Were the Giants a good barometer?
It was a very nice win and the margin of victory was much larger than I (and many others) expected. The Giants and Daniel Jones are a lot worse than thought. There has been much discussion about the play of the interior line in this game (particularly with Ed Ingram and Garrett Bradbury). I thought they did a yeoman’s job considering they had to face Dexter Lawrence who is a two time second-team All Pro. The simple fact is that it is rare to have all pro offensive linemen across the board. If you do, then you wont have them for long because they all want to get paid.
Minnesota Vikings News and Links
PFF Absolutely Loves the Minnesota Vikings After Week 1
The Minnesota Vikings currently hold the second-highest team grade, excluding the teams playing on Monday Night Football. They earned an overall grade of 84.5, placing just behind the Seattle Seahawks, who posted an impressive 91.3 PFF grade.
PFF Team Grades
Seattle Seahawks – 91.3
Minnesota Vikings – 84.5
New Orleans Saints – 82.8
Detroit Lions – 78.8
Dallas Cowboys – 76.3
Minnesota Vikings Offense PFF Grades
*LG Blake Brandel – 91.2
*RB Aaron Jones – 90.9
*QB Sam Darnold – 88.1
RT Brian O’Neil – 85.9
LT Christian Darrisaw – 79.4
Minnesota Vikings Defense PFF Grades
Andrew Van Ginkel – 90.6
Harrison Smith – 90.4
Ivan Pace Jr. – 82.2
Harrison Phillips – 80.3
Josh Metellus – 80.2
NFL Week 1 Recap: Minnesota Vikings 28, New York Giants 6
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Darnold made a statement in his return to MetLife Stadium. The former No. 3 overall pick completed his first 11 passes in Sunday’s season opener and finished 19-of-24 for 208 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. However, that interception was the result of him being hit mid-throw rather than a bad decision.
Darnold was clinical from a clean pocket, as he completed 14 of his 15 attempts for 151 yards (10.1 yards per attempt) when he was kept clean from pressure.
Vikings Officially Have Newfound Cap Space
Minnesota’s front office formally converted some of tight end T.J. Hockenson’s contract, enabling the Vikings to showcase about $8 million in cap space as of September 9th. VikingsTerritory’s Sean Borman tweeted Tuesday, “According to OTC, $8.8M of Hockenson’s 2024 base salary was converted to bonus, lowering his cap hit by $6.9M. Vikings now have $7.8M in cap space.”
Minnesota Vikings Week 1 Power Rankings Roundup: Experts split after dominant win vs. Giants
ESPN
This week: 22
Last week: 23
NFL.com’s Eric Edholm
This week: 20
Last week: 23
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco
This week: 18
Last week: 25
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio
This week: 24
Last week: 25
The Athletic’s Josh Kendall
This week: 14
Last week: 23
Yahoo! Sports’ Frank Schwab
This week: 20
Last week: 26
NFL Power Rankings, Week 2: Vikings and Lions impress, Browns in the bad place
15. Minnesota Vikings (23)
Sam Darnold conquered his demons (or ghosts?) on Sunday, as he helped the Vikings humiliate the Giants in front of a MetLife Stadium crowd that decided to leave the building midway through the third quarter.
While many will talk about Darnold’s debut with Minnesota, it was actually the team’s defense that was the most impressive on Sunday. The Vikings added several players this offseason that are better fits for the scheme run by defensive coordinator Brian Flores, and this made a tremendous impact against the Giants.
New York couldn’t do anything on offense, as Minnesota held them to six points, forced two turnovers, and sacked Daniel Jones five times. If the Vikings are going to do anything meaningful this season, it’s probably going to be because of the guys on the defensive side of the ball. — Adam Patrick, Vikings Expert, Site Editor at The Viking Age
Oddsmakers Remain Skeptical of Minnesota Vikings
Vikings Preparing Jalen Nailor for Bigger Role
“I’m going to tell [Nailor] to prepare as if you’re going to be playing a lot more snaps and a lot more first-, second- and early-down snaps. That’s why he’s here. A ton of confidence in him to go be an every-down receiver for us.”
“Really for the first time on Sunday against the 49ers, the Vikings might need Nailor. The Vikings don’t have Hockenson to help out Jefferson. Nor do they have another productive pass catcher like K.J. Osborn who left in free agency last spring.“
Niners Superstar Unlikely to Play vs Vikings
But right before kickoff on Monday, Adam Schefter (ESPN) added another layer to the story. Yes, McCaffrey will miss tonight’s contest vs the Jets. But according to Schefty, his calf/achilles injury isn’t expected to be ready by Sunday vs the Vikings, either.
“Not only is Christian McCaffrey out tonight, but there’s a real chance he’s not going to play on Sunday, either. They play on the road, at Minnesota, on turf, in a shorter week. So, he’s inactive tonight, and it looks like there’s a real strong possibility McCaffrey will not play Sunday against the Vikings, as well.”
George Kittle says Christian McCaffrey will play against Vikings
“When Christian is back next week, you’ll see some of those fun plays. You’re going to see the offensive MVP go out there and be a really good football player again,” Kittle said on ESPN after the Niners walloped the Jets 32-19.
Which one is it and does it really matter after seeing Jordan Mason rumbling?
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