The moment Kyler Murray signed a one-year contract on March 12, the question surrounding the Vikings was which quarterback would be leading the team in its season opener. Murray, or J.J. McCarthy?
Little did anyone suspect the answer would be Carson Wentz.
Even Carson Wentz.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz (11) points to the sky after the Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers 39-22 in an NFL football game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
“I didn’t think I’d be going home sore today,” he said after relieving Murray early and directing a wild, woolly comeback victory over the Green Bay Packers, 39-22, in the season opener for both teams Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Murray won the starting job in a head-to-head battle with McCarthy midway through training camp and took the first few snaps on Sunday. But he took a serious helmet-to-helmet hit while sliding out of a scramble on the Vikings’ second drive and was quickly placed in concussion protocol.
Enter Wentz, who often prepared quietly in the shadows during camp while Murray and McCarthy got all the attention, and most of the practice reps. Some of that was because of the competition ahead of Wentz, but some was no doubt because Wentz, 33, didn’t need the attention.
“It was a different process, I’m not gonna lie, but I stayed as ready as I could,” Wentz said. “Mental reps, reps after practice, whatever that looks like. … I’m confident in what I bring to the table.”
On Sunday, Wentz brought to the table 12 of 19 passes completed for 133 yards and three touchdowns. But it was more than that. The Vikings started poorly — Murray threw an interception on his second play — and played from behind for three quarters.
But with Wentz in, they were never out of it, even if the rest of the offense had practiced the playbook more than Wentz was able to in camp. That initially gave him more butterflies than usual — “Same as when I was a rookie,” he said — as he walked onto the field, but he couldn’t show it.
“Sometimes you have to fake it till you make it,” he said with a laugh.
Wentz gave the Vikings new life when an offsides call gave the Vikings a free play in the second quarter and he found Justin Jefferson streaking to the end zone. Wentz lofted his pass just enough ahead to give the all-world receiver space to haul it in for a 39-yard touchdown.
O’Connell correctly described it as a “totally huge play.”
It pulled the Vikings to within 19-10, and he later found T.J. Hockenson in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown that made it 22-17 in the third quarter. It was just enough to keep Minnesota alive before they exploded for 22 fourth-quarter points to win going away.
The reality is, Wentz did this with the Vikings last season, starting five games after McCarthy suffered an early concussion, and playing through an injury to his non-throwing shoulder that eventually required season-ending surgery. That, and his play, made re-signing him an easy decision.
Even if this season was never supposed to be about him.
It wasn’t perfect. On the momentum-shifting drive early in the fourth quarter, the Packers committed three mammoth penalties, including a defensive holding at the goal line that negated an interception in the end zone by Packers safety Evan Williams that likely would have sealed the Packers’ win.
“I tried to screw it up and we got another (play), we took advantage of it today,” he said.
The Vikings got a big kick return from Myles Price to set up the second touchdown, and the defense kept putting the offense back on the field late with four consecutive stops — twice on downs, once on an interception by James Pierre and once on Andrew Van Ginkel’s strip sack.
“It’s a funny game, but it’s fun to be on this side,” Wentz said.
After McCarthy struggled in his second preseason exhibition, and missed the third with an ankle injury, O’Connell shifted from Murray vs. McCarthy by naming Wentz the backup — at least initially — because, he said at the time, “This gives us the best chance to win on Sunday.”
Who knew it would be this early?
O’Connell made a point of saying McCarthy was ready to go Sunday, as well, but it was a moot point. There’s no reason to revisit that question this week.