The Vikings stomped the Packers 23-7 in Sunday’s season opener, putting them atop the NFC North at 1-0, tied with the Chicago Bears. Here’s what stood out in the border battle.
1. Not afraid to get aggressive on fourth down
If there were any questions about the style of football Kevin O’Connell wants to play, they were answered on the opening drive of the game as Minnesota faced a fourth-and-one from the Green Bay five and there was no hesitation to go for it.
The result: a 5-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Justin Jefferson.
What a start!! @JJettas2 @KirkCousins8
đź“ş: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/12ey2CMyPH
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 11, 2022
Jefferson had three catches for 47 yards on the opening drive, and Minnesota threw the ball eight times to just two running plays.
It’s worth noting that Minnesota was less aggressive on a fourth-and-two later in the first half, though kicking a field goal then, which they did, made it a two-score game.
2. Justin Jefferson sends message to the NFL
Jefferson lit up the Packers with 184 yards and two touchdowns, and he was a toe tap away from having a third touchdown.
Jefferson’s 158 receiving yards in the first half was a franchise record and his 184 yards was a career high. His 64-yard catch and run in the second quarter was his 200th career reception in 34 career games. Only three players have reached 200 catches faster: Odell Beckham Jr. (30 games), Michael Thomas (32) and Jarvis Landry (33).
He’s off to a great start in pursuit of becoming the best receiver in the NFL – and he had a message for the rest of the league during his postgame interview on FOX.
“A lot of people stopped doubting us,” he said. “We coming for it, for sure.”
3. Aaron Rodgers clearly misses Davante Adams
In the past, it was usually Davante Adams killing the Vikings the way Jefferson killed the Packers. But with Allen Lazard out with an injury, Rodgers had to rely on veterans Randall Cobb and Sammy Watkins, and rookies Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs as his wide receivers.
Watson dropped a would-be touchdown on a deep ball on the first play of the game. He and Doubs combined for zero catches in the first half, while Cobb and Watkins combined for two catches and 10 yards.
It didn’t get much better in the second half as Rodgers’ wide receivers combined for just 11 catches and 95 yards, so more than a third of those yards came on Rodgers’ final drive when the Vikings were basically playing prevent defense.
Adams, by the way, had 10 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown in his debut with the Raiders.
4. Too early to start Purple People Eater discussion?
Lining up Za’Darius Smith and Danielle Hunter at different positions along the offensive line proved difficult for Green Bay to handle as the formidable duo each had a sack and Smith looked like a one man wrecking crew at times.
DEAR GOD ZA’DARIUS SMITH 💀 pic.twitter.com/Umfk4a6Rbq
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 11, 2022
D.J. Wonnum and Jordan Hicks had the other two of Minnesota’s four sacks, with Hicks’s hit on Rodgers forcing a fumble. According to ESPN, Hicks had 14 tackles, good for third most in the NFL so far in Week 1.
đź“Ť The Quarterback
đź“ş: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/qDuK8IyvrX
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 11, 2022
5. Offensive line protected Cousins
It’s been many moons in Minnesota where fans could walk away from a game feeling pretty good about the offensive line, but that was the case as Cousins was only sacked one time – and it happened on the second offensive possession of the game when Kenny Clark basically danced around rookie Ed Ingram and crushed Cousins.
Go ahead and search Ingram’s name on Twitter and you’ll find plenty of reaction to that sack, but also some gems like these that show the positive plays he made.
Ed Ingram helps open up a big lane on duo and Mattison does a spectacular job churning through traffic pic.twitter.com/nHeLdKmDOG
— Nick Olson (@NickOlsonNFL) September 11, 2022
From the FG drive… Ed Ingram puts Jarran Reed on the ground, opens a nice lane for Dalvin Cook pic.twitter.com/C31DstGFA4
— Sean Borman (@SeanBormanNFL) September 11, 2022
Subscribe: Sign up for the our Purple Insider Newsletter
