Vikings Begin Kevin O'Connell Era With Dominant 23-7 Win Over Packers
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It's hard to imagine the first game in the Kevin O'Connell era going much better than that.
The Vikings jumped out to a 20-0 lead against the Packers on a raucous Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium and held on for a 23-7 victory to begin the season with a huge victory over their biggest rivals. Just like that, they're off and running in a 2022 campaign that has tons of promise.
This was the Vikings' first season-opening victory since 2019. In fact, it's the first time they've been above .500 since the '19 season ended almost three years ago. They've now beaten the Packers in each of their last three meetings with Kirk Cousins at quarterback, which excludes the January matchup at Lambeau Field that was started by Sean Mannion.
This game was all about Justin Jefferson.
The Vikings' third-year superstar has made it known he wants to establish himself as the best wide receiver in the NFL this season. Through one game, he's well on his way to claiming that crown. Jefferson caught nine passes for a career-high 184 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, doing the vast majority of that damage in a 158-yard first half. He was completely unstoppable.
Whenever the Vikings needed an explosive play or a big third-down conversion, they went to Jefferson. He caught passes for gains of 20, 22, 64, 36, and 21 yards in this game, with a pair of catches on third down and a touchdown on fourth down to begin the scoring. It didn't matter who the Packers covered him with.
Cousins deserves plenty of credit as well. He completed 23 of 32 passes for 277 yards, two touchdowns, and no turnovers. Most of that production went to Jefferson, but Cousins also found each of Adam Thielen, Dalvin Cook, K.J. Osborn, and Johnny Mundt three times. He was poised, reliable, and aggressive.
Cook wound up going over the 100-total-yard mark after a slow start, finishing with 90 rushing yards and 18 receiving yards.
The Vikings also got after Rodgers defensively, holding the Packers' offense to a single touchdown. It's the first time a Rodgers-led offense has ever failed to score ten points in a game against the Vikings. Ed Donatell's defense sacked Rodgers four times, with Za'Darius Smith, Danielle Hunter, D.J. Wonnum, and Jordan Hicks all getting home.
The defense came up with big plays when they were needed most. A.J. Dillon was stuffed at the goal line on fourth down in the second quarter, keeping the Packers off the board. A Harrison Smith interception got the Vikings the ball back late in the first half, and Hicks forced a fumble on his sack of Rodgers in the third quarter. Then, with the Packers looking to stage a comeback, the Wonnum sack and an Eric Kendricks pass breakup stalled Green Bay's final two drives.
It was just one game, but the Vikings announced themselves as a team to contend with in the NFC North this season on Sunday.
They'll look to go 2-0 on Monday the 19th in Philadelphia when they take on the 1-0 Eagles on MNF.
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