4 takeaways from the Vikings loss to the Packers in Week 1

Vikings miss the home crowd

Since U.S. Bank Stadium opened for business in 2016, few teams in the NFL have benefitted more from playing on their home field than the Vikings.

Before Sunday, Minnesota’s home record was tied for the best in the entire NFC (third-best in the NFL). But all of those games were played in front of a sea of rowdy Vikings fans and this week’s contest with the Packers was not.

Minnesota has been able to use the crowd noise to their advantage in the past and with it not being a factor on Sunday, Green Bay performed like it was a game that was actually taking place on their home field.

Prior to this season, visiting teams had to deal with an ear-bleeding amount of noise that made communicating with their teammates on or off of the field almost impossible.

Obviously, this is no longer an advantage the Vikings are going to have this year during the rest of their games inside U.S. Bank Stadium. Minnesota will have to get over it though sooner than later or it’s going to be a long season of poor performances in front of cardboard cutouts.