Kent Bewley's News Story Collection

On Sun, Sept 13, the Minnesota Vikings opened up their 2026 regular season schedule with a kickoff game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S Bank Stadium. It was the Vikings’ debut of so many different players, but most notably for Kyler Murray, who was signed to a one-year deal in the offseason. Murray only appeared for one drive in the preseason, but earned the job over J.J McCarthy, who performed so badly in the preseason and training camp that he was demoted to the third QB on the depth chart behind Murray and Carson Wentz. Other new Vikings included rookies Caleb Banks, Domonique Orange, Jake Golday and Chuck Demmings. Free agents such as Jauan Jennings and James Pierre made their Minnesota debuts as well. As for the Packers, they had a couple of key players inactive as Micah Parsons was out with his continued recovery from an Achilles injury. Also out were left tackle Aaron Banks and running back Josh Jacobs, who was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list with legal proceedings from a domestic abuse incident. But Green Bay had Tucker Kraft back from his torn ACL last season and with Jordan Love as the starting QB, the Packers were seeking to ruin the perfect start to the season for the Vikings, who looked to do well in wearing their Classic jerseys. Let’s see how everything played out in this high-stakes NFC North division game.

The action started with Minnesota getting the ball first and Murray took the field for his first drive in purple. After a one-yard loss by Aaron Jones, Murray dropped back to pass but he got blitzed and threw a high pass that was intercepted by Keisean Nixon, who took the ball back to the Green Bay 47-yard line. A tough early mistake from Murray put the Vikings in an unideal position early on. The Packers got into field goal range on a 14-yard run by Chris Brooks, but didn’t advance any further and were stopped on third and long. From the MIN 41, the Green Bay field goal unit came out and rookie kicker Trey Smack attempted a long 59-yard kick that went through. Only three points were scored by the Packers off the Nixon interception on Murray.

On his second drive, Murray completed his first pass to Justin Jefferson, who gained nine yards on a third-down conversion for a first down. But two straight false starts following a Murray second down scramble effectively ended the drive as Murray had a short completion to T.J Hockenson for seven yards. Brett Thorson had his first punt of the season, with it being fair caught inside the 20-yard line by Skyy Moore. The Packers’ offense came back onto the field and a completion by Love to Jonnu Smith was challenged by Kevin O’Connell and the ruling on the field was reversed to an incomplete pass. On the next play, Love threw a pass up the middle to Christian Watson, who sprinted down the left side and went all the way to the end zone for a touchdown. There was a flag on the field for a potential blindside block on Green Bay, but it got picked up by the officials. The extra point by Smack was no good as it went wide right, but the Packers had an early 9-0 edge over the Vikings.

Halfway through the first quarter, the Murray-led offense needed a spark of some sort and how they would get it was unknown. Starting their next drive from the 30, Minnesota wasn’t going anywhere on either of the first two plays. On third down, Murray attempted to run with the ball, but he got caught in between two Packers defenders as one of them was behind Murray and the other came in front of him. But while Murray was going down to the field, he got hit hard by Javon Bullard and his helmet came right off. Murray was down on the field as the Vikings’ trainers came out to check on him. A flag was on the field for a personal foul on Bullard for the hit on Murray, who eventually got up and walked off the field with some assistance. Murray went back to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion. This meant with the 15-yard foul and the drive continuing, Wentz would have to come in and play. Wentz played most of the preseason reps and he also started five games last season before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. Wentz was 2-3 in those games and he looked to do well in leading the first-team offense as well as he could.

Following a run for six yards by Jordan Mason, Wentz threw his first pass and it was incomplete towards Jefferson. But on third down, Wentz found Jefferson again and this time the ball was caught for a gain of nine yards and a first down. Jones then ran the ball twice and picked up a first down on the ground. At the Green Bay 25, the drive stalled with a couple of runs and a Wentz pass on third down that barely missed getting into the hands of Jordan Addison. The Vikings had to settle for a field goal as Will Reichard came on and made a 38-yard kick to put the team on the board. The drive where Murray was knocked out ended well, but it was clear that the Brian Flores defense would have to hold down the fort if Minnesota wanted any chance to get back into this Border Bash game.

The first quarter ended as Love was throwing the ball fast out of his hand and in spite of pressure from the blitzing defenders of the Vikings, it seemed that no sacks could be recorded on the fourth-year starting QB for the Packers. In spite of starting the drive with a strong kickoff return that had them in Minnesota territory, Green Bay had to settle for another field goal from Smack, who made a 43-yard kick after the Packers committed a false start penalty on a fourth and three. The next drive for Wentz was inefficient as in spite of a good kickoff return from Myles Price, only one first down was picked up. Another punt occurred from Thorson and the Packers once again started a drive from inside the 20-yard line. Love completed a pass to Kraft that went for 30 yards, but the Vikings’ defense held Green Bay down and forced a punt from Daniel Whelan.

The Minnesota offense was robbed of a big play on the first snap of the next drive as Jones went through a hole in the trenches and he wasn’t initially whistled down as he got back up and went all the way past midfield for a massive gain. But replay assist ruled that Jones was down by contact at the ten-yard line as he was touched by Packers’ defensive lineman Jonathan Ford. That unfortunate mishap led to Wentz getting sacked on third down and another punt from Thorson. Green Bay had incredible starting position at the Minnesota 36-yard line, but they were drawn back by penalties of a false start and offensive holding. Another punt from Whelan put the Vikings at their 15-yard line.

With five and a half minutes left in the first half, Wentz looked to lead a good drive that led to a big score. Even though he got split-sacked on the first play of the drive, Wentz completed a couple of good passes to Hockenson and Jefferson for a first down. An extra unnecessary roughness foul on Evan Williams put Minnesota near midfield and another third down pass by Wentz to Hockenson gave the Vikings a first down in field goal range for Reichard. With time running down towards the two-minute warning, a play didn’t necessarily have to occur with the play clock some seconds ahead of the game clock. However, the offense still lined up in shotgun formation and the ball was snapped with a Packers defender crossing over the line. The referees did not blow the play dead as it was a free play and Wentz threw a deep pass towards the end zone, where Jefferson made an incredible over-the-shoulder catch and he got both feet down in bounds. It was a touchdown and the penalty was indeed offsides on Lukas Van Ness. An amazing throw there by Wentz right at the two-minute warning as Jefferson had his first touchdown of the season and his first chance to do the Gritty at the Big Bank since Dec 16, 2024 in a game against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. Jefferson didn’t score a single touchdown at home in 2025 and only had two of them overall for the entire season. The extra point by Reichard was good and Minnesota was now down 12-10 against the Packers. A dramatic first touchdown of the 2026 season to say the least.

The ensuing dynamic kickoff was returned by Bo Melton to the 25-yard line and Green Bay started this important two-minute drill drive with another big completion by Love to Kraft for a gain of 23 yards. In hurry up formation, Love threw an incomplete pass towards Watson but found Melton for a 10-yard gain out of bounds to stop the clock for a first down. Love then threw a deep pass that was caught by Watson, who was being held by Byron Murphy Jr, at the seven-yard line of the Vikings. Following a two-yard run by Brooks, on 2nd and goal, Love passed the ball to Watson, who was wide open in the end zone. It was a touchdown for the Packers, who were up by nine points again on the PAT by Smack. The Minnesota offense decided to kneel down to conclude the first half. With a 19-10 deficit, the Vikings were trying to stay in this game that Murray would not be returning to due to a concussion suffered on the hard hit in the first quarter. Wentz was trying his best to keep the offense efficient, but more needed to be done in order for progress to be made. As for the defense, the secondary was getting burnt by Love, whose majority of passing yards were to Watson and Kraft. The pass rush couldn’t stop Love from getting those fast passes off and something needed to be adjusted in the formations of the defense. With plenty of time left, the second half would prove to be very intriguing.

The second half started with a holding penalty on the kickoff return for the Packers, who got a good gain of 12 yards out of Marshawn Lloyd for a first down. Love found Kraft again for an 11-yard gain and then the drive stalled out at around the 38-yard line. Whelan had a weak punt that traveled out of bounds for only 22 yards. The Minnesota offense started their first drive from their 40-yard line, but couldn’t go anywhere as Wentz threw two incompletions. The next drive for Green Bay was long as Love completed a pass to Matthew Golden for a first down. Lloyd then picked up a first down on two straight runs and another first down occurred on a Love pass to Jayden Reed for six yards. From midfield, Love threw a pass to the right to Jonnu Smith for a gain of 43 yards and a first down in the red zone. On a goal-to-go series, the Packers were unable to get into the end zone as Love threw two straight incomplete passes. A short 26-yard field goal was attempted and made by Smack, with Green Bay up 22-10.

On their next drive, the Vikings got a boost on a stellar kickoff return from Price, who ran all the way out to the Packers’ 28- yard line for a 68-yard return. The first play from scrimmage was a Wentz completion to Josh Oliver for nine yards and the first down was picked up on a run by Jones on third and short. After throwing an incomplete pass on first down and handing the ball off to Jones, Wentz threw a third down pass up the middle and it was caught by Hockenson, who rolled into the end zone for the touchdown. An incredible second TD pass by Wentz, who was starting to get into the groove. The PAT by Reichard was made and it was now just a five-point deficit.

To conclude the third quarter, the Packers picked up a first down on a Love completion to Golden, but Love finally got sacked by Levi Drake Rodriguez, who got him down for a loss of ten yards. The Brian Flores defense was finally starting to make significant progress. But on the first play of the fourth quarter, Love threw another dime that was caught by Golden, who ran all the way to the Vikings’ 26-yard line for a first down. Following a run by Lloyd for four yards and a couple of incomplete passes from Love, the Green Bay field goal unit came onto the field and Smack attempted a 40-yard kick that was good. It was an eight-point lead for the Packers, but a flag was on the field and it was for offsides on Dallas Turner. Instead of declining the penalty and keeping the points on the board, Matt LaFleur decided to accept the foul and had his offense go back onto the field for a fourth down conversion attempt. The Green Bay offense was one-yard short of the line to gain after the flag on Turner was enforced. On the ensuing play from scrimmage, Love tried to get the first down on a QB sneak play, but he was stonewalled by plenty of Minnesota defenders in the trenches. Most notably, Big Citrus himself in Domonique Orange stopped Love and after a virtual measurement was announced, the ball was shown to be six inches short of the line to gain. A massive mistake made there by LaFleur, who wanted his team to get a touchdown instead of being satisfied with an eight-point lead. The Vikings’ offense looked to take advantage of that empty drive from their rivals.

The huge drive started with an encroachment foul that put the ball five yards short of the line to gain and Wentz completed a short pass to Oliver, who gained 13 yards on the play for a first down. After a five-yard run from Jones, Wentz got sacked on second down by Edgerrin Cooper for a loss of five yards. On third down, Wentz got sacked again, but there was a flag on the field and it was for illegal contact on Bullard, who touched Jennings and impeded his progress down the field while Wentz was in the pocket. The huge penalty gave the Vikings an automatic first down. On the next play, Mason ran for a five-yard gain and then Wentz threw a short pass to Jefferson, who barely gained any yards on the play. On third down, Wentz was pressured and threw an incomplete pass, but another flag was thrown and this time it was for roughing the passer as Packers’ defensive tackle Chris McClellan had landed onto Wentz in driving him to the ground. The 15-yard personal foul gave Minnesota another lifeline on this drive. On the next play, Mason ran the ball to the left and gained a big chunk of 28 yards in getting into the red zone. Another Wentz completion to Jefferson for five yards happened and was followed by a run for no gain by Mason. On third down, Wentz threw a ball into the end zone that was picked off by Williams, but there was a flag on the field and once again it was on Green Bay. This time, it was defensive holding on Xavier McKinney, who tugged onto Hockenson and the foul was enforced half the distance to the goal line for another automatic first down. The Vikings were the beneficiaries of three third down penalties committed by the Packers on this drive and they took advantage of it right away with a run into the end zone by Jones for three yards. It was the first time that Jones had scored a TD against his old team and the Minnesota offense decided to stay on the field to attempt a two-point conversion. After the snap, Wentz stepped back and threw the ball towards the back of the end zone, where Jefferson was located for a huge catch. The conversion was good as the Vikings now had a three-point lead following LaFleur’s unnecessary gamble.

On the next Packers possession, the Brain Flores defense started putting more pressure on Love, who got hit by Turner and the ball came loose on one ball but was recovered by an offensive lineman. On third down, Love got sacked and the ball came out of his grasp. Another fumble and this time it was recovered by Andrew Van Ginkel, who stumbled forward with it all the way to the Green Bay one-yard line. An incredible first turnover of the season there. On the ensuing play, Mason was handed the ball and he crossed it over the goal line for a one-yard TD. A good first touchdown by him and the extra point from Reichard was good, giving the Vikings a 32-22 lead. With less than five minutes left, Green Bay was running out of time and Love completed a pass to Reed for a seven-yard gain. However, on the next play, Love’s pass was deflected by Blake Cashman and it was heading towards the hands of Harrison Smith, whose return to the playing surface almost garnered him a turnover. But the ball went off Smith’s hands and instead was picked off by a Minnesota newcomer in James Pierre, who ran back with it for 28 yards to the Packers’ 14. A second straight turnover forced by the B-Flo defense and now the offense was seeking to close the game out for good.

A couple of runs forced LaFleur to call two timeouts in a row and on third down, Wentz threw a pass that was completed to Jefferson, who ran forward and dove for the right pylon. The ball touched the pylon and it was a touchdown. Jefferson had gotten as many end zone scores in this opening week game as he had for the entire 2025 season. An incredible accomplishment indeed. The PAT by Reichard was good and the Vikings had gone from being down by a dozen points to leading by 17. The game was essentially over as the Green Bay offense couldn’t do anything on their final drive to lower the margin on the scoreboard.

Minnesota had won by a final score of 39-22 as Wentz had one of the best outings off the bench that anyone could have ever asked for. With a passing line of 12-19 for 133 yards and three touchdown passes, Wentz did a good job filling in for Murray, whose hard hit to the head was a souring end to a short debut. Wentz also did a good job at getting the ball to Jefferson, whose eight receptions for 92 yards also included two touchdowns. With only three other pass catchers in the game, the ground game for the Vikings was stellar as Mason and Jones combined for 99 yards and two touchdowns. The defense did admirably well in the second half in holding the Packers out of the end zone and due to the bad decision by LaFleur to send his offense back onto the field instead of being satisfied with an eight-point lead, Green Bay turned out to be the only team to not win in the NFC North in Week 1 following early victories from the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears. It didn’t help that Love went 21-42 and in spite of throwing for 387 yards, got sacked four times and committed two straight turnovers. The running game for the Packers was non-existent for the majority of the game as the Minnesota defense held them down.

With the home opener won, the Vikings will now turn their attention towards the road ahead as three of their next four games will occur away from the North Star State. Next week will be a visit to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears, who haven’t won a game on their home turf against Minnesota since the 2019 season. Then in Week 3, a road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will occur as Baker Mayfield and his crew prepare to host the Vikings. A Week 4 home game against the Miami Dolphins will be followed by a road game down south against the New Orleans Saints before the bye in Week 6. So, with this impressive home win over the Packers, the Minnesota Vikings got off to an extremely great start to the 2026 season as they seek to reclaim the NFC North and go on a deep playoff run.