Harmon's Longship Week 1: Vikings Snatch Victory From the Jaws of Defeat

Welcome to "Harmon's Longship:" a weekly recap of the Vikings’ quest to conquer the league in 2026. The journey itself will be long and arduous, and the team’s first conquest on Sunday certainly proved that even the sweetest of victories won’t always be pretty.

Each week we’ll break down what happened in the Vikings’ latest matchup, key takeaways, how the team stacks up compared to the league’s top contenders, and what they can expect from their next opponent. Will they prove to be as fierce as the Vikings of old? Or will they fail to live up to their namesake? Only time will tell, but we’ll be here to tell the tale along the way.

With that, let’s set sail.

The battle

The 2026 Vikings saw their battle strategy fall apart early as rough sailing immediately knocked them off course. Kevin O'Connell planned all offseason for this opening fight, but early on, it seemed the team wasn't prepared at all. Kyler Murray’s opening attack was an off-balance, back-footed interception that played right into the hands of his biggest critics. Then, a genuinely scary moment ended any shot of him finding his rhythm as he left the game in the first quarter with a concussion stemming from a questionable hit.

Both the offense and defense struggled for most of the game, and it seemed the Vikings were in for a brutal defeat at the hands of their neighbors to the east. Then, the tides shifted in a major way, and the team walked away with a tone-setting victory.

Carson Wentz was shaky but somehow managed to keep the ship on course, avoiding the turnovers we’ve seen from him in the past. His three passing touchdowns provided a desperately needed spark for an offense seeking to find its identity, especially as the running game took its time to get going.

Neither Aaron Jones nor Jordan Mason blew up the stat sheet, rushing for 40 and 59 yards, respectively, but touchdowns from each were crucial to mounting the eventual comeback.

THE VIKINGS HAVE THE LEAD pic.twitter.com/tjHWg9n2Hc
— Jason Harmon (@JasonHarmonNFL) September 13, 2026

Star receiver Justin Jefferson returned to form, matching his 2025 season total for touchdowns in just Week 1, less a testament to Sunday's performance and more a lament of just how dysfunctional last season was.

The pressure-heavy defense led by Brian Flores failed to generate much success until later in the game, ultimately winning the sack battle with four, as Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner came through in the clutch. When Packers QB Jordan Love was allowed to throw, he often found wide-open targets in broken-down coverage, an unfortunate downside to a scheme that depends on opposing QBs being on the ground.

It was messy, and admittedly, often seemed doomed to end in brutal defeat, but the Vikings walked away from their first battle victorious.

The lessons

While there are plenty of ways to break down the X’s and O’s of this one, one takeaway stands above all else: this team is resilient (h/t: Vikings). It would be hard to script a worse start to this game and the season as a whole, but 29 unanswered points and a defense-led explosion proved that even when hope seemed lost, the story wasn’t over.

A lot of things to fix, a lot of things to correct.

But no group we have more confidence in to get the job done than the one we have in our locker room. pic.twitter.com/R6AMuxBwGP
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 14, 2026

O’Connell’s teams have always been known to make things interesting, with multiple comeback wins during his tenure. This one also happened to set a record, as the Vikings became the first team in NFL history to be down by 12 or more points with less than 20 minutes left in regulation and end up winning by 17+ (h/t: OptaSTATS). At least this team is never boring. This game also mirrored last season's opener, especially at the QB position.

J.J McCarthy Week 1 2025:
-3 total TDs
-143 passing yards
-3 sacks taken
-21 4th quarter points in a comeback win against a divisional rival.

Carson Wentz Week 1 2026:
-3 total TDs
-133 passing yards
-3 sacks taken
-22 4th quarter points in a comeback win against a divisional… pic.twitter.com/bjQyNtxRqC
— Jason Harmon (@JasonHarmonNFL) September 14, 2026

While the excitement of these victories can make it easy to walk away feeling great, it's important to remember why the team was behind in the first place. Poor blocking by the interior offensive line, ineffective run calls, poor pass coverage, and even worse tackling put the team in a position where a historic victory was needed. If the team wants to play sustainable winning football, it will need to address all of this going forward.

The outlook

Hang the banner! The Vikings currently stand alone in first place in the NFC North. While Detroit and Chicago also came away with wins, Minnesota was the only member of the division to beat a fellow member of the black-and-blue division. Yes, it is Week 1. Yes, someone had to lose. But at least Vikings fans everywhere can spend the next week poking fun at their coworker who conveniently became a Packers fan in the late '90s.

Chaos broke out elsewhere in the conference, as the assumed Super Bowl favorite Rams put up an absolute dud down under, the defending champion Seahawks lost their QB, the Giants stomped out the Cowboys, and the Arizona Cardinals somehow won a football game. It’s only Week 1, but not much went to plan in the NFC early on. Coming away with a win in such a chaotic week could certainly help the Vikings later in the season.

Know your foe

The Vikings will have their work cut out for them as they head to Chicago to face the reigning division champs. The Bears put up an astounding 59 points on Sunday against the Panthers as Caleb Williams scored twice through the air and twice on the ground, accounting for 334 yards of total offense. The good news? Their defense looks as inconsistent as expected, giving up 37 points and 361 passing yards to Bryce Young.

This game could be a shootout or an absolute snoozefest, and there might not be much in between. Last year’s trip to Chicago was probably the highlight of the season for the Vikes, and they’ll need to be much better out of the gate than they were then or this past weekend. Flores has largely contained Williams in their four previous matchups, but the third-year QB has continued to improve. The Vikings defense will need to come out hot and not wait until late in the game to start getting into the backfield.

It’s too early to say who will start at QB for the Vikings in their attack on the Windy City, but either Murray or Wentz should have plenty of opportunities against the Bears’ porous pass defense if they remain patient.

A victory in Chicago would set the team up incredibly well as they look to stack wins over the first two months of the season. The journey to the playoffs gets far more daunting in the middle of the season, and vanquishing foes early is crucial to success, even without their starting QB.

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