Well, they did it – – somehow. The Minnesota Vikings rallied in the second half to convincingly defeat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, stunning Matt LaFleur’s team 39-22 after a first half stuffed to the gills with utter ineptitude.
And the win was so damn vital for multiple reasons.
Why the Vikings Win Meant More Than Just 1-0
1. An Evil Smile in the Face of Adversity
The Vikings could have – – should have? – – rolled over and died, based on how poorly they played in the first quarter. They looked silly.
Minnesota spent most of Sunday getting punched in the mouth. Kyler Murray threw an interception on his first pass, then left with a concussion. Green Bay eventually built a 22-10 lead. And somehow, the Vikings responded by scoring 29 unanswered points.
That is an awfully useful trait for a team with January ambitions. In fact, the 2022 Vikings built an entire season with this moxie.
2. The First Impression in 2026
Aside from an 8.5-win Vegas forecast, no one knew exactly what to expect from the 2026 Vikings. Would they cook? Would they succumb to mediocrity like last year?
Week 1 offered a resounding endorsement. Minnesota looked like a playoff team in the way it battled back from the aforementioned turmoil. The Vikings looked shaky for most of three quarters, yet the finished product showed something useful: the team can recover when the plan goes sideways.
Nobody should declare the Vikings a Super Bowl team after one game. Still, 1-0 with a comeback win over Green Bay is about as encouraging as an opening statement gets. The 2026 Vikings introduced themselves with some backbone.
3. The Sheer Math of an NFC North Win
Minnesota can’t afford too many losses in the NFC North, and it for damn sure cannot afford NFC North losses at home.
Chicago and Detroit also won Sunday. Minnesota remained tied with both, while Green Bay became the lone North club chasing everybody else. One Sunday cannot decide a division, but it can establish sway, and the Vikings banked some immediately against a direct competitor. Green Bay already has one divisional strike against it. Too bad, so sad.
4. Beating the Packers Is Just Fun
Then there’s the personal flair. Life is just better after beating the Packers, and that’s all there is to it. Kevin O’Connell is now 12-5 (.705) against the Packers and Chicago Bears, believe it or not.
Minnesota and Green Bay have spent decades irritating each other. So when the Packers lead by 12 and then surrender 29 unanswered points? Enjoy it.
The Vikings could have beaten another opponent Sunday and still felt fantastic about 1-0. Doing it against Green Bay makes the afternoon sweeter. Doing it after LaFleur voluntarily removed three points from the scoreboard adds another layer. Sometimes the emotional reason belongs on the list.
5. Packers Fall to 0-1 in Tough Division
The Packers’ loss has its perks, too. There’s a decent chance that by December, Minnesota and Green Bay will be jostling for a playoff spot. Folks can look back and remember the Packers’ loss in Week 1 – – possibly as a deal-sealer.
Chicago also dropped 59 points on Carolina. Detroit survived New Orleans in overtime. Minnesota completed its comeback. That leaves the Packers as the division’s only Week 1 loser, with a 0-1 division record attached.
Green Bay has plenty of time to recover. Yet, the division offers very few cheap weeks. Giving away a 22-10 lead creates an immediate burden. The Packers now have to chase three 1-0 rivals instead of joining them.
6. The QB Decision-Making in the Offseason Worked
O’Connell demoted J.J. McCarthy to QB3 and promoted Carson Wentz to QB2 … for this very reason. Wentz wasn’t perfect, but he was ready for the bright lights of Vikings-Packers at home in a game that was trending terribly.
Wentz responded with three touchdown passes and a 123.5 passer rating.
This is why veteran backups exist. Case in point. Minnesota needed Wentz to enter cold and keep a winnable game alive. He did far more than that. The controversial depth chart decision paid off immediately.
7. The Defense Found Its Footing Late
For most of Sunday, Brian Flores’s defense looked vulnerable. Jordan Love threw for 387 yards. Christian Watson torched Minnesota for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Then the game changed.
The Vikings finished with four sacks and 15 quarterback hits. Andrew Van Ginkel helped force the fumble that produced Minnesota’s insurance touchdown. James Pierre later intercepted a tipped pass. Green Bay never scored again.
Flores’s group found the answers before the game got away from them. Against a quarterback as capable as Love, that recovery was enormous.
8. Falling into a 0-1 Hole with Chicago Next Would’ve Been Brutal
Now imagine the alternative. Minnesota loses at home and falls to 0-1 in the division. Next comes a trip to Chicago against a Bears team that just scored 59 points. Suddenly, Week 2 would feel like an early-season emergency. The math for teams that tumbled into a 0-2 hole while hoping to reach the playoffs is murky. Murky as hell.
Instead, the Vikings arrive at 1-0 with a chance to bank another division victory. Even a loss would leave Minnesota at 1-1 rather than staring at 0-2.
The comeback was bigger than one entertaining Sunday. Minnesota gave itself breathing room before another difficult NFC North game. The schedule looks a hell of a lot friendlier from this side of 1-0.
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VikesNow Verdict: The 39-22 comeback validated Wentz at QB2, showed Flores’s defense can recover midgame, and immediately put Green Bay behind Minnesota in the NFC North. With Chicago waiting next, avoiding an 0-1 divisional hole was a much bigger deal than one ordinary September dub.
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