Packer Central

Live Updates: Jordan Love Returns for Packers-Vikings

The Green Bay Packers (2-1) are hosting the Minnesota Vikings (3-0) at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Follow along all day for all the action for this big NFC North rivalry game.

Bill Huber

Jordan Love is back at quarterback for the Packers against the Vikings at Lambeau Field.
Jordan Love is back at quarterback for the Packers against the Vikings at Lambeau Field. / Tork Mason-Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – With Jordan Love back in the lineup, the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings will square off in a huge early-season game at Lambeau Field.

Follow along all day for updates.

Fashion Statements

Jordan Love made a serious statement when he wore a Brett Favre jersey to the stadium.

Safety Javon Bullard’s fashion is much more light-hearted.

The team’s standout rookie starter will wear a pair of green shoes adorned with the Grinch.

“I just the like the Grinch,” he said on Friday. “There really ain’t no meaning behind it, for real, but I love the Grinch.”

Why does Bullard like the Grinch?

“I feel like he’s misunderstood,” Bullard said.

Chimed in cornerback Eric Stokes: “That is very true. He’s very misunderstood. People say he’s evil, people think he’s bad, but he got hurt.”

Bullard agreed.

“Someone hurt his feelings and now he’s stuck in his ways but, in reality, he’s really a nice guy.”

Does Bullard think he’s misunderstood?

“I might be understood myself,” he said with a laugh. “I’m really a nice guy. I’m really a nice guy. I think I’m a nice guy.”

Told he is a nice guy, Bullard said, “Thank you.”

Who Will Stop Justin Jefferson?

Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson is the best in the business and trending toward being one of the best of all-time.

In the Week 2 win over San Francisco, Jefferson reached 6,000 career receiving yards in 62 career games – tied with Hall of Famer Lance Alworth for the fastest to that milepost. If can record 613 receiving yards the rest of the season, he’ll pass Tory Holt (6,784) for most yards through five seasons.

Jefferson’s 98.0 receiving yards per game is the highest mark in NFL history. In 2022, he led the NFL with 106.4 yards per game. In 2023, he upped that to 107.5. Even while missing seven games due to injury, he caught 68 passes for 1,074 yards.

“You can never stop guys like that. You can always just try to contain them,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “Obviously, he’s going to always have big plays but, for us, it’s to challenge him as much as possible.

“Obviously, we’ve got our guys over here that we believe in. We believe in Ja. Ja’s going to be on him all game, so we believe in him, and we believe in the system that Haf [defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley] has put into place for us. For us, we look to go out there and execute, play hard and challenge their best guys.”

Will the Packers have Ja – Jaire Alexander – available? He is questionable with quad and groin injuries.

First-Time Favorites

For the first time this season, the Packers are favorites. Since sportsbooks expected Jordan Love to be back in the lineup, the line didn’t move following Saturday’s big news.

With last week’s win at Tennessee, Packers coach Matt LaFleur is 24-11 against the spread as an underdog, the best percentage for any coach in the Super Bowl era. LaFleur is 20-15 as a underdog. A $100 bet on each of those games would have delivered a payout of $1,695, according to The Action Network.

Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold has led the team’s 3-0 start. He is 3-5 in eight games while on a winning streak.

Big Game, Big Challenge for Packers

With a win, the Packers (2-1) would be tied for first place in the NFC North. With a loss, the Packers would be two games behind the Vikings.

That might not have been the driving force behind Jordan Love’s decision to play on Sunday but it was on his mind.

“I’m trying to push it and I’ve been trying to get back as fast as I can no matter who the opponent was,” Love said. “But definitely, you look at this week and NFC North opponent, 3-0 team, really good team, so definitely it would mean a lot to get back and push myself to get back for this game.”

The Vikings are third in points scored.

“They’re running the ball really well – really well – and then I think his pass game, it’s the scheme and then he’s got really good players, too,” Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. “Obviously, the running back’s a phenomenal player and, from what everybody around here says, is one of the most special human beings ever. Everyone seems to rave about him, so I’m sad I never got a chance to meet him.

“And then the offensive line, they’re really well coached, they’re tough, they’re gritty. They’ve really kind of pieced it all together. They’re a talented team with a really good scheme, so they present a challenge. They’ve been scoring a lot of points.”

The Vikings are second in points allowed.

“They pose a big challenge because a lot of their fronts,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “There’s just so many guys up on the line of scrimmage and they’re very multiple with their personnels. And they can give a lot of different looks from a lot of different personnels where it’s not a very favorable to run the ball in a lot of situations.

“You just really have to be patient with it and focus on your mentality because there’s going to be some bad looks and you got to get what you can out of them. But they those pose a problem. They got smart players, they pressure a lot, and their very talented across the board, so it’s going to be a really big challenge for us this week.”

Aaron Jones: Win-Win for Vikings

Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips was a quarterback at UTEP. That’s where Aaron Jones played his college football, so Phillips had followed his career.

After the Packers released Jones at the start of free agency, Phillips was excited when the Vikings emerged as a contender to sign him.

“It was a lot like the feeling when the (T.J.) Hockenson (trade) talks were going,” Phillips told reporters in Minneapolis this week. “It was not only excitement about the player and what you know about the player already, but to get him from a division rival – different circumstances, obviously – but to be able to get one of the players that you don’t have to compete against anymore and he’s on your side is a pretty good feeling.”

The Vikings had no running game to speak of last year, when they ranked 29th with 91.4 rushing yards per game and 24th with 3.95 rushing yards per attempt. With his explosive, tackle-breaking style, Jones has fixed that. The Vikings enter Sunday ranked 13th with 125.0 rushing yards per game and 10th with 4.81 rushing yards per attempt.

“All the coaches in Green Bay that I knew, when you are talking about some of your favorite players of all time, and it was really just no question, it’s Aaron Jones.”

Packers-Vikings: How to Watch

TV: CBS, with Kevin Harlan, Trent Green and Melanie Collins on the call.

Is the game on TV where you live?: Check out the broadcast map on 506 Sports publishes.

Streaming: If you don’t live in one of those blue areas on that map, Fubo comes with a seven-day free trial.

Radio: Here’s the list of Packers Radio Network stations, featuring Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren on the call.

Packers-Vikings: Kickoff Details

Records: The Packers are 2-1 and the Vikings are 3-0.

Where: Lambeau Field.

Kickoff: Noon.

Coaches: Green Bay – Matt LaFleur (58-28, sixth season). Minnesota – Kevin O’Connell (23-14, third season).

Weather: The weather will be “near perfect,” according to WBAY-TV’s Bo Fogel. It will be sunny and 72 at kickoff with a northeast wind of about 12 mph.

Tickets: Tickets are not cheap for this border battle. They start at $329 on SI Tickets. At least there are no fees.

The line: The news that Jordan Love would start was expected. The line didn’t move – it’s Packers by 3 at DraftKings.

Power rankings: In our Consensus NFL Power Rankings, the Lions, Vikings and Packers are in the top seven.

More Green Bay Packers News

Jordan Love is back | Cornerbacks elevated | Packers-Vikings: Reasons why they’ll lose | Packers-Vikings: Reasons why they’ll win | Packers-Vikings Friday injury report | NFC North power rankings | Mark Bavaro? Yes, Mark Bavaro | Xavier McKinney worth every penny | Jordan Love limited, with a twist | Grab an aspirin | “New” player on practice squad | A lot of love for Aaron Jones | Vikings’ Brian Flores raves about Matt LaFleur | Aaron Jones says thank you | Packers and penalties: Do they matter? | How to watch and what to watch | Packers-Vikings matchups

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packer Central, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.