Takeaways From Vikings Week One Victory Over the Giants
The Minnesota Vikings started off their 2024-25 campaign with a bang on Sunday with a 28-6 victory over the New York Giants. While Minnesota was the favorite heading into their first road game of the season, I think that a lot of people were surprised by their performance on Sunday afternoon. There are a few different takeaways I have after watching this game and I will get into those. However, two things are for certain following this game, the Minnesota Vikings looked very good and the New York Giants looked very bad.
First Takeaway: Sam Darnold Looked Solid
Sam Darnold started his time as a Viking with 12 straight completions which was a new record for him as an NFL quarterback. Darnold looked comfortable early, and it was refreshing to see him with competent offensive weapons around him. While the Sam Darnold-Justin Jefferson connection isn’t completely in sync yet, it is certainly well on its way there as they were able to combine for 59 yards and a touchdown in their first outing as a duo. The main thing that I noticed wasn’t that Darnold won the game for the Vikings, it was that he didn’t lose it for them. Aside from a fluke interception that came off of a tipped ball, he limited his errors as much as possible and constantly kept his offense in a safe position. Darnold finished the game completing 79.2% of his passes and a passer rating of 113.2 which puts him in the top five in both statistics among all quarterbacks in Week One.
Second Takeaway: Brian Flores Does It Again
Why anyone would have reason to doubt a Brian Flores-led defense with a track record as good as his is beyond me? Even with heavy turnover in the offseason, seeing seven new starters on the defensive side of the ball, this Vikings defense looked organized and disrupted plays at every turn. The Giants could only muster up 240 yards on offense and had two turnovers, one of which resulted in an Andrew Van Ginkel defensive touchdown. The most impressive part of this new-look Brian Flores defense, however, was definitely the pass rush. Daniel Jones seemed flustered on every dropback as his offensive line was overwhelmed with the pass rushers in purple and gold. The Vikings ended the game with five sacks and 12 hits on the quarterback. If the defense can continue to perform at a similar level against some of the better offenses in the league, then the Minnesota Vikings may end up surprising a lot of people this season.
Third Takeaway: The Vikings May Have a Run Game
As I mentioned in my X-Factors for the Vikings 2024-25 article, Aaron Jones is a special player and could bring a completely new dimension to Minnesota’s offense and that is exactly what he showed on Sunday afternoon. Even while splitting snaps with Ty Chandler, Jones looked fantastic on the ground turning 14 carries into 94 yards and a touchdown that gave the Vikings an early lead that they wouldn’t give up for the remainder of the game. That would have been the second-most rushing yards by a Vikings running back last season and Jones did it in his debut game on only 14 carries. The Minnesota Vikings might have finally found their answer at running back. As long as Aaron Jones is able to stay healthy, this offense could be very scary.
