Vikings Week One Matchup Preview and Score Prediction

This weekend, the Minnesota Vikings will travel to New York for their Week One matchup against the Giants. They head into MetLife Stadium as one-and-a-half-point favorites, looking to capitalize on one of their more favorable matchups this season. The last time these two teams faced off was during the Wild Card Round in the 2023 NFL Playoffs. The Giants were able to pull off an upset victory, taking advantage of a weak Vikings’ defense, and were able to move on to the Divisional Round. While the Giants would end up getting blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles, that doesn’t change the fact that they currently have a leg up on this Minnesota team. The Vikings however, do have New York’s number all-time as they lead the series 18-13 through 31 games played. Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.

With both teams suiting up quarterbacks with something to prove and with neither having a stellar run game, I fully expect this game to be very pass-heavy. Neither team has a very strong pass defense as both New York and Minnesota finished last season in the bottom half of the league in passing yards allowed. The Vikings will be without star tight end T.J. Hockenson as he has been placed on injured reserve. It will be a combination of Josh Oliver and Nick Muse trying to replace Hockenson during his absence. Luckily for Vikings fans, Jordan Addison is expected to play after injuring his ankle but may be limited because of it. The Giants on the other hand had their entire 53-man roster participate in practice this week, so they should be at full strength for Sunday’s matchup. 

I expect this to be somewhat of a sloppy game as far as turnovers and pass protection go. Being that this is Week One, there will undoubtedly be some kinks or miscommunication to work out which will certainly result in some mistakes. I expect both Vikings’ head coach Kevin O’Connell and Giants’ head coach Brian Daboll to have very solid offensive plans in place and it will just come down to which offense is able to execute more efficiently. As far as defense goes, I believe that the Giants have a more talented group and a top-five front seven in the league. The Vikings have a defensive mastermind in Brian Flores who seems to make any group he’s given exceed expectations. When it comes down to it, my official prediction is a 23-17 victory for Minnesota. I think that after losing Xavier McKinney to the Packers in the offseason, the Giants’ secondary is just too weak to keep up with the offensive weapons of the Vikings. The Vikings walk out of MetLife with a check in the win column, while the Giants will be looking to bounce back against the Commanders in Week Two.