The Packers’ oldest rivals may be the Bears, but their most heated rivalry, at least in the 21st century, has to be with the Minnesota Vikings. That’s probably because of the simple fact that the Vikings have
been much better over the last 20 to 30 years than the Bears, which leads to a lot of high stakes matchups.
You can see evidence of those stakes in how many of the Packers’ best performances against the Vikings are relatively recent. There’s plenty of old gold here, too, but as we look at the brightest moments by Packers players, take note of how many have come since the turn of the century.
Most passing yards – 389 (Jordan Love, 2024)
Love’s first game back from injury in 2024 was one to forget: he threw three interceptions as the Packers tried to pass their way to victory against the blitz-happy Vikings. Outside of the picks, it seemed to work; Love also threw four touchdowns as he nearly led the Packers to a comeback victory. In fact, he may have gotten the job done if Brayden Narveson hadn’t missed two field goals. Nevertheless, the Packers fell 31-29.
Curiously, five of the Packers’ top six passing performances by yardage against the Vikings all came in losses. In addition to Love, Aaron Rodgers (three times) and Lynn Dickey also threw for at least 365 yards in losses. Brett Favre threw for 365 yards in a 2004 victory.
Most rushing yards – 164 (Jim Taylor, 1962)
Four Packers players have rushed for at least 150 yards against the Vikings: Jim Taylor, Ahman Green, Tom Moore, and Aaron Jones. Taylor takes top honors for his 1962 performance, though. In the third ever matchup between the Packers and Vikings, Taylor needed just 17 carries to stampede to 164 yards on the ground. It was one of three games that season where he’d break 150 yards rushing.
Jones, however, is the only Packers player to cross the 150 yard barrier against the Vikings and score a touchdown in the same game. He scored twice in his 23 carry, 154-yard effort against Minnesota two days before Christmas in 2023.
Most receiving yards – 191 (Donald Driver, 2006)
You want to talk about doing a lot with a little? How about Donald Driver needing just six catches to put up 191 yards. It helps when you gallop for 82 yards on one play, as Driver did on a spectacular catch and run for a score just before halftime, but that’s still an impressive day at the office.
Greg Jennings, meanwhile, produced the eighth-highest receiving yardage total against the Vikings in 2010, and his performance also deserves a mention. On seven catches, Jennings racked up 152 yards and three touchdowns as the Packers cruised to a 31-3 win.
Most points – 33 (Paul Hornung, 1962)
People quibble over his volume stats, but if you want to know why Paul Hornung is a Hall of Famer, it’s because of games like this. On September 16, 1962, the Packers scored 34 points against the Vikings, and Hornung was responsible for all but six of them.
He scored three touchdowns on runs of six, seven, and 37 yards. He kicked field goals from 10 and 45 yards. And every time the Packers put the ball in the end zone, Hornung was the one handling the PATs. He could do it all, and did it all well.
Most sacks – 3.5 (Za’Darius Smith, 2019)
Za’Darius Smith’s Green Bay tenure was short and ended badly, but it was great while it lasted. It may never have been better than in late 2019, when he took down Vikings’ passers 3.5 times as the Packers thoroughly dominated their divisional foe. Smith’s 3.5 sacks were (and still are) a career high, and represented one of two three-sack games for Smith during his time with the Packers.
Smith’s big day also happened to take place the same day as Aaron Jones’ big rushing outburst that we mentioned earlier, giving the Packers true multi-phase dominance that day.
Most tackles – 14 (De’Vondre Campbell, 2023)
During the era in which tackles have been an official stat, nobody has recorded more than 10 solo takedowns against the Vikings. Campbell gets the nod here because in addition to 10 solo tackles against the Vikings in 2023, he also registered four assists, giving him a combined total of 14.
Most interceptions – 2 (12 times by 11 players)
No Packers player has ever intercepted a Vikings passer three times in a game, but they have plenty of practice doing it twice. 11 players have accomplished the feat, but only LeRoy Butler has done it twice, pilfering passes twice in a game against the Vikings in both 1990 and 1997.
However, of the 11 players to intercept two passes in a game against the Vikings, only one has turned one of those picks into points. That player would be Antuan Edwards, who returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown in a 23-20 win over the Vikings in 1999. When was the last time you had a reason to think about Antuan Edwards?
