The Vikings' season opener is against the rival Green Bay Packers. It's also the debut of head coach Kevin O'Connell, who didn't play his starters in preseason games and ran a vanilla offense.
The Packers gave us plenty of backup quarterback Jordan Love during the preseason, so we don't know who Aaron Rodgers will target as a replacement for the departed Davante Adams.
Since this is the season opener, neither team has fresh tape of the other. Green Bay can look at Rams film from last year to get an idea of what O'Connell might run, but they can't be sure how much different KOC the head coach will be from KOC the assistant. The Vikings have no indicators of what an Adams-less Packers offense looks like.
"It goes both ways," Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins said. "I'm watching tape and there aren't a lot of their starters out there playing in the preseason."
Because of these factors, the first half on Sunday could be absolutely nuts.
O'Connell could open up the playbook right away and see if he can get the Packers' heads spinning while defending an array of formations. Meanwhile, Green Bay will test out the Vikings' new 3-4 defense and see how it holds up against the run. The Packers have the running backs in Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon to exploit a weak run defense.
The unfamiliarity on both sides — creating the potential for immediate madness at U.S Bank Stadium — will be one of a few fascinating story lines heading into this game. Here are a few more:
Who is healthy in the green and gold? Top offensive linemen David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins, both returning from torn ACLs, have been practicing, but it's not known if they are ready to play Sunday. Wide receiver Allen Lazard might not play because of a sore ankle. Safety Darnell Savage is banged up. These are all important players for the Packers, and their unavailability puts Green Bay at a disadvantage, especially with the potential absences on offense.
