Acme Packing Company
The Packers’ oldest rivals may be the Bears, but their most heated rivalry, at least in the 21st century, has to be with the Minnesota Vikings. That’s probably because of the simple fact that the Vikings have been much better over the last 20 to 30 years than the Bears, which leads to a lot of high stakes matchups.
You can see evidence of those stakes in how many of the Packers’ best performances against the Vikings are relatively recent. There’s plenty of old gold here, too, but as we look at the brightest moments by Packers players, take note of how many have come since the turn of the century.
Most passing yards – 389 (Jordan Love, 2024)
Love’s first game back from injury in 2024 was one to forget: he threw three interceptions as the Packers tried to pass their way to victory against the blitz-happy Vikings. Outside of the picks, it seemed to work; Love also threw four touchdowns as he nearly led the Packers to a comeback victory. In fact, he may have gotten the job done if Brayden Narveson hadn’t missed two field goals. Nevertheless, the Packers fell 31-29.
Curiously, five of the Packers’ top six passing performances by yardage against the Vikings all came in losses. In addition to Love, Aaron Rodgers (three times) and Lynn Dickey also threw for at least 365 yards in losses. Brett Favre threw for 365 yards in a 2004 victory.
Most rushing yards – 164 (Jim Taylor, 1962)
Four Packers players have rushed for at least 150 yards against the Vikings: Jim Taylor, Ahman Green, Tom Moore, and Aaron Jones. Taylor takes top honors for his 1962 performance, though. In the third ever matchup between the Packers and Vikings, Taylor needed just 17 carries to stampede to 164 yards on the ground. It was one of three games that season where he’d break 150 yards rushing.
Jones, however, is the only Packers player to cross the 150 yard barrier against the Vikings and score a touchdown in the same game. He scored twice in his 23 carry, 154-yard effort against Minnesota two days before Christmas in 2023.
Most receiving yards – 191 (Donald Driver, 2006)
You want to talk about doing a lot with a little? How about Donald Driver needing just six catches to put up 191 yards. It helps when you gallop for 82 yards on one play, as Driver did on a spectacular catch and run for a score just before halftime, but that’s still an impressive day at the office.
Greg Jennings, meanwhile, produced the eighth-highest receiving yardage total against the Vikings in 2010, and his performance also deserves a mention. On seven catches, Jennings racked up 152 yards and three touchdowns as the Packers cruised to a 31-3 win.
Most points – 33 (Paul Hornung, 1962)
People quibble over his volume stats, but if you want to know why Paul Hornung is a Hall of Famer, it’s because of games like this. On...
