Everyone new comes through for Vikings in win over Giants

The Vikings' new players looked very, very good in their blowout debut win over the Giants

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By Matthew Coller

EAST RUTHERFORD — Everything about the New York Giants’ pregame ceremonies was par for the course around the NFL. Big introductions with D-lineman Dexter Lawrence getting the largest ovation. Huge American flag that covers the entire field. Helicopter flyover. The usual stuff.

Yet it felt different because of the unknown. In years past, the Vikings every season with a chance to make the playoffs and very low odds to make the Super Bowl. It was a team stuck in purgatory. Games were almost always entertaining and only occasionally meaningful. You could predict to the letter that the fourth quarters were going to be crazy tense and teh late Decembers were going to be “in the hunt.”

As the Vikings kicked off against the New York Giants, nothing felt predictable. Certainly that could mean that everything might be worse. In fact, the chances that it is better are slim, especially if you peak at any sportsbooks. It’s different. Everything is on the table.

Of course, the sense of newness comes from the QB position. Even if we have to wait a year for JJ McCarthy to arrive, we have spent months and months talking about whether Sam Darnold could reinvent himself to become the quarterback he was expected to be when he was taken at the top of the 2018 draft.

But it’s not just the QB. There’s a ton of new talent on the team. The defense is revamped. The running back is a superstar. Stephon Gilmore is somehow a Viking.

Once the actual football was booted in the air, the unpredictability hit fast.

After a three-and-out start for the Giants on offense, which quickly drew boos from the Giant faithful in the stands, Darnold took the field for the first time in purple. Would he take a deep shot downfield? Would he make some wild off-balance throw that we haven’t seen since Favre was under center?

Well, not exactly. Darnold got sacked by the unstoppable Dexter Lawrence and then checked down to CJ Ham on third down. In the struggle for a couple extra yards, Ham had the ball pop out and the Giants took over deep in Vikings territory.

The Vikings’ defense last season found ways to keep them in games and even won a few but it seemed they were always straining to hang on for dear life as Brian Flores dialed up blitz after blitz. To start this day, they looked fast as heck.

Ivan Pace Jr. blew up a run play and then popped Daniel Jones on a pass. As Jones attempted to scramble toward the end zone, new linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel wrapped him up for his first Vikings sack. Keeping the game to 3-0 after the fumble felt huge.

Darnold’s arm arrived in New Jersey on the next drive. Following a holding penalty that set the offense back, the 27-year-old journeyman QB sent a football into orbit. When it came down, there was a flag on the field for pass interference. A 36-yard gain simply by not being afraid to toss it up. Interesting.

Darnold ripped a throw to tight end Josh Oliver over the middle for 22 more yards and then Aaron Jones bolted by G-Men defenders into the end zone. We haven’t seen that burst in a while, aye?

The following drive featured a 25-yard completion from Daniel Jones to Malik Nabers on third-and-10 but the referees continued their involvement and an offensive holding flag squashed New York’s drive. On third-and-long, newcomer Jonathan Greenard bolted by his man and crunched Jones, forcing a bad throw. Once again, the defense looked fast.

A pretty punt by the Giants settled inside the 2-yard line. A play-action pass to Ty Chandler gave them a first down to get out of the shadow of their own end zone.

And then Darnold hit the “arm talent” button again. On second down, he floated a perfect dime over the Giants defense to Justin Jefferson. Their first connection together gained 44 yards. The ease in which the ball traveled 40 yards in the air was something you don’t see every day.

Darnold continued to look good, hitting Jordan Addison on back-to-back out routes.

Trusting his QB already, Kevin O’Connell decided to go for a fourth-and-3 at the goal line. It paid off with a line drive touchdown pass to Jefferson. Dream start to Darnold’s tenure.

Van Ginkel continued to terrorize the Giants on the next drive, blowing up a third down run attempt by Jones and allowing for Jonathan Bullard to take him down short of the first down marker. The former Dolphin was a Flores favorite for a reason.

Darnold got the ball back and kept moving, hitting his 12th pass in a row, the second most ever to start a game by a Vikings QB. But with a chance to really bash the Giants’ brains in, O’Connell decided to play it safe on a fourth-and-1 on the Minnesota side of the field and punted away with less than one minute to go in the half.

The Vikings committed their second punt penalty of the day, moving the Giants into good position to start their drive. Another penalty moved them to mid-field. But the depth of the pass rush showed up. Rookie Dallas Turner came flying in and sacked Jones. On the next play, Van Ginkel chased after Jones again and he threw the ball away. A low throw on third down ended the drive.

The Giants got booed off the field.

First half returns on the Vikings: Good. Quite good.