EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings are one of five teams that has opened 2024 with a 3-0 record, along with the Bills, Steelers, Chiefs and Seahawks.

Now, the attention turns to the 128^th Border Battle in Sunday's game at Green Bay (2-1).

Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell and players managed drowning out naysayers or perhaps using low external expectations to sharpen their focus on each week's task. Now, the team will have to maintain focus as a team that's being touted for its fast start.

O'Connell said during his media session Wednesday, "This league is really set up to build up a team … to hopefully be able to have a front-row seat for the fall. The front-row seat happens because people are expecting it. How do we fight that? How do we make sure we prepare the same way we did for the opener, or for San Francisco or Houston, and then the hard part is the discipline to do that, and that's Sam [Darnold], that's every player on our team, that's coaches, that's all of us making sure that we have the laser focus to just have a really good Wednesday.

"We got a ton of respect for this opponent. Really good team, really well-coached team. Divisional game. There's really not much else that needs to be said, other than, can we go out and prove it for three and a half hours on Sunday once again? I don't think this team has any feeling in them right now that what we previously have done has any effect or bearing on what will take place this weekend."

O'Connell had communicated with the team during the offseason and preseason that it could exceed those external expectations.

"You never want to get in the predictions business as a head coach, but if you feel strongly about something, I believe in communicating that to our players, because then I can say right about the time that everybody wants to get on board with what we got going on, we have built a foundation in the absence of worrying about those things, thinking about those things, allowing them to affect our thoughts and actions on a daily basis," O'Connell said. "I can now circle back to those discussions, and I think it hits home, if we remember where we're coming from, well, it's all positive. I love that. It's absolutely a benefit and a credit to what these players have done. But at the same time, it also circles back to smart, tough guys that love football, and that doesn't mean that they love hearing their name, you know, on a TV show, or they love reading their name in an article about how great they are. They're smart, tough and love football, and they're great teammates."

Vikings Uniform

Minnesota will wear its modern road uniform combination of white jerseys and purple pants.

4 Storylines

1. Preparing for two systems

Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores has his work cut out for him this week.

He must prepare for the unknown: Which Packers quarterback will start; Jordan Love or Malik Willis?

Love suffered an injury in Week 1 and was replaced the past two weeks by Willis. Love returned to practice Wednesday, but Flores has been working on plans for either quarterback — and two completely different offenses.

"I don't think it's being talked about enough, what's going on over there with Malik Willis," Flores said Tuesday. "For [Packers Head Coach] Matt [LaFleur] to go in his bag and be a West Coast guy and then turn around and he's got this whole zone-read, RPO (run-pass option), counter-read [offense], I mean, that's pretty impressive. And I don't think it's being talked about enough. It's impressive to watch. He's obviously a very, very good coach."

Minnesota's coverage disguises and active pass rush has upended three opponents in a row. But the mental preparation for two quarterbacks – and two systems – could take its toll. Flores has to maximize the wrinkles in his play-calling, like he's done the first three weeks, without overloading Vikings players.

"Obviously, he's got a menu of different styles of play," Flores praised LaFleur's acumen and adaptability. "They've got everything which can try to keep you off balance. And then he's just – I think some guys just have a knack for calling the game a certain way, and he's done a great job of that for a long time."

2. Aaron Jones, Sr., returns to Lambeau Field

Jones passed the century rushing mark for the first time as a Viking last Sunday with a 4-yard run on his final play of the game – 7:04 was left in Minnesota's runaway win – that Vikings Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips called "as impressive as any run I've seen this season." It was Jones' best game, with 148 scrimmage yards that featured an 8-yard receiving touchdown and a 39-yard scamper.

And a fantastic wave of momentum for him as he makes his return to Green Bay.

Jones is beloved by seemingly everyone, including the Packers, and he shared his appreciation for playing his first seven seasons with Green Bay in a post on The Players Tribune.

"Aaron's just a phenomenal human being," Phillips shared Tuesday, expanding on Jones' impact on the Vikings locker room. "All the coaches in Green Bay that I knew, when you're talking about some of your favorite players of all time, [it] was really just no question, it's Aaron Jones. He works extremely hard. He's accountable. I mean he had a great game [against the Texans] and I [gave] him a hug in the locker room, and [he says], 'Sorry about that penalty, coach. I shouldn't have done that. It won't happen again.' That's what he's thinking about at that moment. … That's just the kind of guy he is. He's always working to get better and always looking to help the young guys [and] help the team in a leadership role."

The penalty was an offensive pass interference call that negated a 30-yard touchdown to Jalen Nailor, but Minnesota finished that possession with a field goal and added 10 more points in the fourth quarter.

Jones was instrumental to the three division titles Green Bay won in a row from 2019-21 – his 40 touchdowns in that span ranked second in the NFL behind former Titans running back Derrick Henry.

It would be quite a sight to see Jones execute a Lambeau Leap in Purple.

3. Sam Darnold's mobility

The Vikings offense is crushing in the red zone.

Darnold is 14-for-19 with six scores and no giveaways in that space. That's more completions or touchdowns than any other quarterback inside the opponent's 20-yard line in 2024. His accurate ball placement is big.

But so is his mobility.

"If guys are still matched, he's more than capable of running it in himself. He's a good athlete. Those red-zone scramble drills we do on Fridays, they can come to life with Sam and it's real," Phillips said. "Usually the best red-zone teams in the league, they can run it in, and they can make plays off-schedule."

Darnold hasn't crossed the white stripe on his feet, yet, but he did demonstrate his mobility on the first of his four touchdown passes last Sunday. Darnold was able to escape a busy pocket to his left, gain depth on a rollout while keeping his eyes glued to the secondary and connect with Justin Jefferson who got creative with his corner route from the slot and worked toward the front-left pylon. Touchdown!

"He can do it, and some other quarterbacks can't," Phillips said. "When the field is condensed, there are going to be times where they kind of have the right coverage on or we have a hard time separating, or guys are getting grabbed and not getting called, whatever it may be, where you have to buy some time."

For what it's worth, Darnold got rolled up late in the game against the Texans and came out for one play. An MRI on his knee Monday came back clean. He's averaging 4.4 yards on eight scrambles this season.

4. Jets vs. Jaire Alexander

Jefferson has a touchdown catch in each game and is averaging a career-high 19.5 yards per reception this season.

Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander has a couple interceptions and one pick six.

They've got a history of going at each other.

Jefferson was shadowed Week 1 by Deonte Banks and reeled in two of three targets for 47 yards and a touchdown when the Giants cornerback was the nearest defender. Alexander followed Eagles receiver A.J. Brown in Green Bay's opener and allowed four catches on eight targets for 108 yards and a score.

Jets wasn't tracked by a specific defender in Weeks 2-3. Alexander primarily lined up at left cornerback against the Colts and Titans (neither possesses a truly dominant receiver such as Brown or Jefferson).

Get your popcorn ready.

3 Things 'Bout the Packers

1. Malik Willis

In two starts, Willis is 25-of-33 passing (75.8%) for 324 yards, two touchdowns and zero turnovers.

He was acquired by Green Bay on Aug. 27 and made his first start Sept. 15.

"The right opportunity, the right fit, system, whatever you want to call it, and a guy can flourish. You've seen that for two games here with Malik," said Flores, adding it's a testament to LaFleur and the player.

Willis was the 86^th overall draft pick by Tennessee in 2022 out of Liberty, where he emerged as a dynamic dual-threat.

He appeared in 11 games for the Titans from 2022-23, making three starts, and struggled to get settled. Willis completed 53% of his passes for 350 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. He was sacked 14 times, coughed up four balls and scored a single rushing touchdown. Tennessee disliked what it had.

But Green Bay is loving it.

Willis opened the Packers' 30-14 rout of the Titans last Sunday with a 30-yard pass. Later, he pulled the football on a zone-read option play and darted 29 yards along the sideline into Tennessee's low-red area.

He has so far operated LaFleur's new approach flawlessly.

2. Defensive depth

There's a gauntlet of green and gold that Minnesota's offense will be tasked to defeat.

They've got Phillips' respect and attention.

"Kenny Clark, everyone knows about. [Tedarrell] Slayton is a huge, huge man in the middle there, and then you've got Preston [Smith] and Rashan Gary and even some of the rotational guys, they try to keep those guys fresh. And you've got [Devonte] Wyatt coming in inside, you've got [Lukas] Van Ness – a couple first round picks – and then [Kingsley] Enagbare … I've liked him since he's been in the league, and he's shown a lot in the run game and pass rush as well."

Phillips kept going in his assessment of Green Bay's depth and play style.

"Some of the bigger guys, they play as hard as any of the big guys in the league that I've seen as far as running out of the stack [and] running to the football," Phillips said. "And then they've got talent on all levels. [Their] Mike linebacker (Quay Walker) is 6-foot-4, whatever, he looks about 6 '8'' when you walk on the field, 240-plus pounds. … They've got corners. … I've been impressed with their safeties – the range in the post [and] the ability to play near the box. So it's a big challenge. This is a good defense."

The Packers defense paces the NFL this season with seven interceptions and nine takeaways.

3. Electric playmakers

Vikings Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels touted Jayden Reed and Keisean Nixon as "electric guys."

Reed is an up-and-comer. Nixon is a veteran.

One returns punts, the other kickoffs. But they're not specialized players – they're multifaceted.

Reed was key to Green Bay's victory at U.S. Bank Stadium in 2023, catching six passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns – on just 23 offensive snaps. In the game at Lambeau Field, Reed posted four receptions for 83 yards.

Nixon, also a defensive back, housed a kickoff 105 yards in the 2023 New Year's Day meeting that Green Bay won 41-17. And in Reed's two-touchdown game, he had 11 tackles.

Reed enters Week 4 with 298 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. Nixon has 12 tackles and a sack.

2 Vikings to Track

Jalen Nailor (and Justin Jefferson): Nailor and Jefferson are just the fifth players in franchise history (tracked since 1970) to record a receiving touchdown in each of the first three weeks of a season. They joined John Gilliam (1972), Randy Moss (2004) and Adam Thielen (2021). This also is the first time in the NFL since 2018 (Tampa Bay's Mike Evans and Chris Godwin) that teammates have had such a streak. Nailor and Jefferson are trying to make NFL history as the first teammates to each record a receiving touchdown in the first four games of a season.

Vikings pass rush: OK, this is also not one individual either, but the unit is playing together as one and has an NFL-leading 16 sacks through three games. Minnesota has recorded at least five sacks in each game so far, becoming the third team since 1990 with that streak (2000 Buccaneers and 2001 Saints). Pat Jones II and reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week Jonathan Greenard each have 4.0 sacks, becoming the first Vikings duo with at least four sacks apiece through Week 3 since Chris Doleman and Keith Millard in 1989. Andrew Van Ginkel has scratched one in each game as a Viking. Greenard and Van Ginkel will be playing their first regular-season game at Lambeau Field, but Greenard did record a sack of Love there in the 2021 preseason.

1 Key Matchup

Vikings defensive front vs. Packers offensive front

Green Bay boasts the NFL's No. 1-ranked rushing offense three weeks into the 2024 slate.

Former Raider Josh Jacobs leads the group with 278 yards on 62 carries. Willis has run for 114.

The Packers gashed Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Tennessee for 163, 261 and 188 yards rushing. They've averaged 7.8, 4.9 and 5.1 yards per clip, with a league-high seven rushing plays of 20-plus yards.

Although it's a tale of two systems – the Love-led Packers offense toted the rock 21 times during its loss against the Eagles in Brazil versus 53 and 37 run plays with Willis at the controls – their style is obvious.

They want to be physical. So does the Vikings defense.

"I think that's a big part of stopping the run," Flores commented. "I think the Packers want to play physical – that's a big part of running the ball. So, you know, that's probably what this is going to be."

Flores is forecasting a game of smashmouth between fronts.

That means forcing the Packers to chase the sticks in longer-yardage situations on third down is paramount – like the Vikings defense did to Houston, which faced third-and-7-plus on 13 of 14 conversion attempts.

"But if they can get 5-, 6-yard chunks, 8, or 9-10 yards, and not get to third down and they're moving the ball that way, that's how most offenses want to work," Flores explained why stopping the run is essential to his philosophy. "It's hard because there's a lot of drop back and play action and RPO in those instances, too. So you've got to play team defense to kind of handle all those things. We did a good job of that this past weekend. The 49ers were a little bit different. They ran it pretty well, but look, that was a point of emphasis. We made some corrections, and we played it better. That certainly helped."

The Vikings have surrendered only three rushing plays of at least 20 yards since the start of 2023.

This season they're one of three units that have yielded fewer than 220 yards rushing (Baltimore and Pittsburgh) and allowed only 10 first downs on the ground, which is second fewest behind the Ravens (7).

Jones II, Jonathan Bullard, Van Ginkel and Greenard have combined for 15 TFLs.

Friday Updates …

The following content was added Sept. 27 after initial publication.

Status Report

The only Vikings player ruled out for the game is linebacker Ivan Pace, Jr., who is recovering from an ankle injury.

Veteran Kamu Grugier-Hill will again be tasked as the first option to fill in for Pace alongside Blake Cashman. Grugier-Hill got Minnesota's Week 3 game off to a hot start with his interception of a pass tipped by Harrison Phillips.

"A huge reason why we brought Kamu here was to be an extension of those top two guys that we got that we feel really good about, and then also to know that we got a veteran guy who can step in, play a lot of snaps, you know, turn the rock over – almost forced two turnovers in the game, probably did, in all reality – was flying around, just a veteran presence," O'Connell said. "Thought that was critical, you know, a guy that hasn't been talked about a whole lot but has a huge role, especially on [special] teams when we are healthy. But a guy that can walk right in the huddle and command a lot of respect from his teammates with how prepared he is, and I know we can really rely on him."

Receiver Jordan Addison is likely to be back in the line up for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in Week 1.

"I'm feeling good to jump back in," Addison said Thursday. "We're hot right now. Sam's looking good; the o-line's playing good. We've got a good running game going, so I feel like just having me out there is gonna take it up a notch.

"Sitting out has been hard," Addison added. "Watching everybody do, you know, Jalen Nailor doing his thing, Justin and what he does. Like I said, we're hot right now, so I'm just eager to get back out there and ball out with the team."

Addison is looking to build on a strong debut at Lambeau Field in 2023 when he caught seven passes for 82 yards, highlighted by a 20-yard touchdown, on eight targets.

Memorable Week 4 Quotes

Flores on the Texans receiving four straight pre-snap penalties in Week 3:

"I've never seen it. You know, you see it once, twice. That was a great example of what affect our fans had on Houston, and it really knocked them out of field goal range, so it saved us some points, which is always good, so kudos and shout-outs to Vikings fans."

Phillips on Darnold balancing the tight-window throws versus the throwaways:

"Yeah, I mean, there were a couple throws down in the red zone where there really wasn't anything, you know, and I think there's a difference between, 'OK, the guy's got an inch,' or 'He's there. There's a place to throw it, and I'm going to force it in there.' You know, Speedy (Nailor) got an edge on the safety flying across the field. Did a heck of a job getting across that safety's face. And Johnny Mundt's play, yeah, by the time he caught it, there were three guys around him, but kind of knowing it was a zone coverage, the kind of way we're spacing the field and wrapping a guy behind, they would have been a little bit tighter, any one of those guys, maybe [Darnold] throws it to Brandon Powell, who's kind of standing over here in a zone, and then Speedy's wrapping in behind him. But he was decisive, made the decision and put it in a place where only Johnny had a chance to catch it. Accuracy is a big part of that, but the confidence to just step back and let that thing rip right there – it just shows you how Sam's playing right now."

O'Connell on physicality showing up through Minnesota's first three games:

"I've seen it in all three phases. I've seen it along our offensive line and tight ends. The way we're running the football, the receivers' role in the run. I've seen it defensively with the way we're able to, it's not just scheme, it's guys getting set in edges, getting off blocks, playing the cutback, tackling. That's all shown up. In the kicking game, we've played some teams with some impact players in that phase. I've been able to – 1-on-1 matchups that have existed, our guys have fought really good fights and made plays in the kicking game, and the way Ryan [Wright's] kicking it, helping with field position here and there. I think it's shown up across the board."

Jefferson on Addison returning to the fold

"Yeah, he's definitely a player that we want out there for sure. He definitely makes a difference. His ability to run routes, to create separation and of course after the catch, what [we saw] last year, that's something that he's great at doing. For us to add another weapon on top of what we already have out there and what we've already been doing, it's something to look forward to – to have all our weapons out there on the field. It is definitely something I can't wait [to] happen."

From the Inbox

OK, I know it's the Friday before the Border Battle, so we shouldn't even be thinking about the playoffs, but in your estimation, is this team a contender to win the NFC? Maybe Sunday will help answer.

Skol!

— Max in West Des Moines, Iowa

As Addison described, it's been a "hot start" by the Vikings. As one of five teams this season to open 3-0, the team has garnered more attention and is experiencing elevations of external expectations that may have been too low.

Now it's about handling success so far and continuing to focus on the current week. Of the 165 teams who have started a season 3-0 since 1990, 124 (75.2%) have made the playoffs and 85 have won their division (51.5%).

In that same timeframe, there have been 95 teams to open a season 4-0. Eighty of those (84.2%) made the playoffs and 62 (65.3%) won the division.

Those are strong correlations, but there's no guarantee as to what will happen over the final three-fourths of the season.

Beyond rivalries — the Vikings and Packers is one of the best in the NFL — division games are so important because of their overall value to the league standings, within the division and conference.

This 2024 season has revealed multiple examples of QB career rejuvenations. Do you feel there could be a larger shift toward re-development of veteran QBs with similar experiences as Sam Darnold and Geno Smith?

Thanks,

— Mark Williams

Given all the work that goes into grading prospects and the decision to use an extremely high pick on a quarterback, it seems there have been instances where things didn't work out and the decisions to move on have been fast in some cases.

O'Connell has a unique empathy and experience arc from being a former drafted quarterback who didn't reach the level of success he intended as a player. He used those experiences in shaping what he wanted to accomplish as a coach and his approach to doing so.

O'Connell was a guest on the Rich Eisen Show this week, and this video is worth a watch.

It's not uncommon for others in the NFL to aim to replicate success, so there could be a larger shift to this model.

Of the Vikings 26 assistant coaches, which ones sit up in the booth on game days?

— Chris Cofone in Clifton, New Jersey

In addition to Phillips, Lance Bennett, Thad Bogardus, Ryan Cordell, Pat Hill, Michael Hutchings, Chris O'Hara and Shaun Sarrett are in the booth.

The Vikings are looking great. Flores and O'Connell have them playing extremely well on both sides of the ball.

Glad I got to witness in person against the Texans.

Signed,

— SGM Charles, U.S. Army Reserve

We'll close the week here by saying so glad you were able to attend last week's game and thank you for your service.