The Minnesota Vikings will hit the ground running to open their 2026 season as they play host to the Green Bay Packers this afternoon. After last season's disappointment, it's a big season for everyone involved, and a win over the most-hated rival would be a nice opening salvo to put things on a good course.
Win or lose, the "it's-only-one-game" lament will come, and sometimes Week 1 is a liar in either direction. A case in point for the Vikings came last year, when J.J. McCarthy led a fourth- quarter comeback over the Chicago Bears in his first career start on the Monday Night Football stage.
There's no need to rehash how things went from there.
Of course, one game is enough to spark far-reaching reactions either way, and some Vikings players will face heavy scrutiny or praise from fans based on how they perform against the hated Packers.
Dallas Turner and Kyler Murray headline Minnesota Vikings under the Week 1 spotlight
Dallas Turner, EDGE
Dallas Turner showed a solid glimpse of his first-round talent last season with eight sacks, including 6.5 over the last eight games. That, along with some apparent contract demands, prompted the Vikings to trade Jonathan Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Even with the recent addition of veteran Kyle Van Noy, the Vikings are thin at edge rusher, as Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel are being heavily counted on.
If Turner's alignment favors the right edge of the Vikings' defense like it did last season, he'll see plenty of Packers' left tackle Jordan Morgan, who made the move back to his college position after the free agent departure of Rasheed Walker.
The breakout buzz around Turner has been everywhere you look this offseason. Paying it off starts on Sunday, ideally with a noticeably good performance in the effort to bother Jordan Love.
Will Fries, guard
Amid all the injury issues for the Vikings' offensive line last season, Will Fries was a beacon of health, starting all 17 games.
The issue was his performance. After posting an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 86.9 in a small sample with the Indianapolis Colts in 2024 before a season-ending injury, Fries came in as PFF's 41st-graded guard last season, with a run-blocking grade in the bottom half of guards.
That is not what the Vikings thought they were getting when they gave Fries a five-year, $87.2 million deal in March of 2025. A welcome remodel of the run game, courtesy of assistant coach Frank Smith, should be helpful.
The Vikings also have a potential out of Fries' contract next spring.
The Packers' starting defensive tackle tandem, former Viking Javon Hargrave and the now heavily paid Devonte Wyatt, are more name than actual game. So Fries should be able to have his way on Sunday, and needs to come through on that idea in full force as he eyes a rebound season.
Blake Brandel, center
Versatility has been Blake Brandel's calling card, but he hadn't played center in his NFL career (if not prior to that) until last season. His run there, in place of Ryan Kelly, was enough to convince the Vikings that he can start full-time this season.
There were persistent reports of issues with shotgun snaps for Brandel during training camp, and, like other Vikings' offensive starters, he only played the first series of the first preseason game. So Week 1 will be a trial by fire if the issue hasn't been at least mostly fixed, since practice can only be so valuable on that front.
If Brandel can perform one of the most essential functions of his job well, everyone will forget the camp issue. If those struggles continue in a meaningful game, calls to replace him may intensify.
Jordan Addison, WR
If Jordan Addison wants to get paid handsomely sometime soon, he needs to shake off the off-field issues of the past couple of years and have a big 2026 season. By all accounts, he has quickly developed a good relationship with Kyler Murray, which can only help, as a suboptimal quarterback helped foster the worst season of his career last year.
The Packers have plenty of question marks at cornerback, and Addison may get plenty of 1-on-1s with Brandon Cisse as the coverage is rolled toward Justin Jefferson (which could be an especially perilous decision, overall).
Addison might not see a ton of targets on Sunday, but that won't be a requirement to be impactful. And he needs to be impactful.
Kyler Murray, QB
Murray is the easy No. 1 on this list. The Arizona Cardinals are literally paying him a ton of money not to play for them this season, as they effectively slow-played his return from a foot injury last season, then shut him down so they could easily part ways this offseason.
Murray has to dispel any narrative that he was a major problem in Arizona this season. If he doesn't perform well in the best overall situation he has ever had, from coaching to the food offerings in the cafeteria, his future as a starting quarterback will go down in kind.
The high stakes for Murray this season will get no break out of the gate, with former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon on the opposite sideline as the Packers' defensive coordinator in Week 1. The revenge angle is naturally thick, and Gannon is a defensive mind who saw Murray up close over the last three seasons.
A good performance in a season-opening win over the Packers will do plenty to get Murray instant favor from Vikings' fans, while also starting his prove-it season on the proper track.
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