"A lot of people stopped doubting us," Jefferson said. "We coming for it, for sure."
The Vikings stomped the Packers 23-7 in Sunday's season opener, putting them atop the NFC North at 1-0, tied with the Chicago Bears. Here's what stood out in the border battle.
Vikings-Packers Sept. 11, 2022
1. Not afraid to get aggressive on fourth down If there were any questions about the style of football Kevin O'Connell wants to play, they were answered on the opening drive of the game as Minnesota faced a fourth-and-one from the Green Bay five and there was no hesitation to go for it.
1. Not afraid to get aggressive on fourth down The result: a 5-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Justin Jefferson. Jefferson had three catches for 47 yards on the opening drive, and Minnesota threw the ball eight times to just two running plays.
2. Justin Jefferson sends a message to the NFL Jefferson lit up the Packers with 184 yards and two touchdowns, and he was a toe tap away from having a third touchdown.
2. Justin Jefferson sends a message to the NFL Jefferson's 158 receiving yards in the first half was a franchise record and his 184 yards was a career-high. His 64-yard catch and run in the second quarter was his 200th career reception in 34 career games.
2. Justin Jefferson sends message to the NFL Only three players have reached 200 catches faster: Odell Beckham Jr. (30 games), Michael Thomas (32), and Jarvis Landry (33).
3. Aaron Rodgers clearly misses Davante Adams In the past, it was usually Davante Adams killing the Vikings the way Jefferson killed the Packers. But with Allen Lazard out with an injury, Rodgers had to rely on veterans Randall Cobb and Sammy Watkins, and rookies Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs as his wide receivers.
3. Aaron Rodgers clearly misses Davante Adams Watson dropped a would-be touchdown on a deep ball on the first play of the game. He and Doubs combined for zero catches in the first half, while Cobb and Watkins combined for two catches and 10 yards.
3. Aaron Rodgers clearly misses Davante Adams It didn't get much better in the second half as Rodgers' wide receivers combined for just 11 catches and 95 yards, so more than a third of those yards came on Rodgers' final drive when the Vikings were basically playing prevent defense.
3. Aaron Rodgers clearly misses Davante Adams Adams, by the way, had 10 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown in his debut with the Raiders.
4. Too early to start Purple People Eater discussion? Lining up Za'Darius Smith and Danielle Hunter at different positions along the offensive line proved difficult for Green Bay to handle as the formidable duo each had a sack and Smith looked like a one man wrecking crew at times.
4. Too early to start Purple People Eater discussion? D.J. Wonnum and Jordan Hicks had the other two of Minnesota's four sacks, with Hicks's hit on Rodgers forcing a fumble. According to ESPN, Hicks had 14 tackles, good for third most in the NFL so far in Week 1.
5. Offensive line protected Cousins It's been many moons in Minnesota where fans could walk away from a game feeling pretty good about the offensive line, but that was the case as Cousins was only sacked one time –
5. Offensive line protected Cousins and it happened on the second offensive possession of the game when Kenny Clark basically danced around rookie Ed Ingram and crushed Cousins.
5. Offensive line protected Cousins Go ahead and search Ingram's name on Twitter and you'll find plenty of reaction to that sack, but also some gems like these that show the positive plays he made.