The Green Bay Packers’ 2022 regular season opener is just days away. It doesn’t get much bigger than this as they are prepared to play one of their biggest rivals in the Minnesota Vikings, who are also presumably their biggest threat to the NFC North crown.
The Packers have won the division three straight years under head coach Matt LaFleur. Meanwhile, the Vikings would love to hold that distinguished title for the first time since 2017. Their hope is that the hiring of Kevin O’Connell to lead a talented offense will produce a similar result to the one LaFleur had at the start of his regime in 2019.
It goes without saying, but Green Bay could use a better start than the one they had last season. The Packers lost to the New Orleans Saints 38-3 to start their season but still ended up with 13 wins thanks to another MVP season from Aaron Rodgers. However, their offense is taking a big hit with the loss of Davante Adams.
For the time being, Green Bay plans on being a defensive football team. This defense is seemingly loaded at every level and will need to hit the ground running, with their first test being an offense featuring two talented pass catchers and one of the premier running backs in the league.
Coaching will be important in this game, but there are also a ton of good matchups that will help decide the outcome. Let’s highlight four in this season’s first edition of key matchups.