The Green Bay Packers did plenty right in their 2026 season opener. Jordan Love threw for 387 yards, Christian Watson went for 147 yards and two touchdowns, and Green Bay held a 12-point lead deep into the third quarter against the Minnesota Vikings.
Somehow, none of it mattered.
The Packers watched a 22-10 advantage completely disappear in Sunday’s 39-22 loss at U.S. Bank Stadium. Minnesota scored the final 29 points, including 22 in the fourth quarter, turning what looked like a comfortable Green Bay win into a very familiar late-game collapse.
Even more jarring, the Vikings did it with veteran backup Carson Wentz after starter Kyler Murray exited in the first quarter with a concussion. Wentz threw for three touchdowns, while Green Bay failed to score at all after the 5:12 mark of the third quarter.
Packers Make Unwanted NFL History Against Vikings
OptaSTATS put the epic collapse into historical perspective after the game.
The Vikings became the first team in NFL history to trail by at least 12 points with fewer than 20 minutes remaining in regulation and still win by at least 17 points.
Green Bay gave Minnesota exactly the kind of comeback no NFL team had ever completed before.
Trey Smack’s 26-yard field goal gave the Packers a 22-10 lead with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter. Minnesota answered with a Wentz touchdown pass to T.J. Hockenson before the quarter ended, cutting the deficit to five.
From there, the Packers unraveled.
Green Bay had a chance to extend its lead early in the fourth quarter after initially sending Smack out for a 40-yard field goal. A Vikings offside penalty gave Matt LaFleur the option to take the points off the board and try fourth-and-1 instead.
Love’s quarterback sneak was stopped short.
Minnesota then went 83 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, aided by three separate third-down penalties against Green Bay. Aaron Jones scored from 3 yards out before Justin Jefferson caught the two-point conversion to make it 25-22.
The Packers’ next two possessions ended with a Love fumble and interception. Both turnovers led to Vikings touchdowns.
Despite being outgained 419-239, Minnesota walked away with a 17-point win. Green Bay averaged 6.3 yards per play to Minnesota’s 3.9, another reminder of how thoroughly the Packers lost control of a game they had spent most of the afternoon dictating.
Matt LaFleur Addresses Packers’ Inability to Finish
The way Green Bay lost made the result sting even more after how the 2025 season ended. The Packers blew a 21-3 halftime lead in their 31-27 wild-card loss to the Chicago Bears in January, ending that season on a five-game losing streak.
Sunday made it six straight losses overall.
“It’s gonna be a topic of conversation for all you guys until we do it,” LaFleur said, reported The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman
The Packers had talked throughout the offseason about fixing their late-game problems. Instead, their first opportunity to prove anything ended with another collapse against an NFC North rival.
Green Bay committed 12 penalties for 98 yards compared with just three penalties for 15 yards by Minnesota. The Packers were also only 3-of-12 on third down, and the Vikings finished with 15 quarterback hits.
“We’ve got to play cleaner football,” LaFleur said.
That much is obvious. The Packers didn’t simply lose a game they controlled Sunday. They found a way to become part of NFL history for all the wrong reasons.
Packers Become Part of Unwanted NFL History After Vikings Loss