Week 1: Winners & Losers vs Packers
The Minnesota Vikings won 39-22, steamrolling the Green Bay Packers in the last quarter and a half of the game after being down 12 points. The Vikings move to 1-0 on the season as we take a look at the winners and losers from this game.
Winners of the Game
1. Justin Jefferson
Jefferson reminded the league exactly who he was after matching his 2024 season total of touchdowns at 2 against the Packers in Week 1. It was an absolute masterclass of a game, putting up 92 yards, 2 touchdowns, and a 2-point conversion reception on 8 catches at U.S. Bank Stadium. Jefferson capped off the game with a diving touchdown at the pylon to seal the game for the Minnesota Vikings.
2. Dallas Turner
What an opening game for the third-year edge rusher, poised for a breakout season. Turner racked up a sack, forced fumble, and SEVEN quarterback hits in the game against the Packers, with most of these stats coming in the clutch for the Minnesota Vikings and helping propel them to victory.
Turner's first step is so quick that it looks like he's being unblocked every snap he takes. It's truly incredible. It is going to be extremely exciting to see how Turner evolves throughout a full season as an NFL starter, and the Greenard trade makes more and more sense as we see him play.
3. Brian Flores and the Entire Front Seven
This performance—from the defensive coaching to the execution—was truly amazing, and I haven’t seen a game like that as a Vikings fan in what feels like a long time. We’ve had plenty of great defensive games against good teams under Brian Flores and Mike Zimmer, but this one really felt different.
The Vikings defense started off rocky, giving up huge yardage plays to Packers receivers, particularly Christian Watson. Something clicked in the middle of the third quarter, though. The Vikings met at the quarterback 4 times and generated 23 pressures.
Blake Cashman and Andrew Van Ginkel were everywhere on Sunday, looking like they had clones of themselves running around on the field. Two extremely underrated defenders in the National Football League.
4. Carson Wentz
You gotta give credit where credit is due. Wentz was dealt a difficult set of cards, coming in to start shortly into the first quarter after Kyler Murray went down with a concussion from a gruesome, dirty hit.
Wentz threw for 133 yards and 3 touchdowns, and the most important stat of the day for him was turning the ball over 0 times. When you are able to have clean quarterback play and keep the ball in the offense's hands, it is difficult to lose with the Flores defense on the other side. Wentz did his job as the backup and deserves his praise.
5. Kevin O'Connell
What we haven't seen from Kevin O'Connell in years past is the ability to make changes mid-game to the script he has lined up. Fortunately for Vikings fans, we saw just that on Sunday.
For context, from the first half to the second half, we saw changes of:
3-WR Sets: 56% --> 20%
Shotgun Snaps: 58% --> 28%
Early Down Play Action: 25% --> 67%
The EPA/play jumped from -0.09 in the first half to +0.41 in the second half. O'Connell's halftime adjustments were vital to the Minnesota Vikings winning this game, and it was fantastic to see him move from the traditional offense he likes to run to an offense that better suits his quarterback under center.
Losers of the Game
1. Vikings Secondary
The secondary had an extremely rough game. Byron Murphy gave up 100 yards, Josh Metellus gave up 96 yards, and Theo Jackson gave up 83 yards. It was an overall poor showing from a secondary we had hoped would get better in 2026.
The Vikings blitzed at an extremely high percentage, so it left the secondary with less help as they sent more players at the quarterback. Still, the wide-open chunk plays got tiresome and will need to be fixed going forward.
2. Caleb Banks
The Vikings' 2026 first-round pick played just 16 snaps on Sunday, and they weren't pretty ones. Banks continues to struggle with pad level and still isn't in 100% game shape since coming off his leg injury. It is way too early to sound the alarm on him, but he was the Vikings' first-round pick, and it is worth noting that he is not yet ready to compete for a starting role.
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