.

Though Packer fans have debated in the past on talk radio as to what game is the bigger division rivalry — the Bears or Vikings, possibly depending on what team is playing better at the time — there should be no debate as to the significance of Sunday’s game at the Metrodome.

Boneske may be reached via e-mail at kevin@ifallsjournal.com