Vikings Blaze Back Against the Pack: Here’s 3 Things That Mattered Most

Well… that was certainly an experience. It’s been 36 weeks since the Minnesota Vikings last played a meaningful game of football. After a disappointing 2025 season that largely collapsed due to poor quarterback play, the boys in purple kicked off the 2026 campaign on Sunday with renewed hope and mounting pressure for redemption after what many saw as a lost season last year. The result? The worst possible start imaginable followed by a magic fourth quarter, culminating in a 39-22 victory.

The Legacy Doors of US Bank Stadium were opened on a beautiful Sunday afternoon as the Vikings donned their classic jerseys to face their hated historic rival. Loud cheers rang out as Harrison Smith took the field for warmups to kick off his 15th NFL season. After a summer of QB drama and debate, it was finally time for real football.

After spending all summer promoting a new and improved run scheme and better QB play, the team’s first two plays were a run up the middle for a loss and the most egregious interception possible from Kyler Murray. Then, a late helmet-to-helmet hit on Murray a few drives later knocked him to the turf and ended his debut before it truly had a chance to begin.

The rest of the day was a slow burn of undisciplined play on both sides of the ball, interrupted briefly by an injection of excitement from a Justin Jefferson TD, a sight seen only twice last season. The team stalled out in a frustrating display of undisciplined football for the next two hours, leading to a familiar feeling of dread in the stands. Then, the fourth quarter happened, and the Vikings everyone had hoped to see emerged victorious after what could only be described as a game the team likely should have been blown out in, but somehow won.

Here’s what mattered most on a day where both sides of the ball had ups and downs.

QB quality

Murray’s Minnesota debut was short-lived and disappointing before a very questionable hit knocked him out for at least this game with a concussion. His first pass as a Viking was a back-foot interception targeting Jauan Jennings, and the rest of his five attempts weren’t much better, as he ended his day with a 27.5 passer rating.

Carson Wentz was inconsistent in his relief appearance. His touchdown to Jefferson came on a genuinely impressive rip to the back of the end zone. Wentz also found T.J. Hockenson for one score and hit Jefferson with another touchdown to ice the game late in the fourth. Jefferson’s two TDs on Sunday match his season total from 2025. While Wentz threw for only 133 yards and had some brutal misses along the way, his ability to deliver scoring strikes while avoiding turnovers proved just enough to get the team over the hump. He’ll need to keep it up if Murray misses extended time.

Defense wakes up late

The Vikings’ defense was largely ineffective against Jordan Love and the Packers' passing game for three quarters. Brian Flores’ blitz-heavy unit managed a whopping one sack while linebackers and defensive backs in coverage allowed open completions all afternoon. The team also continued to show poor tackling form, allowing multiple broken tackles. Then, they woke up.

The unit hit home with three additional sacks, including one that led to a fumble recovery by Andrew Van Ginkel to set up a Minnesota TD. “Gink” ended the day with 1.5 sacks after struggling to get to Love early in the day.

Run game comes in clutch

The heavily hyped reworked run game was a focal point of training camp and looked to open new opportunities for the team’s dual starting backs, Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason. Sunday was certainly not a promising display from the unit to start, but with the game on the line, both backs came through.

Mason had a key 28-yard run that would eventually set up Jones for a three-yard TD. Mason and Jones would finish with a hard earned 59 yards and 40 yards, respectively, after slow starts to their days. While it took time to show up, the new run game is clearly a valuable piece of the offensive arsenal.

What’s in store next week? No idea. Murray’s health will be the major focus, but the defense will certainly need to be ready early after what we saw from the Bears in Week 1.

Get Vikings On SI straight to your inbox: sign up for our free newsletter here.

Add us as a preferred source on Google