Minnesota Vikings close with 29 straight points to beat Green Bay Packers as Wentz replaces injured Murray
Carson Wentz came in after Kyler Murray's first-quarter concussion in his Minnesota debut and led a spirited comeback against the rival Green Bay Packers as the Vikings scored 29 straight points to close a 39-22 victory to open the season Sunday.
"I was bummed to see Kyler go down when he did," Wentz said. "I love the kid. I knew it right away. We probably all saw it right away. I've been a part of couple concussions in my day too."
Not long ago the talk was the QB competition between Murray and McCarthy. Carson Wentz didn't get a mention. But as it turns out the wily veteran played the most snaps of all three in week one.
"We see it on the daily," said running back Aaron Jones. "We saw it last year as well. Even him playing banged up last year we've seen it. So we were very confident in Carson. He knows how to run an offense. He knows how to settle guys down, command a huddle."
Thrust into action, Wentz missed some throws early. It was not going well.
"In a given week in the gameplan, the backup never takes some of these reps. There's no lying about that," said Wentz. "So, things were happening. We were doing it live today."
"The dialogue with him on the sideline to get to a place where we could get him some things he was really comfortable and he could be aggressive," said Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell. "I just kept telling him 'I want you to be aggressive and I trust ya. I know you're gonna be able to make the next play.' And he did."
A modest finishing line of 12 for 19 with 133 yards for Wentz. But the three touchdowns down the stretch made up for the mistakes.
"I threw one to their safety right in the chest. That was a flag too. So praise God for that. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good," said Wentz. "The momentum was in our favor and we capitalized whenever we had those breaks."
"Obviously there were a lot of highs and lows during the second half," said left guard Donovan Jackson. "But having him as a steady rock in the offense was great."
Wentz had two touchdown passes to Justin Jefferson, matching the two-time All-Pro's 2025 season total, and the pair connected on a 2-point conversion when the Vikings took their first lead at 25-22 with 6:37 remaining. Green Bay extended the drive three times with crushing defensive penalties.
Jordan Love, who had been brilliant against a relentlessly blitzing defense, melted down along with the rest of the team by losing a fumble on a sack and throwing an interception deep in Packers territory.
Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason each had rushing touchdowns and T.J. Hockenson caught one of the three scores thrown by the 11th-year veteran Wentz, who was appointed the backup to Murray ahead of 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy for his considerable edge in experience.
Love finished 21 for 42 for 387 yards and two first-half touchdowns to Christian Watson, but the two late turnovers and a 3-for-12 conversion rate on third downs loomed large as the Packers picked right up where they left off with a five-game losing streak that ended last season.
The Packers lost four times after leading in the second half by at least two possessions, including their wild card playoff collapse against another NFC North rival in the Chicago Bears, who outscored the Packers 25-6 in the fourth quarter.
Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur might have mistakenly triggered this meltdown with his decision to take rookie Trey Smack's field goal off the board to set up a fourth-and-1 on an offside penalty. Love was stuffed at the line with a five-point lead, and the Vikings went the other way for the go-ahead score by Jones, the former Packers favorite who had yet to reach the end zone against his former team.
The Packers actually had four defensive penalties on that drive, starting with a seemingly innocent encroachment call on Jonathan Ford.
Jonathan Bullard, whose injurious hit on Murray was flagged, was called for illegal contact to negate a third-down sack. Rookie Chris McClellan was penalized for a late hit on Wentz to wipe out a third-down incompletion. Then Xavier McKinney's defensive holding call erased an end-zone interception by Evan Williams. Jones scored on the next play.
Injury report
Packers LG Aaron Banks (knee) was inactive, giving Donovan Jennings his first career start.
Up next
Packers: at New York Jets on Sept. 20.
Vikings: at Chicago Bears on Sept. 20.
