Minnesota Vikings News and Links: It’s Opening Day!

Opening Day Baby! Get your popcorn ready!

Huge week vs the stinkin Packers. The Vikings need to get this win especially at home. I look for some sloppiness from both teams as neither side played much in the preseason. Obviously, turnovers will be key. My biggest concern would be with the secondary. The Packers have some pretty decent receivers in Watson, Reed, and Golden plus Tucker Kraft is not too shabby either. The Vikings are going to need to get consistent pressure on Love especially since he has

been fairly successful when given time going up against Flores’s defense the last couple of years. Love has passed for 948 yards with 10 TDs and 3 INTs with a passer rating of 92.5 in his last 3 starts against the Vikings (he did not play the last game last year). While it sounds ominous, the Vikings won two of those 3 games. Still, it is a new year and you hope the team comes out and puts a beatdown on the stinkin Packers.

What is your biggest concern?

Minnesota Vikings News and Links

Week 1 NFL picks, predictions for Kalshi, Polymarket, Underdog: Seahawks-Patriots, Packers-Vikings markets
https://www.cbssports.com/prediction/news/week-1-nfl-picks-predictions-kalshi-polymarket-underdog-seahawks-patriots-packers-vikings-markets/

Vikings vs. Packers preview
Two bitter rivals will collide when the Minnesota Vikings host the Green Bay Packers for an NFC North clash at 4:25 p.m. ET. Minnesota has had the upper hand over its rivals in recent years, winning three of the past four meetings with Green Bay. The Vikings are coming off a disappointing 9-8 campaign, which included a 4-4 record. Minnesota’s offense averaged just 275 yards per game last season, which is why the Vikings signed former No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray this offseason.

The Packers finished the 2025 campaign with a 9-7-1 record, losing to the Bears in the NFL Wild Card round. Head coach Matt LaFleur will look to lean on running back Josh Jacobs, who racked up 13 rushing touchdowns in 2025. Jacobs has now scored 12 or more rushing touchdowns in three of his past four seasons, but SportsLine’s model is projecting Minnesota’s defense to hold Jacobs to just 3.4 yards per carry on Sunday.

The SportsLine Projection Model is calling for the Vikings to walk away with a 22-20 victory at home over Green Bay. Minnesota to win is trading at $0.54 per share, while the Packers are trading at $0.47 per share to beat the Vikings.

Vikings Have Advantages Over Packers in 3 Key Areas Ahead of Week 1
https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/onsi/vikings-have-advantages-over-packers-in-3-key-areas-ahead-of-week-1-01m1t666gw17

Wide receivers and running backs
The Packers have a lot of good players at their skill positions, but they don’t have a wide receiver like Justin Jefferson. As it currently stands, it looks like Jefferson will be matched up against rookie Brandon Cisse, who is an insanely difficult player to face in your first NFL game. Then you have Keisean Nixon, who will likely go against Jordan Addison after a season allowing a passer rating of 105.2 when targeted.
Pass rush
Packers star edge rusher Micah Parsons is starting this season on injured reserve and will not be available in Week 1. That means it will be up to Lukas Van Ness and Barryn Sorrell to generate pressure on the edges.

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is known for being aggressive when getting after quarterbacks. Edge rushers Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner should be able to feast on a Green Bay offensive line that has its own issues.

Offensive line
Zach Bako-Bewele is expected to start at right tackle for the Green Bay offense, but he is still struggling during his recovery from a partial patellar tendon tear he sustained in Week 15 of the 2026 NFL season.

Bako-Bewele didn’t play at all during the preseason. When asked whether he’d be ready for the regular season opener against Minnesota on August 26, he said he would, but his answer didn’t sound confident.

Meanwhile, Packers starting left guard Aaron Banks is dealing with a lingering knee issue caused by tendonitis. There is no telling whether the injury will hold him out of the game against Minnesota or if he will be able to play on a play-by-play basis in the season opener. Having two question marks on the offensive line is not a good thing for Green Bay.

The biggest issue for the Vikings on the offensive line is that Blake Brandel is entering his first year as Minnesota’s starting center and has struggled to deliver the ball to the quarterback accurately out of shotgun formation. He has worked on that part of his game during training camp and at practices, so hopefully that will be ironed out by the time he is on the field in Week 1.

Former Vikings Player Has Clear Week 1 Advice for Kyler Murray
https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/minnesota-vikings/former-player-clear-advice-kyler-murray/

“Taking care of the football,” Sirles said on the Sept. 8 edition of the “Purple Insider” about what Murray needs to do against the Packers. “That’s the number one thing I’m looking for with Kyler Murray. Can we make sure we make good decisions with the football, get the ball out on time, and don’t hold on to it and take a bad sack because everyone’s covered?

“Those are such elementary quarterback plays that you think are pretty average. But you’re talking about a guy who hasn’t played football in a while. [He] got benched the last half of that year. The game, preseason, everything, the game speeds up exponentially. Crazy amounts between preseason and Week 1. Watching him get through his reads, put the ball not in harm’s way, and then take care of it and operationally move the offense up and down.”

“I don’t need the crazy Sam Darnold 80 yards on a rope that we saw,” Sirles added. “I don’t need the hundred-yard scramble to make it look really cool; I just want to see you operationally in and out of the huddle, command the line of scrimmage, play on time and in rhythm in the passing game, and mostly just take care of the football for Week 1.

“Show you can do all that stuff and, hey, we don’t have to worry about that going into Week 2, and then we can put more on your plate. I just don’t want to go in there with this huge expectation that he’s going to blow the doors off Week 1 and then be like, ‘Oh, he didn’t do it.’ Like, I think we need to let him walk a little before we run with the Kyler Murray experience at quarterback.”

Meanwhile, Sirles isn’t the only one who wants to see the basics from Murray. Recently, NFL analyst Mark Schlereth wants to believe that will happen, but he has one key concern.

“I have one concern: Will you be able to get Kyler Murray to play on schedule and to fall in love with the boring?” Schlereth said on the Sept. 7 edition of “The OG Football Show.” “Because Kyler Murray has told me in a one-on-one production meeting, calling a game, ‘Yeah, I just want to run more. I want to make more plays. I want to get outside the pocket more.’

“To be really good in this league, 70 percent of the time, and I just throw this number out there, you’ve got to be on schedule. You’ve got to do the boring. You’ve got to take what’s given, and then when things do break down, which they will, that’s when you go make plays.

“But when you play kind of 50-50, off schedule, on schedule, more mistakes happen eventually, inevitably, than big plays, and that’s Kyler Murray’s biggest problem in my mind.”

Vikings Bold Predictions: Kevin O’Connell’s offense in 2026 could be the best Minnesota’s had since 2009
https://atozsports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings-news/vikings-bold-predictions-kevin-oconnell-offense-kyler-murray-jordan-addison-pro-bowl/

Murray has never worked with anybody as talented as wide receiver Justin Jefferson on the offensive side of the football. Pair that with a great play caller in coach Kevin O’Connell, who does a fantastic job adapting to whoever is playing quarterback, and you are looking at a great situation for Murray to thrive.

The real intrigue here will be how O’Connell adapts his scheme for Murray. There hasn’t been a quarterback like Murray to have ever played in the O’Connell-style of offense, which makes this all the more fascinating.

His last full season in 2024 saw his EPA/play double outside of the pocket, and that’s an element this era of Vikings football hasn’t been able to take advantage of. The same goes for Murray as a scrambler. Since 2019, he ranks fifth among quarterbacks with 210 scrambles, along with the sixth-most yards gained on said scrambles. Those hidden yards can be really impactful.

The lack of a Pro Bowl game itself may not carry much weight, but the league still announces Pro Bowl recipients and they matter for the Hall of Fame. Projecting Murray as a top-3 quarterback in the NFC is an incredibly realistic outcome given the talent surrounding him and the scheme he gets to operate.

Kyler Murray Gets Hyped Up By Kevin O’Connell
https://purpleptsd.com/2026/vikings/top_news/kevin-oconnell-kyler-murray/

” I think the one thing about Kyler is, he’s really done a nice job finding completions,” O’Connell began as he reflected on Kyler Murray’s first offseason with the team. He would then touch on how the offense was moving in joint practices against Jesse Minter and the Baltimore Ravens: “There were clips of practice where he would go six, seven, eight, you know, attempts in a row just putting the ball in play, and we’re moving the football. It’s held up against our defense well.”

O’Connell went on to name some of Murray’s strengths as a passer: “He’s got the ability with a lot of different kinds of throws in his arsenal to attack different areas of the field. You know, generating explosives does not necessarily entail throwing the ball 50 yards down the field. In fact, when we’re at our best, it’s that intermediate range, and we force people to defend that area of the field, and then the shots down the field come.”

“But you’ve got to be okay checking the ball down. You’ve got to be okay finding a, you know? Aaron Jones or Jordan Mason underneath for a gain of eight, and just staying ahead of schedule allows us to then be what we want to be and truly be a team that can run the football and set up some of those looks where we make it easier on Kyler.”

“There’s still going to be an element to, you never want to take that away from a player, but you don’t want to have to live in that space and live in that world for 17-plus games. And there’s going to be some times we need them to do it. There’s going to be some weighty downs, some third downs where people are going to decide, ‘hey, we’re going to try to double team Jefferson and Addison, and we’re going to try to make this a hard snap, a hard down for Kyler.’”

“But they better account for him if they’re going to be playing a lot of the traditional coverages that we get that try to make life difficult for 18 and 3, because if you don’t account for him, it’s well documented: He can not only get out and get a first down, but he can totally flip the field in one play.”

How Kyler Murray makes doubling Justin Jefferson a dangerous gamble
https://thevikingage.com/how-kyler-murray-doubling-justin-jefferson-gamble-minnesota-vikings

“There’s going to be some weighty downs, some third downs where people are going to decide, ‘Hey, we’re going to try to double team Jefferson and Addison, and we’re going to try to make this a hard down for Kyler.’

But they better account for him if they’re going to be playing a lot of the traditional coverages that we get that try to make life difficult for 18 and 3.

Because if you don’t account for him, you know, it’s well documented. He can not only get out and get a first down, but he can totally flip the field in one play.”

NFL Analyst Believes Vikings’ Second-Year D-Lineman Could Be In For A Huge Year
https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/minnesota-vikings/elijah-williams-breakout-season/

KFAN 1003’s Ben Leber, who is one of the most respected figures on the Minnesota Vikings beat, is a big believer in what he’s seen from Williams.

“I think that he has the potential, at the end of the season, we look back like, ‘man, that Elijah Williams is one of the most disruptive guys that we had on our defensive front,’” Leber said. “Williams is one of those guys that always shows up in pass rushing drills. He’s been showing up in preseason. They love his approach. He’s the ultimate professional already.”

He also added, “And then he gets on the field, and you’re like, ‘God dang, who is this six-foot-two, 285 (lbs.) guy that has some twitch to his body?’ He’s very explosive. He’s got like this cat-like quickness with his upper body and his hand usage.”

NFL Power Rankings: Vikings Launch 2026 Campaign in 18-to-21 Range
https://www.vikings.com/news/nfl-power-rankings-2026-campaign-18-to-21

Lunchbreak: ‘Where Every Team Stands’ as 2026 Kickoff Weekend Arrives
https://www.vikings.com/news/lunchbreak-team-standings-2026-kickoff-weekend

Minnesota Vikings continue to be doubted going into 2026 season, and it’s rooted in the power rankings
https://atozsports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings-news/minnesota-vikings-continue-to-be-doubted-going-into-2026-season-and-its-rooted-in-the-power-rankings/

Harrison Smith Returns As the Vikings’ Premier Problem-Solver
https://zonecoverage.com/2026/minnesota-vikings-news/harrison-smith-returns-as-the-vikings-premier-problem-solver/

NFL stops Vikings from signing Kenny Dyson to practice squad after he was waived-injured
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nfl-stops-vikings-signing-kenny-102514421.html

Note: paid site
The Vikings are adapting their offense to help Kyler Murray thrive. Here’s what that could look like.
https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-vikings-kyler-murray-green-bay-packers-week-1-game-2026-nfl-season-kevin-oconnell-offense/601885766

Vikings’ 2027 QB options get worse after Baker Mayfield extension
https://thevikingage.com/minnesota-vikings-2027-qb-options-worse-after-baker-mayfield-extension

Vikings Projected to Likely Strike NFL QB Deal Before Deadline
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/vikings-projected-likely-strike-nfl-023239120.html

Vikings Say Goodbye to Promising Young Safety
https://vikingsterritory.com/2026/news/top_news/vikings-goodbye-prom-safety

Vikings Can Breathe Sigh of Relief Amid New Sam Darnold Concerns for Seahawks
https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/minnesota-vikings/sam-darnold-regression-seahawks-kyler-murray/

Packers DC Talks “Trainwreck” if Kyler Murray Shakes Loose
https://vikingsterritory.com/2026/news/top_news/packers-dc-trainwreck-kyler

Vikings vs. Packers Week 1 Tracker: Injury updates, predictions, storylines and more
https://thevikingage.com/minnesota-vikings-green-bay-packers-week-1-tracker-injury-updates-predictions-storylines

Packers open season at the Vikings
https://www.packers.com/news/packers-open-season-at-the-vikings-week-1-2026

It is the fourth time in the last five years that Green Bay has opened the season against a division foe.
It is the third time in team history that the Packers open the season at Minnesota (2020 and 2022).
Of the past 23 regular-season meetings in Minnesota between the teams, 15 have been decided by single digits.
The Packers have a 31-33 record in away games against the Vikings.
Green Bay has scored 30-plus points in three of the last six games at Minnesota.
Since 2000, the Packers are 29-21-2 (.580) in regular-season contests versus the Vikings, including a 13-13 mark at Minnesota.
Green Bay’s seven wins over Minnesota since 2019 are the most in the NFL (Detroit is No. 2 with six).

Packers at Vikings:

All-time, regular season: 66-60-3
All-time, postseason: 1-1
All-time, at Minnesota (regular season): 31-33
Streaks: The teams have split the last 20 regular-season games played at Minnesota.