Six Vikings Numbers to Explain the Tremendous Victory over the Giants
C.J. Ham fumble aside, it was a strong day at the office for the Minnesota Vikings. From start to finish, Kevin O’Connell’s crew was in control of the game.
Minnesota now climbs to a pristine 1-0 ahead of their Week 2 tilt with the San Francisco 49ers. Very few are expecting a victory in the upcoming game, which only underscores the importance of what just took place: the Vikings faced a brutal opponent and put together a dominant win. Consider six numbers that help to illustrate how that occurred.
Six Numbers in the Vikings Victory
1 — 113.2 QB Rating
Not a bad day at the office for Mr. Darnold.
The new QB1 completed 19/24 passes for 208 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT. In fairness, the interception came after his arm was hit, so he’s only partially responsible for the outcome. Overall, he had a rock-solid day and the numbers would look better if he had to play with more urgency to keep the game close. Minnesota largely coasted for a good portion of the second half.
2 — 6.7 Average Per Carry
Elusive, tough, vision, explosive. Those are some of the words that should apply to the day Aaron Jones had.
The former Packer turned 14 carries into 94 yards and a touchdown. Crunch the numbers and that’s a 6.7 yards-per-carry average. Kevin O’Connell mentioned after the game trying to get him to 100 yards while still trying to be smart with the workload. After all, there are more important games ahead, so limiting the veteran was the right call. There will be no SF upset in Week 2 unless Jones has a great game.
3 — 59 Receiving Yards
Not a bad day, just a modest day. At least by his standards.
Justin Jefferson turned 6 targets into 4 receptions for 59 yards (14.8 average) and a touchdown. His best plays were obviously the long catch — 44 yards — and then the quick score on 4th down. No doubt, he had a strong impact on the game but seeing #18 at just 59 yards won’t cut it going forward. Feed him early and often moving forward.
4 — 5 Sacks
During the preseason, O’Connell praised his defensive front for being active. Think they lived up to that descriptor in Week 1?
The Vikings finished their day with 5 sacks but that undersells how disruptive they were. Brian Flores had his front playing well, making Daniel Jones skittish at various points. Andrew Van Ginkel, Harrison Phillips, Dallas Turner, and Patrick Jones II all got credit for sacks. The Vikings will need more of that against Brock Purdy next week.
5 — 2 Interceptions
The Hitman still has it.
Harrison Smith kept points off the board by intercepting Jones. So, too, did Van Ginkel make a marvellous play by picking off a Jones pass. The difference is that the man with luscious locks brought his interception back for a score, giving Minnesota a larger lead in the process.
Consider the stat courtesy of Janik Eckardt of PurplePTSD: “Two statistics show what the Vikings need to do to win games under head coach O’Connell. The coach is 18-0 when the Vikings at least break even in the turnover column, and he is 18-8 when his starting quarterback is actually starting.” The interceptions were vital.
6 — 4/4
Expectations are high for the kid. On Sunday, he did very little to undermine any confidence.
True, there weren’t any field goal attempts, but Will Reichard did drill 100% of his extra point attempts. One can always sense a team being a bit deflated when the extra point gets missed, so seeing the flawless effort from the rookie is a positive sign.
Oh, and let’s shoehorn one other number in there: Ryan Wright did have the one bad punt, but he landed three of his kicks inside the 20. Not bad.
5 Instant Takeaways from Vikings at Giants
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, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.