What We Learned About the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 Throttling of Giants

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Sam Darnold hands off to Aaron Jones : Minnesota Vikings at New York Giants
Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

This was as close to “must-win” as a week one game can get for an NFL team. Given the gauntlet three-game stretch the Minnesota Vikings have, starting in week two, they could not afford to lose Sunday’s opener vs the the New York Giants, if they wanted to have a successful 2024 season.

But it became pretty clear, early on, that wasn’t going to be a problem. When the dust settled on MetLife Stadium this afternoon, the Vikings walked away 28-6 victors from a contest that didn’t feel close for most of three quarters.

We can’t take what happens in week one too seriously. What happens over the next two or three weeks, as the Vikings play against better teams who now have film on this remade Minnesota roster, will tell us a lot more about what to expect, going forward.

Sam Darnold : Minnesota Vikings at New York Giants
Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images

That doesn’t mean we can’t have takeaways, maybe even overreactions, to what we saw today. We had no idea what to expect from this 2024 Vikings squad, as of this morning. That certainly changed by this afternoon. Here are three things we learned about our favorite football team today.

1. Sam Darnold is definitely good enough

There’s no point in burying the lead. The 2024 Minnesota Vikings season is dependent on one player, quarterback Sam Darnold. Now that JJ McCarthy is out for the season, there is nobody behind him to take over, if he were to be injured or play poorly.

This team will go as Sam Darnold goes. And if Sunday is any indication of what we will see for the rest of the fall/winter, then the Vikings have the potential to be one of the biggest surprises of the 2024 NFL season.

Related: NFL Insider Reveals Vikings’ Unique Plan to Develop J.J. McCarthy During ‘Redshirt’ Year

The 27-year-old former USC star finished his debut in purple 19-of-24 for 208 yards, 2 touchdowns and one interception, in which he was hit and the ball popped into the air. Minnesota was up by multiple touchdowns in the 3rd quarter, so the offense stopped cooking a little bit. But Sam was nearly perfect in the first half, when it mattered most.

2. Minnesota Vikings defense is no joke

A couple of weeks ago, when Stephon Gilmore signed on the dotted line, it was clear that this version of the Minnesota Vikings defense was more talented and experienced than the one they put on the field in 2023.

But with all the new pieces and in a system as wide open as Brian Flores, it’s impossible to know how organized things will look, early in a season. None of that was a problem for this defense, vs the Giants. All day long, there were white and purple jerseys flying around the Meadowlands.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Have a New Green Dot on Defense

Daniel Jones didn’t know which was was up, by the time it was all said and done. There is that one viral clip of Sam Darnold as a Jets rookie, telling teammates and coaches, “I’m seeing ghosts”. There is no doubt Danny Dimes was seeing those same nightmares on Sunday.

3. The health of Aaron Jones could be the difference

Sam Darnold wasn’t the only new centerpiece of the Minnesota Vikings offense who made his debut in purple, on Sunday. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah signed running back Aaron Jones as the fix to a non-existent ground game.

This afternoon, he proved to be exactly that, rushing for 97 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries, good for 6.7 on average. It almost felt foreign watching a Vikings running back gash through a defense for chunk yardage, just about every time he touched the ball. Ty Chandler played an important role in both the run and pass game, too.

Related: Secret Extension Talks Happening on Minnesota Vikings Defensive Line…?

Jones may be 30-years-old, but there is no doubting, after Sunday, that his health is very important to the success of this team. Not only does he provide a running threat that we haven’t seen recently, but he also provides another dangerous offensive weapon, with TJ Hockenson (and possibly Jordan Addison) out for at least a handful of weeks.

There’s only so much you can trust from any opening day game. There are too many unpredictables, going into the start of each football season, that it’s impossible for opposing coaching staffs to know what’s coming. The adjustments made between weeks one and three often dictate an NFL season.

Related: Cam Bynum Playing Hardball with Minnesota Vikings?

Nonetheless, this was one of the most anticipated week ones in recent Minnesota Vikings history. They have a brand new quarterback, running back and completely turned over defense. It was impossible to know what as coming Sunday. Just because of that, we learned a lot about our favorite football team today.

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