Carson Wentz didn’t need to be perfect Sunday. He just needed to land the throws that mattered, and that’s exactly what the Vikings got in their 39-22 season-opening win over the Packers.
The box score says Wentz finished 11 of 20 on on-target passes, plus a two-point conversion. That’s a rough percentage on paper.
But T.J. Hockenson made it clear the numbers don’t tell the whole story.
On the play that mattered most for him, Wentz hit Hockenson in stride for a 16-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, trimming Green Bay’s lead to 22-17.
“I’m not high on the list of options there,” Hockenson said. “It’s an alert.
I go to open space in the middle, get above the linebacker and trust that Carson sees what I see. He saw me and put the ball on me in stride perfectly.”
Wentz also delivered on the biggest stage of the night for Justin Jefferson, finding the star receiver in the back of the end zone for a 39-yard touchdown and later connecting with him again on a two-point conversion. Jefferson’s reach helped salvage another throw, too, turning an off-target pass into a 17-yard catch on third-and-8.
The Vikings also got some work done on the ground, though not right away. Their new-look wide-zone runs showed up five times in the first half, and the Packers were ready for them. Left tackle Christian Darrisaw said Green Bay “threw a lot of things at us to disrupt it,” and the result was only five carries for seven yards.
That changed as the game wore on, with Minnesota leaning on the plays it wanted and Wentz hitting enough timely throws to keep the comeback moving.
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T.J. Hockensons Week 1 touchdown against the Packers was the kind of improvisational moment that can reset the tone around an offense in a hurry. With backup quarterback Carson Wentz stepping in after Kyler Murrays injury, Hockenson said the scoring play was a feel decision, a glimpse of how quickly timing and trust can still matter even when the plan changes in real time.
For the Vikings, though, the bigger subplot sits beyond one clutch catch. Hockenson reworked his contract over the offseason to lower his cap hit and void the final year, which puts him on track to hit free agency next year. That makes every productive night feel a little more layered, because Minnesota now has to sort out not just how often Hockenson is featured, but what kind of future it wants to build around him. [Read more 🡒]
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Vikings Suddenly Have Two Huge Availability Questions Before Bears Game
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Minnesota also got a hit to its backfield, with Jordan Mason moved to short-term injured reserve after suffering a fractured thumb. The move guarantees he will miss at least four games, leaving the Vikings to sort through their run-game rotation while waiting for clarity at quarterback and trying to keep their preparation on track for Sunday. [Read more 🡒]