Top Week 10 battle to watch: Packers' surging offensive trio vs. No. 1 Vikings defense

A closer look at the key factors in the Week 10 battle between the NFL's most exciting passing offense and the league's No. 1 defense Nov 13, 2026 at 11:30 am ET • 6 min read Week 10 of the 2026 NFL season provides the tantalizing matchup of the NFL's best defense against the NFL's most exciting passing offense when the Minnesota Vikings (6-2) take on the Green Bay Packers (6-3) at Lambeau Field on Sunday afternoon.Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores' YOLO defense leads the NFL in the following statistics entering Week 10:Scoring defense (14.5 points per game allowed)Red zone defense (26.3% red zone touchdown rate allowed)Goal-line defense (40% goal-line touchdown rate allowed)Completion percentage allowed (57.7%)Touchdown-to-interception ratio allowed (5-9)Sack rate (11%)QB pressure rate (46.1%)Blitz rate (73%, the highest by any team in the 21st century)On the other side, Packers quarterback Jordan Love leads the NFL in passing yards (2,618) and completions of 20-plus yards (40) with the league's fastest average time to throw (2.67 seconds). Oh, he is also third in the league in passing touchdowns (19). Love is also up to three games with five-plus completions of 30-plus yards this season, which already ranks as the most in any season in the last 35 years. Green Bay wide receiver Christian Watson ranks first in the league in yards per reception (17.9) and third in receiving yards (873), while fellow wideout Matthew Golden is fourth in the NFL in receiving yards (783). Per NFL Research, Watson and Golden could become just the third teammate duo in the 21st century to each finish a season in the top four in receiving yards. The only two teammate duos to pull that off since 2000 are the St. Louis Rams duo of Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce in 2000 and the Indianapolis Colts duo of Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne in 2006. So why is this the top battle to watch this week? Let's take a look.Despite certain struggles, Packers aren't slowing downOne of the most remarkable elements of the Packers' aerial assault is that opponents know the downfield heaves from Love to Watson and Golden are coming, but they still can't stop it. Green Bay is dead last in the NFL in rushing offense, averaging 68.2 rushing yards per game. That is the fewest rushing yards per game for a team with a winning record through the first nine games of a season in NFL history, and bell cow running back Josh Jacobs is now sidelined after undergoing finger surgery. The Packers have also dropped the most passes, 23, seven more than the next closest team. Green Bay's 39 accepted offensive penalties are the third most in the entire league, and the Packers' offensive line is allowing an average time to pressure of 2.48 seconds, the second-fastest in the league, better than only the Carolina Panthers (2.46 seconds). That's because the Packers' best offensive lineman, right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele, went down with a season-ending injury in Week 2, and Green Bay is currently starting their third-string center. Love has also been hit 57 times this season, the fifth most in the league.Yet, none of it has slowed the Packers down. Will Minnesota be able to stop them at Lambeau with Love, Watson and Golden having caught fire the last six weeks, a stretch that involves five Green Bay wins? Or will Love keep raining downfield haymakers? Let's take a look at what happened all the way back in Week 1, a 39-22 Vikings win in Minnesota, and what that tells us about what could happen on Sunday. What the Week 1 matchup tells us about this gameOne thing that will already be much different the second time around is the Packers' offensive line. With left guard Aaron Banks (knee) sidelined in Week 1, Green Bay started Donovan Jennings (no starts) at left guard and Jacob Monk (one start) at right guard. That didn't go well. They ended their Week 9 game, a 45-27 road win at the New England Patriots, with two in-season, free-agent pickups at both guard spots when they pulled the offensive starters with eight minutes to play: 12-year veteran Pro Bowler Laken Tomlinson at left guard and 15-year veteran Pro Bowler Kevin Zeitler at right guard. With Jennings and Monk at Green Bay's guard spots in Week 1, Love was blitzed on 76% of his dropbacks, the highest rate of his career and over 13 percentage points higher than his next closest game (63.6% at the Vikings in Week 17 of the 2023 season). Love was under pressure on 54.3% of his dropbacks, the second-highest rate in a game during his four-year career as the Packers' starting quarterback. He still produced 387 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 21-of-42 passing with a couple of fumbles (one lost). Yet, no quarterback has thrown for more passing yards (387), yards per pass attempt (9.2), passing touchdowns (2) or a better passer rating (88.1) than Love has against Minnesota's blitzkrieg unit this season. When Love was blitzed, he was actually somewhat efficient, completing 17 of his 31 throws for 285 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The key for Love against the blitz that day was whether it actually got home with a quick pressure (pressure within the first 2.5 seconds after the snap). When the Vikings blitzed him without producing a quick pressure, he completed 11 of 18 throws for 181 yards and two touchdowns with two sacks. When they blitzed and did get quick pressure, Love completed six of his 13 throws for 104 yards and an interception. For the season, Love is averaging 8.1 yards per pass attempt against the blitz, the sixth-best in the NFL, and a 109.3 passer rating when blitzed, the seventh-best in the NFL. Going up against Flores and Co. again with a much more experienced interior offensive line could make a big difference on Sunday. Jordan Love when blitzed at Vikings, Week 1 (2026 season)With quick pressureWithout quick pressureCompletions-Pass Attempts6-1311-18Pass yards104181Pass yards per attempt8.010.1TD-INT0-12-0Passer rating41.8131.9Sacks22* The NFL's Next Gen Stats defines quick pressure as getting pressure on the quarterback within the first 2.5 seconds after the snapHow will Vikings' blitz, defense affect Packers?Love and Watson have connected for 341 yards passing on throws downfield (10-plus air yards per the NFL's Next Gen Stats) against the blitz in 2026, which is more than double the next closest quarterback-wide receiver duo — Joe Burrow's and Tee Higgins' 161. In Week 1, Love hit on eight downfield throws against the blitz, the most ever against a Brian Flores defense, according to Next Gen Stats. Watson, who leads the NFL with a 17.9 yards-per-reception average in 2026, cooked the Vikings in Week 1 with 147 yards receiving and two touchdowns while catching six of his eight targets. One of those catches was an 81-yard catch-and-run touchdown on a pass Watson caught over the middle before exploding down the left sideline. The key to slowing Watson and Golden down in Week 1 was Minnesota cornerback Isaiah Rodgers. He has allowed just 2.9 yards per target entering Week 10, the fewest among outside cornerbacks (min. 20 targets), and a 36% completion percentage, the second-lowest among outside cornerbacks. He lined up across from Golden and Watson 13 times each, per Next Gen Stats, and he limited Golden to one catch on three targets for eight yards. Rodgers had similar success against Watson, surrendering just one catch on two targets for six yards. The problem for the Vikings is they only have one Isaiah Rodgers, so Love will most certainly look at whoever isn't lined up across from him. Another way Green Bay can slow down the blitz is by finding even a sliver of success in the run game, despite their historically rough ground game. Packers fans have given coach Matt LaFleur a lot of grief for running inside zone runs on early downs, particularly out of the shotgun, but that's where Green Bay could find success. They have used inside-zone concepts on just over a quarter of their run plays (25.7%, the seventh-highest rate in the league), and LaFleur should hammer it against the Vikings on Sunday. Minnesota has allowed the third-most yards per carry (5.2) and the highest explosive run rate (20%) to inside zone runs, according to Next Gen Stats.So who will prevail on Sunday? The Packers have a great chance if Love can avoid quick pressure and continue to find Watson and Golden with regularity. Plus, establishing their run game with inside zone concepts is important. The Vikings similarly have a strong chance if their exotic and unique pressure packages can get home early. Get your popcorn ready for the best chess match of Week 10 from Lambeau Field on Sunday afternoon.