Live Updates: Can Packers Set Tone for Critical Week 1 Game at Vikings?

MINNEAPOLIS – Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur is looking for his team to set the tone in Sunday’s Week 1 rivalry showdown against the Minnesota Vikings.

“We better see great energy and excitement,” LaFleur said this week. “We just talked about the build-up to this moment and how much work actually goes in. You might as well go cut it loose and play balls to the wall.”

Follow along all day for updates from U.S. Bank Stadium.

What Channel for Packers-Vikings?

CBS will air this NFC North showdown to most of the nation.

Packers-Vikings Inactives

The Packers will line up without a $77 million starter.

This story has been updated with new starter at left guard and an inexperienced interior. https://t.co/pUbxa6OODQ
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 13, 2026

Setting the Tone

Conventional wisdom says the Vikings are the home team and will have the built-in edge in setting the tone. Packers linebacker Zaire Franklin doesn’t buy it.

“We don’t really match anybody’s intensity,” he said. “We set the tone for how we play. We’re going to go out there and play our brand of ball that we’ve been installing and creating that mindset since April. Minnesota’s just the first test. It’s going to be good to put that on tape and let the league know what the Green Bay Packers defense is all about.”

The Packers are 4-3 in opening games under coach Matt LaFleur. With Jordan Love at quarterback, the Packers won at Chicago in 2023, lost to Philadelphia in Brazil in 2024 and beat Detroit at Lambeau last year.

“I think we can set a major tone,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “Obviously it’s a division game to start the season, and what a way to start the season to have a division game, just knowing the history behind the two teams and the matchup. Obviously, it’s always fun to play in Minnesota – the atmosphere is always a great atmosphere – I think it’s a great first game for us, and for them, but for us to be able to set the tone and come out with that right mindset.”

For McKinney, Week 1 is simple. The game will be decided by the building blocks of football rather than unscouted looks and scheme.

“You learn who has been on their fundamentals and their techniques,” he said. “I think early in the season is all about fundamentals and techniques, and whoever makes the least amount of mistakes usually is going to win the game. So, obviously, you’re not really sure about what the other team is going to do, what they’re going to run because it’s the first game of the season so you don’t really know.

“But, luckily, they’ve got the same coordinator so they’re going to run what they’ve been running, but I’m sure there’s going to be some different looks in there that we haven’t seen or that we didn’t prepare for. So, it’s all going to fall back on fundamentals and techniques and who makes the least amount of mistakes is going to win the game.”

My Packers season prediction, which I’m sure you’ll hate. ⬇️https://t.co/CBxBRHzHuh
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 13, 2026

New Coordinators

The Packers have new coordinators on defense with Jonathan Gannon and special teams with Achord. Both coaches will have huge roles on the outcome of the season. Gannon must figure out how to navigate the start of the season without Micah Parsons and Achord must fix and chronically broken special teams.

“I feel really good,” Gannon said. “There’s always an unknown until you line up and play about how it’s going to be.”

The great unknown is the pass rush. The edge rosters on the 53-man roster combined for four sacks last season.

“I feel really good about us being able to affect the passer right now, from what they’ve done in training camp, what they’ve done in some preseason games,” Gannon said. “Even with Micah, you’re going to hear me, it’s always a collective effort.

“I think people just concentrate on the rush. Rush and coverage go together, so it’s not just the guys that are rushing the passer. It’s the back end, how that’s coordinated with the rush. I feel really good about our edge guys. I feel really good about us being able to generate inside, the guys we have inside and, hopefully, we’ll put a couple cool things on tape that make it hard on them.”

It's everyone's favorite story: Three reasons why the Packers will lose today. ⬇️https://t.co/ZdBY7ffW1u

But if you're a glass-half-full person: ⬇️https://t.co/f3dcU1LYe0
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 13, 2026

Packers Are Underdogs

The Vikings, as has been the case all week, are 1.5-point favorites at FanDuel Sportsbook. The over/under is 46.5. About 2 hours before kickoff, 60 percent of the money was on Green Bay to cover.

For over/unders, Jordan Love’s passing yards are 237.5, Christian Watson’s receiving yards are 56.5 (followed by Tucker Kraft at 44.5, Jayden Reed at 43.5 and Matthew Golden at 39.5), and MarShawn Lloyd’s rushing yards are 44.5.

Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson’s over/under is 73.5 yards.

Revenge Game for Javon Hargrave

The Packers signed 33-year-old defensive tackle Javon Hargrave not long after he was released by the Vikings in March.

“Of course” that makes this game additionally meaningful, he said.

“I know them guys. I know they’re going to try to come get after me a little bit,” Hargrave said. “So, I’m just really looking forward to the challenge.”

Asked if he was a player who held a grudge or played with a chip on his shoulder or had something to prove, he said:

“I think I’m all of that. Yeah, I can’t lie. I’m pretty much all of that.”

“It’s always something to prove,” he added. “You just hear the down talks and stuff like that and you just want to shut everybody up.”

Hargrave missed the first half of training camp with a knee injury, and the team has been slow to get him ramped up. Entering Year 11 in the NFL, that’s probably the wise approach with a player who doesn’t have much to prove on the practice field but needs to be at his best in the games.

“Yeah, I’m in a great spot right now,” he said. “I feel like I’m in great shape and I’m feeling myself. You got to save a little. It’s kind of hard to go like them guys go, but I think we had a good plan.”

Hargrave will be expected to make an impact, especially on passing downs, in his reunion with defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. He’s also a key leader on a unit headlined by 2022 first-round pick Devonte Wyatt but including Karl Brooks (fourth season), Jonathan Ford (drafted in 2022 but only 13 career games), Warren Brinson (second season), Anthony Campbell (first season; zero career games) and Chris McClellan (rookie).

“He's a big addition to the group,” Ford said. “He's a guy that talks to everybody. We joke every day. It's like we've been knowing each other for a few years now. He's a good dude, he's open, he gives us pointers. He's just overall a great dude. He's a great addition to the room, especially with a lot of youth in it. Having somebody like him who's been around and experienced is awesome.”

The challenge this week will be a tough one with the athletic ability of Kyler Murray.

“Explosive athlete. He makes some of the best athletes look slow,” Hargrave said. “So, we know we got to put a hard hat on and everybody’s got to be running.”

As always, @JacobWestendorf's 10 most important players for the Packers is always a good read. He bulked it up to 12 (just in case) for today's game. ⬇️https://t.co/DDHIj0pxey
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 13, 2026

New Number, New Opportunity

Jonathan Ford was a seventh-round pick by the Packers in 2022. He didn’t make their roster in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

For a reward, he got to ditch his No. 64 jersey for No. 96.

“That was the moment I was waiting for,” Ford said. “I just wanted to know if I was going to make the team or not. It happened. I texted Coach. I'm like, ‘Hey, what are we doing?’ He gave me the opportunity to wear it and I changed it. …

“It was something we already talked about. He was already like, ‘The number’s waiting on you, just got to make the team and get ready to go. So, ended up happening, and then I ended up getting the numbers.”

Having been released a few times in his career, Ford said he wasn’t sweating the final outcome of roster cuts.

“Anything can happen, so I was very appreciative and happy that I made it.”

Ford spent all of the preseason with the No. 1 defense. While Javon Hargrave is listed as the No. 1 nose tackle, Ford could have a big role against the power running of Jordan Mason and the slashing ability of Aaron Jones.

“Oh, yes, it’s definitely a big opportunity out there for me,” he said. “Obviously, playing a good team like that and then being able to be in the mix and show what I can show and do, I’m excited. I’m ready to go. …

“It’s been a long four years, but I'm still here. I still kept myself in the fight to give myself an opportunity to go out there and show that I can play in this league and I belong here in this league.

Packers game and season predictions?

Me and @JacobWestendorf got you covered. ⬇️https://t.co/E7HhKdYwAG
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 13, 2026

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