Packers Winners And Losers: Week 1 Vs. The Vikings

Week 1 is officially over for the Green Bay Packers, and I don’t ever want to speak of it again. The team traveled to Minnesota to face off against the Vikings on Sunday, and things were going well for the Packers until The Spiral™ began. After leading for most of the game, things fell apart, and the Packers left the stadium with an 0-1 record after a 39-22 loss. You know the drill. Let’s dive in.

Winner: Christian Watson

WR Christian Watson finished the game first half with 5 catches for 131 yards and 2 TDs. The entire Minnesota offense had 136 yards at halftime. With the departures of Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks in the offseason, and a contract extension signed this June, it was pretty evident Watson would be cemented as the Packers #1 receiver this year. And, like a moth to a flame, QB Jordan Love found him again and again during Sunday’s game. Watson is tough to beat downfield, and his hands have become extremely reliable. The receiver finished the game with 6 catches on 8 targets for 147 yards, and 2 TDs. I think we’re going to be seeing a lot more of this in 2026, unless the offensive line continues to exist in its current form.

Winner: Keisean Nixon

The always-chirpy DB faced a ton of scrutiny and criticism after the 2025 season ended, as well as throughout preseason. He’s never been one to humble himself, and this week, he backed it all up. On the very first play of the game, Nixon stopped RB Aaron Jones for a 1 yard loss. The next play? An interception with an 11 yard return. He combined for a sack with Jonathan Ford in the second quarter. And, in the third quarter, he applied heavy pressure on QB Carson Wentz, forcing a very quick incomplete pass. In total, Nixon had 5 tackles, including 1 for a loss, with 2 QB hits and 1 PD. Sounds good to me!

Winner: Jordan Love

Don’t let the stat line fool you: QB Jordan Love had just about as good a game as I’ve ever seen from him, and it came in spite of the offensive line actively trying to get him killed. In the first quarter, he threw the longest TD pass of his career, an 81 yard bomb to Christian Watson. Later, he had a 30 yarder to TE Tucker Kraft. As the second quarter wound down, he made another massive heave to Watson to get the offense close to the endzone. This was all while he was forced to get the ball out quickly, and getting hit in the middle of doing so.

In the second half, while escaping heavy pressure, he had the above great pass to Kraft for a first down. There was also a 44 yard bomb to TE Jonnu Smith. Matthew Golden got in on the action with a beautiful 42 yard play. Can you imagine how great he would’ve looked without the world crashing down around him? GOODNESS. Love finished the game 21 of 42 for 387 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, and 2 fumbles, while taking 4 sacks.

Winner: Edgerrin Cooper

LB Edgerrin Cooper had probably the best game of anyone on the defense. He was all over the field, and he was disruptive. There was a massive stop at the point of catch which forced the Vikings to punt during the first half. He also had a couple TFLs, including a massive sack on 2nd and 6 in the third quarter. He would’ve been credited with another game-changing sack on the very next play, had the refs not gotten involved. Cooper finished the game with 7 tackles (2 TFLs) and 1 sack.

Loser: The Offensive Line

I don’t know that I can fully express myself here without losing the opportunity to write about this team on a weekly basis, so I’ll try to be as eloquent as I can. The Packers have an offensive line problem, and they need to solve it, immediately. They were lucky things went well as long as they did today. For Love to go into halftime having not taken a single sack against a Brian Flores-led defense feels miraculous.

Love was constantly taking hits, both to the helmet and to the legs. The plays in which he fumbled were when the line completely abandoned him, and he was getting hit from all angles. I am genuinely astonished he made it to the end of the game uninjured, let alone with nearly 400 passing yards. Long gone are the days when the Packers QB1 had a reliable front five. The team need to figure this out quickly, or we are in for a very long, disappointing season. What we saw Sunday afternoon is not sustainable.

Loser: Matt LaFleur

Offensive line isn’t holding up. RB1 isn’t available. Let’s give the ball to Chris Brooks on 3rd and 11. IT’LL BE FINE. We can talk about the refs and their impact on the game all day (WILL SOMEONE PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE REFS), but the fact of the matter is, this team was not well-enough equipped to win. The game was theirs, until it wasn’t anymore. It seemed like things started going downhill when LaFleur opted to take a Trey Smack FG off of the board, and instead attempt to go for it on 4th and 1 with an uninspired QB sneak, which failed. After this, the team just kept getting punched in the mouth, and they spiraled. It’s hard to get that momentum back when it feels like things are just not going your way, but LaFleur’s decision making did the Packers no favors. Add this 12 point blown lead to the list, and consider that seat hot.

The team has another away game in Week 2 as they head to MetLife Stadium to take on the New York Jets, this time in the early slate of games. Can the offensive line keep it together as they face a defensive-minded coach in Aaron Glenn? I won’t hold my breath.