Sam Darnold shines, Vikings defense dominates in 28-6 Week 1 win at Giants

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Vikings couldn’t have gotten off to a much better start in a 28-6 win over the New York Giants to open the 2024 regular season.

Sam Darnold threw for 208 yards and two touchdowns in his Minnesota debut. Aaron Jones, Justin Jefferson and Jalen Nailor had touchdowns. Andrew Van Ginkel had a defensive touchdown, and the Vikings’ defense smothered Daniel Jones and the Giants for five sacks. It got so bad that as Giants' fans left MetLife Stadium in the fourth quarter, Vikings fans could be heard doing the Skol chant on the TV broadcast.

What it means

The Vikings are 1-0 as the San Francisco 49ers come to town next Sunday for the home opener at U.S. Bank Stadium. The 22-point win is the largest margin of victory for the Vikings in the Kevin O'Connell era.

"There’s nothing like going out on a Sunday in an NFL stadium and winning a game by a significant margin. There’s nobody in that locker room surprised, shocked that we went out there and executed. It’s a confirmation of a lot of work that’s been put in," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said after the win.

The key play

Facing a 4th-and-2 at the Giants’ 3-yard line up 7-3, O’Connell and the Vikings opted to go for it instead of settling for a field goal. Darnold hit Justin Jefferson on a slant for a 3-yard touchdown, giving Minnesota a 14-3 lead with 6:55 left in the first half. 

"For us just to be able to out there and execute. Jets 1-on-1, that’s a good match-up any time you can get that," Darnold said.

Earlier in the drive, Darnold hit Jefferson for 44 yards in stride to get the drive moving after being pinned at their own 1-yard line.

"That throw to Justin was remarkable. To lean on the quarterback in that moment to activate your best player, that’s a really big-time play in that moment to really set the stage for us to go down the field and come away with seven," O'Connell said.

Darnold delivers in debut

Darnold couldn’t have played much better in his Vikings’ debut. He completed his first 12 passes and led three touchdown drives. He finished 19-of-24 for 208 yards, and touchdowns to Jefferson and Jalen Nailor. His only real blemish was a third quarter interception. He was trying to go deep, but his arm got hit as he threw and the jump ball was picked off.

Overall, he played like the No. 3 overall pick from 2017.

Defense dominates

The Vikings’ defense was smothering in the first half, getting six quarterback hits on Daniel Jones and sacks from Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner. They had eight total quarterback hits on the day, and got other sacks from Harrison Phillips and two Pat Jones II. The Vikings allowed just 87 total yards and 2.9 yards per play in the opening 30 minutes. 

Van Ginkel put a bow on the day with a pick-6 in the third quarter to give the Vikings a 28-6 lead. Harrison Smith got his 35th career interception in the fourth quarter on a Jones throw to the end zone.

"Defensively I don’t know what you can say other than it was just an unbelievable performance out of that group,," O'Connell said. "I joked with (Van Ginkel) when we signed him that I expected him to find the end zone this year, I did not know it was going to be in the first game."

Jordan Addison exits with injured ankle

Jordan Addison had three catches for 35 yards on Sunday, and had to leave the game in the third quarter after making a catch and having his right ankle rolled up on as he went to the ground. The catch was negated by a Christian Darrisaw holding penalty. Addison went to the medical tent and then to the locker room before being ruled out for the game. He was just getting back to 100 percent after injuring an ankle at joint practices last month in Cleveland. O'Connell said it's not the same ankle.

If he has to miss extended time, it means a bigger role for Jalen Nailor, Brandon Powell and others in the receiver room.