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Kyler Murray exits Vikings debut with concussion; Wentz leads comeback

Kyler Murray winds up to pass, photographed while with the Arizona Cardinals
Kyler Murray winds up to pass, photographed while with the Arizona Cardinals

All-Pro Reels / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 · source

Minnesota's new starting quarterback left in the first quarter after a hit to the head at U.S. Bank Stadium; Carson Wentz rallied the Vikings past Green Bay 39-22.

Kyler Murray left his Minnesota Vikings debut in the first quarter of a Week 1 game against the Green Bay Packers after a hit to the head while sliding on a scramble at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings ruled him out with a concussion. Packers defenders Lukas Van Ness and Javon Bullard both hit him; Bullard was flagged for unnecessary roughness. Sources disagree on third-and-6 versus third-and-7, on 6:16 versus 6:07 left in the quarter, and on whether Murray showed a fencing posture or grabbed his knee. Carson Wentz replaced him, threw three touchdowns, and Minnesota won 39-22.

Shared facts

The Vikings beat the Packers 39-22 in the season opener at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Kyler Murray left in the first quarter of his Vikings debut after a hit to the head.

The Vikings ruled Murray out of the rest of the game with a concussion.

Murray was placed in the NFL concussion protocol.

The injury came on Minnesota's third possession.

Murray slid or tried to give himself up on a scramble.

Packers defenders Lukas Van Ness and Javon Bullard both hit Murray as he went to the ground.

Van Ness's hit pulled or struck Murray's helmet.

Bullard hit Murray in the head, neck, or shoulder area.

Murray's helmet came off on the play.

Bullard was penalized for unnecessary roughness.

Murray remained on the turf after the hit.

Vikings trainers and teammates signaled for medical help.

Murray walked off and went to the locker room.

Green Bay led 9-0 around the time of the injury.

Murray completed 3 of 5 passes for 18 yards with an interception.

Murray's first pass as a Viking was intercepted.

Murray was 11 plays into his Vikings debut when he exited.

Carson Wentz replaced Murray at quarterback.

Wentz completed 12 of 19 passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns.

Kevin O'Connell said he did not have a medical update on Murray.

O'Connell said Murray seemed to be doing pretty well but would not be medically quoted on that.

O'Connell said the Vikings would take Murray's status day by day.

Wentz had been named the No. 2 quarterback ahead of J.J. McCarthy.

J.J. McCarthy is the backup behind Wentz.

The Vikings' next game is Sunday at the Chicago Bears.

Murray won Minnesota's starting job this summer over McCarthy.

Murray walked off the field under his own power.

Wentz took only a handful of training-camp reps and none with the starters after being named the backup.

Wentz said he stayed ready with mental reps and extra work.

Disputed facts

Sources disagree whether Murray scrambled on third-and-6 or third-and-7.

Sources disagree whether the hit came with 6:16 or 6:07 left in the first quarter.

Sources disagree whether Murray showed a fencing posture after the hit or grabbed his knee.

Shared opinions

Jefferson said he hates to see a teammate go down with that kind of injury.

Wentz said he is confident he can step up when called.

ESPN

QB Kyler Murray suffers concussion in Vikings debut

Kevin Seifert

Published 13 Sep 2026 accessed 14 Sep 2026

Facts

Kyler Murray was chatting with teammates and coaches in the Vikings' postgame locker room Sunday.

Wentz will be the starter until Murray returns.

Max Brosmer, on the practice squad, could be No. 3.

O'Neill shoved Bullard and said he regretted not doing more in retaliation.

Wentz completed six of his final seven passes, including two touchdowns.

The Vikings trailed 3-0 at the time of the injury.

Wentz became the third NFL backup since at least 1950 to throw three touchdowns and no interceptions in a season opener.

The Packers scored on their next two possessions and led 19-10 at halftime.

Aaron Jones Sr. was watching from the sideline and acknowledged he was alarmed.

Opinion

Jefferson said it was very tough to see the starting quarterback go down that early that way.

Jefferson said his reaction was really just frustration.

Wentz appeared a bit rusty.

Jones said the Vikings were praying for Murray and that it brings you back to reality.

Wentz asked who knew how it was going to play out.

Wentz said football is a funny game.

CBS News

Vikings rule out QB Kyler Murray with a concussion in Minnesota debut vs. Packers

Published 13 Sep 2026 accessed 14 Sep 2026

Facts

Kyler Murray is a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback making his Vikings debut in Week 1 against the Packers.

Murray had nine rushing yards on two carries.

Opinion

CBS Sports said Murray's debut went from bad to ugly in a hurry.

The Athletic

Kyler Murray ruled out of Vikings debut, in concussion protocol after violent collision

Alec Lewis

Published 13 Sep 2026 accessed 14 Sep 2026

Facts

Murray bypassed the medical tent and went straight to the locker room.

Minnesota's offense struggled on its first two drives with Murray.

Two false starts doomed Minnesota's second possession.

Two of Wentz's touchdowns went to Justin Jefferson.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

NFL.com

Vikings QB Kyler Murray suffers concussion in first quarter of win over Packers

Around the NFL Staff

Published 13 Sep 2026 accessed 14 Sep 2026

Facts

No unique facts.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

New York Post

Kyler Murray exits Vikings debut with concussion after scary hit to head

Christian Arnold

Published 13 Sep 2026 accessed 14 Sep 2026

Facts

The hit was near the Packers sideline and Green Bay staff rushed to Murray's aid.

Murray signed a one-year veteran's-minimum deal with Minnesota after the Cardinals released him.

O'Connell said the Vikings would still give McCarthy a lot of work because his development matters.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

Fox News

Kyler Murray knocked out of Vikings debut after forearm to the helmet and blow to neck by two Packers

Armando Salguero

Published 13 Sep 2026 accessed 14 Sep 2026

Facts

Murray was listed as questionable to return.

Justin Jefferson said the team was thinking about Kyler and sending prayers.

For a first concussion, a typical return is about two weeks, with one or three weeks also common.

Independent physicians will determine when Murray can return.

Opinion

OutKick called the start of Murray's Vikings career a disaster.

OutKick said the severity of the hit made clear his day was over.

USA Today

Kyler Murray exits Packers game after scary hit to head. What we know

Robert Zeglinski

Published 13 Sep 2026 accessed 14 Sep 2026

Facts

Further clarification said Murray had no knee injury.

Opinion

USA Today said the Vikings have high hopes of reigniting their offense with Murray.

USA Today called it a nightmare debut for Murray in Minnesota.

USA Today hoped the head injury was not as bad as it looked.

USA Today said a scary concussion is the last thing anyone wants to see.

Star Tribune

Kyler Murray injury doesn’t stop Vikings from beating Packers behind Carson Wentz

Ben Goessling

Published 13 Sep 2026 accessed 14 Sep 2026

Facts

The Vikings rallied from 12 points down for a win.

The Vikings scored 29 unanswered points in the second half.

The 33-year-old Wentz was needed in Week 1.

The Vikings paid Wentz $3 million for that backup role.

Wentz admitted the team was doing it live today.

Wentz's first TD to Jefferson came on a free play after he drew Van Ness offside with a hard count.

Carson Wentz did his work in relative obscurity while others debated the starter.

Wentz said he knew it was a concussion right away.

The game will not be recorded as Wentz's 100th career start.

Wentz's second TD came after he alerted Hockenson to a route adjustment they had barely practiced.

Wentz became the second Vikings QB in as many years to lead a season-opening comeback over an NFC North rival.

Wentz said guys rallied and made a lot of plays.

Hockenson beat Zaire Franklin and Xavier McKinney for a Wentz touchdown.

Wentz said he has been part of a couple concussions in his career.

It was J.J. McCarthy who led last year's opener rally.

Evan Williams intercepted Wentz in the end zone, but a holding penalty on McKinney wiped it out.

Aaron Jones scored on a three-yard toss to give Minnesota a lead it did not relinquish.

Wentz was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft.

Wentz completed 65.1 percent of his passes for Minnesota last year after arriving two weeks before the season.

Wentz's four seasons as a backup taught him to seek unscripted work.

After LaFleur took an offside penalty on a field goal and Minnesota stopped Love on fourth-and-1, Wentz checked to a Jordan Mason run for 28 yards.

Keisean Nixon intercepted Murray's first pass under pressure from Franklin.

Andrew Van Ginkel stripped Love with 5:01 left, giving Minnesota the ball on the goal line.

Mason scored on the next play to make it 32-22.

Murray's status at Chicago depends on clearing concussion protocol.

Wentz hit Jefferson, who broke two tackles to make it a 17-point game with 3:55 left.

Minnesota blitzed Love on 36 of 46 dropbacks and hit him 15 times, with the first sack at the end of the third.

Minnesota sacked Love three times on 15 fourth-quarter blitzes.

Blake Cashman tipped a Love pass and James Pierre intercepted it.

Love completed 50 percent of 42 passes but had five completions of at least 30 yards.

O'Connell said Carson is why Wentz is here.

Jefferson said the defense helped with turnovers and a short field.

Opinion

The Star Tribune said it is difficult to imagine Minnesota would have won without Wentz.

Wentz said it was tough to see Kyler go down.

The Star Tribune said Wentz's handle on intangibles made the difference.

O'Connell said some games will stick with you for a long time.

With 5:01 left the game was firmly in Minnesota's command.

Jefferson said it was a great team play of not giving up on each other.

Jefferson said it would not be a Vikings win without a comeback through adversity.

Jefferson could laugh because Minnesota had a backup it knew could handle it.

Wentz said they probably all saw the concussion right away.

Hockenson said football is feeling voids in the defense and exploiting them.