The Green Bay Packers will strive to return to the mountaintop of the NFC North after four years without a divisional pennant. Notably, they'll get a prime chance to get the season started on the right foot when they visit the Minnesota Vikings for the 2026 NFL season opener.
Divisional games are always a toss-up, and while the Packers hold bragging rights over the NFC North -- and especially over the Vikings -- things won't be easy out of the gate for Matt LaFleur's team. Even so, given the Vikings' quarterback issues, they should still be able to win this game.
More importantly, the Packers have a chance to make the Vikings second-guess their biggest move of the offseason. They might hope that Kyler Murray can help them straighten the course of the ship, but he hasn't fared well against the Packers.
The Packers could force the Vikings to re-think their Kyler Murray gamble
As a former AFC guy, Murray doesn't have much experience vs. the Packers. So far, he's thrown for 488 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions with a passer rating of 82.1in two career matchups vs. Green Bay. Not terrible, but definitely not flashy.
Murray just arrived in Minnesota and hasn't played in a while. He might need some time to get a full grasp of Kevin O'Connell's quarterback-friendly system, and he's coming off missing most of last season with an injury.
He's no longer as mobile as he used to be, mostly because of all the hits he's taken. He's gotten fewer designed carries in the past couple of years, and his rushing success rate has gone down every year for the past four seasons, per Football Reference.
Murray is much less efficient when he can't roll out of the pocket and make plays with his legs. The Packers probably won't have Micah Parsons on the field for Week 1, but Javon Hargrave -- who's also familiar with the Vikings' offensive and blocking schemes -- might make life difficult for him, funneling to the interior where Devonte Wyatt will be more than ready to take him down.
Also, the Packers hired Jonathan Gannon as their new defensive coordinator. Gannon was Murray's coach for three years, and he knows his flaws and weaknesses like the back of his hand. He can read him like a book, and this just sounds like a perfect storm for the Vikings to wonder whether they made the right choice or should reconsider the ever-struggling J.J. McCarthy.
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