Vikings smother Packers in opener as Justin Jefferson goes wild
It couldn't have gone better for Kevin O'Connell in his first game as head coach, playing in front of a sellout crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium and handing the border rival Green Bay Packers a thorough whooping, 23-7 Sunday in Minneapolis.
Giving the entire world the first look at the new-look offense, Kirk Cousins to Justin Jefferson was an unstoppable combination as the two connected nine times for 184 yards and two touchdowns – most of it in the first half.
MVP @JJettas2
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 11, 2022
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Cousins finished the day 23 of 32 for 277 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked once and didn't throw an interception and he never fumbled.
It was a different day for Aaron Rodgers. The 37-year-old two-time reigning MVP was sacked four times, threw an interception to Harrison Smith and finished the game 22 of 34 for 195 yards and zero touchdowns.
Fans enjoying the game at The Park Tavern in St. Louis Park.
It was only the third time in 29 career games (with the exception of the 2018 game when he broke his collarbone on the opening series) against the Vikings that Rodgers failed to throw at least one 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).
Just throw it to @JJettas2 and good things will happen. ✈️
— NFL (@NFL) September 11, 2022
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Minnesota's pass defense looked nothing like the unit that finished 28th in the NFL a year ago. Instead, Rodgers was held in check and Green Bay's wide receivers combined for 11 catches and 95 yards, though 39 of those yards came late in the game with the Vikings back off a bit.
Did the Rodgers miss Davante Adams? In his first game as a Raider, Adams had 10 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown.
The Vikings face the Eagles in Philadelphia on Monday Night Football in Week 2. The Eagles beat the Lions 38-35 in Detroit on Sunday.
Noteworthy game facts
- Note 1: Dalvin Cook had 20 carries for 90 yards and three catches for 18 yards
- Note 2: Alexander Mattison had 36 yards on eight carries
- Note 3: Greg Joseph made a career long 56-yard field goal
- Note 4: Green Bay averaged 6.2 yards per rush
- Note 5: Za'Darius Smith, Danielle Hunter, Jordan Hicks and D.J. Wonnum each had a sack for the Vikings, with Hicks forcing a fumble with his hit on Rodgers
- Note 6: Cousins targeted his tight ends six times: three to Johnny Mundt, one for Ben Ellefson and and two for Irv Smith Jr., though Smith didn't have a catch
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.