EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Minnesota Vikings opened the season with a decisive 28-6 win over the New York Giants, and they did so by dominating on both sides of the ball.
All eyes were on newly acquired quarterback Sam Darnold, who had an impressive Vikings debut, but the defense prevented New York's offense from ever finding a rhythm. New York quarterback Daniel Jones was pressured for much of the afternoon, forcing him to continually throw before getting comfortable in the pocket.
The Vikings will no doubt have a tougher test next week against the San Francisco 49ers, but here are three takeaways from their season-opening win:
Darnold's debut
Darnold couldn't have asked for a better start to his first game in purple. The former No. 3 overall pick completed his first 12 pass attempts to help the Vikings take a 14-3 lead at the half. Darnold engineered an 11-play, 99-yard drive that was capped off by a 3-yard touchdown toss to receiver Justin Jefferson on fourth down. He also connected with Jefferson on a 44-yard pass earlier in the drive to help set up the score.
"For a guy in a new system to start 12-for-12 and be incredibly poised throughout the day, it was a huge performance for us to be able to build off with Sam," said Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell.
Darnold came back down to earth in the second half but still finished 19 of 24 for 208 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
"Playing with confidence, I think that's going to be the biggest thing," Darnold said. "We've got a great offense, a great system. If I just play on time and do all the things I need to execute, we'll be alright."
Van Ginkel leads the D
While Darnold had a solid showing in his first game with the Vikings, it may not have been the best debut of the afternoon. Andrew Van Ginkel was all over the field, including the end zone. The newly acquired linebacker was disruptive in the backfield all game and in the third quarter, he jumped a short screen pass for an interception that he took all the way to the end zone for the score.
The pick-six gave the Vikings a commanding 28-6 lead with under five minutes to play in the third quarter. He finished the game with four tackles, two quarterback hits, a sack and an interception.
"I kind of had a joke with him when we first signed him that I expected him to find the end zone this year, I did not know it was going to be the first game, which was pretty spectacular," O'Connell said.
Revamped defense stymies Jones, Giants offense
Van Ginkel wasn’t the only defender to make an impact in Sunday’s season opener. The defense rattled Jones, combining for five sacks and 12 quarterback hits. The team also picked off Jones twice, including a Harrison Smith interception at the goal line. Rookie edge rusher Dallas Turner also recorded his first career sack, just the second Vikings rookie since 1982 to have a sack in Week 1. Jones and the Giants finished with just 240 total yards of offense.
"I don't know what you can say other than it was an unbelievable performance out of that group," said O'Connell.
Extra points
- Second-year receiver Jordan Addison left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury. The former first-round pick was battling an ankle injury entering Sunday's contest, but after the game, O'Connell confirmed that it was the other ankle that was injured on Sunday. He finished the game with three catches for 35 yards before suffering the injury.
- Vikings running back Aaron Jones gave the Vikings' rushing attack a boost on Sunday by amassing 94 yards on 14 carries. He also found the end zone in the first quarter for the Vikings' first score of the season. During Sunday's game, Jones surpassed 6,000 yards for his career after he spending seven seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
- Both teams have plenty to clean up after combining for 16 penalties on Sunday. The Giants were flagged nine times for 95 yards, while the Vikings committed nine penalties for 63 yards.
