Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season couldn't have had a more auspicious start for the Minnesota Vikings.
Questions already loomed over the offense coming into the season, with a new starting quarterback for the fourth straight season. Things almost immediately went from bad to worse for Minnesota, as new starting quarterback Kyler Murray was knocked out of the game early in the first quarter with a concussion.
With backup quarterback Carson Wentz taking over, the Vikings offense struggled mightily in the first half and well into the second. The rushing game couldn't get much going, and aside from one nice touchdown connection from Wentz to star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, the passing game couldn't either. It looked like it was going to be yet another
long season for the Vikings and their fans. Then everything changed in the blink of an eye.
After more than three quarters of largely uninspired play, both sides of the ball woke up. The offense, spurred on by a few timely turnovers and several defensive penalties that kept drives alive, reeled off 29 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. The defense had a large hand in that success, too, as Flores found the gas pedal and pressured Packers quarterback Jordan Love into multiple game-changing errors. And just like that, the Vikings opened the 2026 season with a 39-22 victory over the Green Bay Packers. Here's the Good, Bad, and Ugly from the season-opening win.
The Good: A Wild Fourth Quarter
The Vikings looked down and out with the Packers kicking a field goal to all but seal the game. Then, with a defensive penalty on the Vikings, Packers coach Matt LaFleur took the points off the board to go for a 4th-and-1 to really seal the game. That's where it all fell apart for the Packers, and the Vikings capitalized in a big way.
Suddenly what would have been a two-touchdown (and a two-point conversion) deficit turned into a dominating defensive performance from Brian Flores and crew, and an offense that woke up to the tune of 29 unanswered points.
Were there some questionable calls? Of course, but that was a throughline all day and broke both ways.
The Bad: Vikings Secondary
Through three-and-a-half quarters, it looked like the Vikings defense — and the secondary in particular — had forgotten how to play football. Jordan Love had anything he wanted, and seemingly took advantage of every opportunity. At one point it felt like every pass Love threw was going to be a 20+ yard play for the Packers.
That performance — or lack thereof — likely forced Flores to be more aggressive in the fourth quarter, which worked out in the end, but it looks like it's going to be a pain point for the defense going forward. Minnesota won't be able to rely on forcing multiple turnovers and getting bailed out on offense multiple times every Sunday.
The Ugly: Kyler Murray Concussion
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The Vikings come into the season with a new starter at quarterback. For the fourth season in a row, there’s a new man heading the Vikings’ offense. After former first-round pick J.J. McCarthy — who was supposed to be the quarterback of the future in Minnesota — failed to pan out, the Vikings hit free agency to bring in some competition in the form of another former first-round pick: Kyler Murray.
After an offseason of speculation and trade rumors aplenty, Murray was named the starter, and yet another new era of Vikings football was to be upon us. That era, at least for now, lasted all of 11 plays, as Murray suffered a concussion on just the third drive against the Packers. We’ll have to see what the prognosis is on Murray going forward, but the hit looked vicious.
If there is a plus side to the injury, it’s that there was no damage to Murray otherwise, despite it appearing as though Murray was clutching his leg immediately after the hit. Injuries have been somewhat of a constant in Murray’s career, as he’s struggled with ankle and knee injuries. This is the first concussion of his pro career, but he appeared to be otherwise healthy after the hit.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: The Good, Bad, and Ugly after Vikings Week 1 win over the Packers
