The veteran nobody planned to use

Carson Wentz came back to Minnesota this year as a mentor while Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy competed for the starting job. He barely had time to learn the playbook.

Murray goes down

Murray took a concussion in the first quarter of his Vikings debut, on a hit by Green Bay's Javon Bullard that drew a flag. Wentz walked on cold in a rivalry game.

Twenty-nine straight

From there Minnesota scored 29 unanswered points and closed out a 39-22 win to open the season in Minneapolis.

“That's why he's here.”

Love was brilliant, then wasn't

Jordan Love shredded a blitz-heavy defense for 387 yards and two first-half touchdowns to Christian Watson, then lost a fumble on a sack and threw a pick deep in his own territory.

The fourth-and-1 that broke it

Matt LaFleur waved off rookie Trey Smack's field goal to take an offside penalty and go for it. Love was stuffed at the line with a five-point lead.

Four flags, one drive

Green Bay kept the next Vikings drive alive three separate times. It started with an encroachment call on Jonathan Ford and never stopped.

“The Packers actually four defensive penalties on that drive.”

An interception erased

Bullard's illegal contact wiped out a third-down sack. A late hit by rookie Chris McClellan undid an incompletion. Xavier McKinney's holding call voided an end-zone pick by Evan Williams.

Aaron Jones finally gets one

On the play right after the erased interception, the former Packers favorite scored for the first time against his old team. Minnesota had gone the other way with the game.

Jefferson twice, plus two

Wentz hit Justin Jefferson for two touchdowns in one afternoon, matching the All-Pro's entire 2025 total. Their 2-point conversion put Minnesota ahead 25-22 with 6:37 left.

A tidy line for a backup

Wentz threw three touchdowns with no turnovers, posted a 123.5 passer rating, and helped convert eight of 15 third downs. Jordan Mason and T.J. Hockenson added scores.

“Football is a funny game, but it's fun to be on this side of it.”

Green Bay's recurring nightmare

The Packers went 3 for 12 on third down and picked up where a five-game losing streak left off last season. They have now lost four times after leading by two scores in the second half.

“Momentum is a strong thing, and we didn't respond.”

What comes next

O'Connell called it a win that will stick with him, though he still has no playoff victory in five seasons. Murray seemed fine after the game, but his return has no timetable.

“This one will stick with me for a long time.”