GREEN BAY, Wis. – Almost exactly eight months after the Green Bay Packers’ Super Bowl aspirations imploded in gory fashion in the playoffs at Chicago, they will give it another shot when they kick off the 2026 season at the Minnesota Vikings.

Without a bit of hyperbole, this is a huge game. The Packers and Vikings figure to be in the thick of the playoff race all season. If Green Bay can steal a Week 1 road win, it would go a long way toward making a run at – at least – an NFC North championship.

Week 1 winners are 2.3 times more likely to qualify for the playoffs. The Packers won at Minnesota in Week 1 in 2020 and earned the No. 1 seed; the Packers lost at Minnesota in Week 1 in 2022 and missed the playoffs.

Here are three reasons why the Packers will earn a huge win on Sunday. (As a reminder, as we’ve done for about a decade, we’ll also present three reasons why the Packers will lose later in the day.)

Packers QB Jordan Love and His Wideouts

For all the focus on the potential mismatches with Minnesota’s elite receivers against Green Bay’s suspect cornerbacks, the same story is true when Green Bay has the ball.

While Christian Watson, Matthew Golden and Jayden Reed might not be as good as Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jauan Jennings, Jordan Love is better than Kyler Murray. Added together, the Packers should be able to make plays against Vikings cornerbacks Byron Murphy, James Pierre and Isaiah Rodgers.

So long as Love has time, of course.

Murphy had six interceptions in 2024 but allowed a combined completion rate of about 71 percent the last two years. Rodgers is a quality player with great speed but vulnerable because he’s 5-foot-9 5/8 and only 170 pounds. Pierre has great size and was superb in part-time duty for the Steelers last season, but started only 13 games in his first six seasons.

As much as Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ blitz packages will challenge Love, Love will challenge the Vikings.

“His growth and development has been outstanding,” Flores told reporters this week. “He sat for three seasons. When I got here, it … was the first year starting, but he’s just grown and grown. His command of the offense, whether it’s cadence or on the ball or no huddle, he’s got total command and understanding of what they’re trying to do.”

Green Bay’s offense never really took flight last year. One reason is because Christian Watson missed the first six games while coming back from a torn ACL, Jayden Reed suffered a broken collarbone in Week 2 and returned in Week 14, and Tucker Kraft suffered a torn ACL in Week 8.

After not playing a single snap together last season, they will be on the field together, early and often, on Sunday.

“It’ll be big time,” Watson said. “I mean, the defenses are going to have to find a way to stop three or four guys. It’s going to be impossible to do on every play. So, it really just comes down to us making plays when our number’s called and making defenses play stuff a little bit more true.

“I think it’s just going to make it harder on the defense to have four guys spread out across the field that can make a big play at any moment. So, I’m excited for this group to be out there, and I think that the sky’s the limit.”

Added Reed, who is No. 1 among receivers in passer rating when targeted since entering the league in 2023. “I feel great about everybody in our room. We’ve all been making plays. We’ve all got that confidence. We all have been around long enough. We’ve just got to go out there, execute and make the plays we know we can make.”

Packers DC Jonathan Gannon vs. Kyler Murray

New Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and new Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray spent the last three seasons together in Arizona. Gannon knows Murray; Murray knows Gannon.

But it’s not as if that knowledge balances each other out.

While Murray knows some of Gannon’s preferred coverages and blitzes from their time together, Gannon might not have brought any of that playbook with him to Green Bay. He’s got different personnel and different challenges, especially without Micah Parsons to start the season. For instance, last season in Arizona, Gannon ranked 29th in blitz rate. On the practice field during training camp, he sent blitzes from here, there and everywhere.

Gannon, on the other hand, should know what gets under Murray’s skin. What disguises can fool him before the snap? What blitzes does Murray struggle picking up after the snap? Is he better against one coverage than another?

“Obviously, we know in his history what Kyler can do with his legs,” Gannon said this week. “It’s part of the challenge for us Week 1. Each opponent is going to provide different challenges, that stick out to everybody on defense when you watch the tape, and that’s definitely a challenge this week.

“We got to see how the game goes but that’s, obviously, a point of emphasis because I know firsthand what this guy can do with his legs and he can trainwreck the game really fast if you’re not coordinated the right way.”

In the NFL, it’s all about making life at least challenging for the opposing quarterback, if not downright uncomfortable. Gannon’s history with Murray should help. Considering the potential mismatches in the secondary, Gannon must win this matchup.

Packers LB Edgerrin Cooper

The strength of Green Bay’s defense is straight up the middle.

The Packers were so good at defensive tackle that all nine players who competed for a roster spot during training camp are on 53-man rosters for Week 1.

Linebackers Zaire Franklin and Edgerrin Cooper could form an elite duo. Safeties Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams are an elite duo. Javon Bullard was a menace from the slot throughout training camp.

Cooper could be a real X-factor most weeks, with his ability to be a sideline-to-sideline run defender, coverage weapon and impact blitzer allowing Gannon to plug him into whatever role is needed on any given week.

From an impact-plays perspective, Cooper is coming off a disappointing second season. That’s not so much a critique of his performance but with how former defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley used him in the wake of the Micah Parsons trade.

Cooper last season in 16 games had four tackles for losses. Cooper in Week 16 at Minnesota as a rookie in 2024 had four tackles for losses.

Gannon needs to deploy Cooper in such a way that he can wreck that Aaron Jones-Jordan Mason running game and be allowed to affect Murray, whether it’s as a pass rusher or spy. 

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