It was kind of inevitable that there would be plenty of Brett Favre talk amid Aaron Rodgers first start for the Packers this year. After all, Green Bay hadn’t seen anyone else calling signals since 1992 and Cheeseheads had made it abundantly clear that they would have preferred HWNWSNS stay in Wisconsin and take them to the promised land again.

Then, Monday happened. And folks, maybe the Vikings need help in their secondary (okay, definitely), but Aaron Rodgers is very much the real deal. He was a kind of insane 18-for-22 for 178 yards and one touchdown, while rushing eight times for 32 yards with a score on the ground as well. Which, to put it mildly, is pretty efficient.

All of this, mind you, with the ground game struggling a little bit against a stout Vikings rush defense. But the things that matter the most to Packers fans are beating the a) Vikings and b) Bears. And right now, he’s one-for-one.

The good news for Bears fans is that Kyle Orton ain’t looking that shabby right now either. The good news for Vikings fans is that Tavaris Jackson’s overall rank in terms of NFC North quarterbacks didn’t take a hit on Monday night (still fourth).

But the semi-emergence of both Rodgers and Orton in the season’s first week as capable quarterbacks is a really fascinating turn, because it looks like we (or maybe just me) had the NFC North read all wrong; I thought the Vikings would win the division based on defense and Adrian Peterson alone. But I’m pretty sure Tavaris Jackson can’t take them there, regardless of how good his lines and backs are. Doesn’t seem like the case for the Bears and Packers.