Vikes Views: Sunday King

The Minnesota Vikings defeated the New York Giants 28 – 6 on Sunday. It was the first easy win in a long time. I’m nominating these 5 for Sunday King.

Sam Darnold – Sam’s 1st half was nearly perfect. After the first drive fumble, Sam was able to lead the team on two consecutive long TD drives of 65 and 99 yards. The alst drive was ended when he passed just shy of the first down to Johnny Mundt on 3rd down. Sam wasn’t asked to do much in the 2nd half. The offense stalled a bit late, but the Giants were no threat.

Andrew Van Ginkel – That interception is going to make the year end highlight reel. It was a great play and an important one. The Vikings had just gone 3 and out and momentum could start to swing. AVG shut the door in spectacular fashion. He also ended the Giants’ drive after the Ham fumble with a run stop on 2nd down and the sack on 3rd and goal.

Kevin O’Connel – The Vikings look like a well coached team. There weren’t many stupid mistakes or boneheaded decisions. They didn’t try to get too cute. They just came out an executed. That says a lot about KOC. He had Sam Darnold out there looking like he’s been running this offense for 4 years.

Aaron Jones – Jones didn’t get a ton of carries on Sunday, but he was extremely efficient. 14 carries for 94 yards is an impressive 6.7 YPC. He also scored the first TD of the season. After seeing Mattison fail to get a rushing TD last year, it was nice to get this season’s first out of the way early. Jones is a massive step up in class and he was a big reason the win was so easy to put away.

Harrison Smith – Speaking of putting away a win! Hitman came through with a clutch INT to seal the competitive portion of the game. 28-6 early in the 4th is a huge lead. 28-14 if they score there feels a little different. The offense had 76 yards after the first drive of the 2nd half. The defense kept the foot on the pedal so the offense could cruise to the finish line. Smith put the game out of any reasonable doubt with his 35th career interception.

When you play this well, there are a lot who could be nominated. Let me know who I left off in the comments.