Vikings-Packers recap: Game balls, numbers to know, what's ahead

September 12, 2022 at 3:37AM
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell hugs wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) as they celebrate his second touchdown during the first quarter against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium, in Minneapolis on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. (Elizabeth Flores/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS) ORG XMIT: 58263572W
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and receiver Justin Jefferson celebrated Jefferson’s second touchdown against the Packers on Sunday. (Elizabeth Flores, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

GAME BALLS

WR Justin Jefferson. No-brainer. A franchise-record 158 first-half yards, outgaining the Packers by himself, on his way to two TDs and a career-high 184 yards.

OLB Za'Darius Smith. The former Packer made no secret this was a revenge game for him. He had the first of four sacks of Aaron Rodgers and was the instigator of the pivotal goal-line stand.

Kevin O'Connell. He joined Norm Van Brocklin (1961), Dennis Green (1992), Brad Childress (2006) and Mike Zimmer (2014) by winning his opening game as the Vikings' head coach.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

56: Distance of Greg Joseph's third-quarter field goal, his career long and tying a franchise record. He is 8-for-10 on kicks of 50 or more yards.

100: Net yards for the Packers in the first half, 58 fewer than accumulated by Justin Jefferson at that time.

6,002: Career receiving yards for Adam Thielen. He's the sixth Vikings receiver to reach 6,000 yards.

141: Yards by Davante Adams, Aaron Rodgers' favorite target in recent years, in his debut Sunday with Las Vegas, where he was traded in the offseason. The Packers' leading receiver Sunday was running back A.J. Dillon, with 46 yards on five catches.

JEFFERSON WATCH

Justin Jefferson needs 964 more yards to pass Randy Moss' NFL record for most yards in a receiver's first three seasons. He needs to average 113.5 yards over the next 16 games to reach his goal of a 2,000-yard season.

UP NEXT

at Philadelphia, Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m.

The Eagles got QB Jalen Hurts a new weapon in WR A.J. Brown, and the two connected 10 times for 155 yards in Sunday's 38-35 win over the Lions. Hurts also had 90 yards rushing with a TD.

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