A 17-point win over a division rival usually buys a team a wave of optimism. For the Minnesota Vikings, it didn’t quite work that way.
In this week’s SB Nation Reacts poll, just 46% of respondents said they feel the team is moving in the right direction heading into Week 2 of the 2026 regular season. That’s a noticeable drop from the 60% who felt that way before the season opener against Green Bay.
The result makes a little more sense when you look at how the game unfolded. Minnesota was down by double digits late in the third quarter before the Packers helped open the door for a Vikings comeback. The win still counts, and it still sent Green Bay to an 0-1 start, but it didn’t exactly erase the concerns that came with it.
Those concerns showed up even more clearly when fans were asked about the offense after Week 1. Nearly half of the respondents - 49% - said they have at least a medium level of concern about that unit. The rest of the responses were spread out fairly evenly, with 18% at a low level of panic, 17% hitting the panic button hard, and 16% saying everyone should calm down.
There are obvious reasons for the unease. Jordan Mason is already slated to miss four games after going on injured reserve, Kyler Murray is out after suffering a concussion on Sunday, and Minnesota’s offense was one of the least productive in the league in Week 1, with only three teams posting fewer yards. Three of the Vikings’ touchdown drives against the Packers covered fewer than 30 yards, which is not the kind of formula a team wants to lean on for long.
The hope now is that the offense looks cleaner starting Sunday in Chicago.
In Other News...
Vikings Offense Suddenly Has A Week 2 Problem Fans Can't Ignore
The Vikings offense is heading into Week 2 with far less certainty than anyone around the building would have hoped after the opener. Minnesotas final injury report ahead of the Bears game confirmed Carson Wentz will start at quarterback in place of Kyler Murray, who is out because of a head injury, and the ripple effects do not stop there. Brian ONeill is listed as questionable, Alexander Mattison remains on injured reserve, and Jalen Jennings will miss the game for a personal matter, leaving the offense to piece together its plan across multiple spots.
For a unit that still needs to find its rhythm, the timing could hardly be worse. The Vikings have already had to shuffle the offensive line, rethink the backfield and adjust the receiver rotation before taking on Chicago, and every missing or limited piece only adds to the pressure on a group trying to stay on schedule. Week 2 was supposed to be a chance to settle in, but instead it has become an early test of depth and flexibility. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Oliver Is Suddenly A Vikings Concern At The Worst Time
Josh Oliver has quietly become one of the more important pieces of Minnesotas offense, and that makes his early-season form worth watching closely. The Vikings locked him in through the 2028 season on a three-year, $23.25 million deal, signaling real confidence in his role as both a blocker and a reliable part of the passing game. In Week 1, he was on the field for 42 offensive snaps and looked solid enough overall, with strong run-blocking marks backing up why the team values him.
The concern comes in the area Minnesota can least afford to ignore right now. Pro Football Focus gave Oliver a 23.3 pass-block grade, a rough sign for a player the Vikings may need to lean on even more if the starting quarterback is unavailable. The coaching staff is expected to keep a close eye on that part of his game in the coming weeks, because in a season where protection already matters, tight end support in pass protection suddenly feels a lot bigger than usual. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Collapse Is Suddenly Raising A Bigger NFC North Question
Green Bays latest slide has turned what once looked like a sturdy NFC North race into something far murkier, and that matters plenty for Minnesota. Since Micah Parsons tore his ACL in Week 15 of the 2025 season, the Packers have dropped six straight, with the kind of second-half collapses that change the feel of an entire division. The losses have piled up with blown leads, a brutal finish in the postseason and a growing sense that the Packers are struggling to close games when the pressure rises.
For a Vikings team watching from the other side of the rivalry, the bigger question is no longer just how Green Bay got here, but whether the slide says something deeper about the way Matt LaFleurs team handles fourth quarters and overtime. The Packers recent scoring issues in those moments have become impossible to ignore, and the longer they linger, the more the NFC North picture shifts from a one-team problem to a division-wide opening Minnesota will have every reason to study closely. [Read more 🡒]