A few days before opening the 2026 regular season with a big matchup against the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings announced that veteran Carson Wentz would be the team's QB2 behind Kyler Murray for the contest.
That decision by the Vikings turned out to be a very important one on Sunday.
Minnesota wasn't planning for Wentz to play in Week 1, but after Murray sustained a concussion and left the game in the first quarter, the 33-year-old quarterback was put into the huddle.
There were some rough patches at first, but Wentz's experience stood out like a sore thumb in the matchup, and it resulted in him throwing three touchdowns, not turning the ball over, and helping lead the Vikings to a 39-22 victory over the Packers.
If the Minnesota Vikings continue to win with Carson Wentz, there's no way they can give the QB1 job back to Kyler Murray
Now, this is where the hard part comes in.
It's not like Wentz lit up the stat sheet with an all-time single-game performance on Sunday. He finished 12-of-19 for 133 yards and three touchdowns, which amounted to a 123.5 passer rating.
But Wentz didn't turn the football over; he didn't make any desperation throws, and he kept Minnesota's offense running smoothly. If he starts again in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears and helps lead the Vikings to another win, the QB1 job should become his to lose.
A win over the Bears next Sunday will be easier said than done, as they are coming off a Week 1 victory over their own, where they put up a whopping 59 points on the Carolina Panthers.
The matchup will be played in Chicago, so that's another advantage for the Bears. However, Minnesota got the win in its trip to Chicago last season, and they were a bad kickoff return away from beating the Bears in the Twin Cities during their second meeting in 2025.
On the flip side of all of this, if the Vikings go out to Chicago next weekend and suffer a loss in part to Wentz turning into a pumpkin, then the quarterback controversy quickly goes away, and Murray is probably back in the starting lineup in Week 3 if he clears concussion protocol.
But that wouldn't be any fun. So, let's hope Wentz can keep things going in Week 2 and help lead Minnesota to another big NFC North win to begin the 2026 season.
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