As the Preseason Departs, The Vikings’ Week 1 Tilt Comes into Focus
The New York Giants aren’t a good football team. There are some fantastic players on that roster — especially DT Dexter Lawrence, a tremendous talent– but it would be surprising if last year’s 6-11 Giants go very far.
If Minnesota can’t beat the Giants, the 2024 season could get ugly.
The Vikings’ Week 1 opponent is arguably the easiest one they’ll see in a little while. The next opponents all promise to offer their own level of difficulty — the 49ers, Texans, Packers, and Jets before a Week 6 bye — so dropping the opening contest could lead to a record that gets ugly in a hurry. Going 3-2 in this opening stretch would be a win for Minnesota.
The Vikings’ Week 1 and Success in 2024
Daniel Jones is a good athlete; Daniel Jones isn’t a great quarterback.
The No. 6 pick from the 2019 Draft is going into his sixth season in the NFL, so he has quite a bit of football behind him. Maybe his best statistical season arrived in 2022 when he completed 67.2% of his passes for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. Not disastrous, but far from Patrick Mahomes.
Helping Mr. Jones will be Malik Nabers, a receiver who appears to be a tremendous player. Locking him down won’t be easy, though the addition of Stephon Gilmore and return of Shaq Griffin certainly helps, which is to say nothing of the ongoing presence of Byron Murphy Jr. Covering Nabers will be a key to snagging the victory.
On offense, the emphasis is going to be on making sure Lawrence doesn’t totally ruin things. Expecting Garrett Bradbury to fully corral the DT isn’t realistic. Instead, there’s going to need to be a lot of help from the guards and possibly from the running backs, as well.
Sam Darnold, too, will have a key role to play. Being decisive and accurate will help. Getting the ball into the hands of his playmakers — Kirk Cousins used to talk about thinking of himself as a point guard in basketball — will be crucial. Lawrence can get into the backfield, but he can’t hang with Justin Jefferson down the field. So, find a way to get the ball out early and hopefully make Sunday a very frustrating day for Mr. Lawrence.
Climbing up to 1-0 would continue with the sense of momentum that’s currently residing at TCO Performance Center. Fresh off a pristine preseason, the Vikings could feel like they’re on a bit of a roll as they take on arguably the best team in the league — San Francisco — in Week 2.
And then, of course, the Houston tilt in Week 3 will offer storylines aplenty. The return of Danielle Hunter is a major one, but he isn’t alone. Stefon Diggs is giving the Texans arguably the deepest, most impactful receiver room in the NFL for C.J. Stroud to work with on Sundays. The Vikings will need to be sharp.
The Packers in Week 4 and the Jets in Week 5 — a London game — simply underscore how difficult the initial stretch is going to be. Again, the Vikings’ Week 1 contest looks pivotal. Being unable to overcome the New York Giants could foreshadow a difficult season that has already had no shortage of turmoil in the offseason.
In 2023, the Giants finished at 30th in the NFL by averaging 15.6 points per game. Defensively, they allowed an average of 23.9 points against, good for 26th in the NFL. Though he only played in six games, Daniel Jones — who is carrying a $47,855,000 cap charge into the season — was 1-5 while tossing 2 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.
The New York Giants game will take place on Sunday, September 8th. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.