Everything that went right and wrong for the Vikings in Week 1 win over Giants

Under the microscope from the Vikings' blowout victory in East Rutherford

© Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

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By Matthew Coller

The Minnesota Vikings put together one of the most impressive victories of the NFL’s opening week. Here’s a closer look at where they thrived and areas where they can improve…

What went right

“Playing point guard”

Sam Darnold said over and over this offseason that he was going to simplify his game and “just play point guard.” Well, he did just that against the Giants, registering the highest PFF grade in the NFL for Week 1, in large part because he played mistake-free football in New York.

PFF totaled him at zero “turnover-worthy” plays for the game. They did not grade his interception as “turnover-worthy” because his arm was hit due to pressure when he threw his lone interception. They also credited him with zero QB pressures that he brought upon himself.

When Darnold was throwing between 0-9 yards through the air, he completed 12 of 14 passes at 6.0 yards per attempt and the only two incompletions were drops. When throwing to RBs or TEs, Darnold went 11-for-12 with 93 yards.

We can expect in the future that the Vikings’ quarterback will have to push the ball to receivers more often and make more intermediate (11-20 yards) than the four passes he threw in that part of the field but in terms of the point-guard-y stuff that he was asked to do, he nailed it.

Aaron Jones

PFF also graded Jones as the No. 1 running back in the NFL for opening weekend. He posted a ridiculous 5.3 yards after first contact and had five runs that went for 10 yards or more.

The Vikings were able to mix up the running game with PFF tracking nine zone runs and five gap plays for the versatile veteran RB.

Jones also caught two passes for 15 yards. Interestingly he was not asked to pass block on any of his 30 snaps.

Left guard

Have a debut, Blake Brandel. The Vikings have shown a ton of belief in Brandel this offseason, giving him first-team reps all throughout camp and sitting him for two preseason games. In Week 1, he justified that belief, grading as the best Vikings lineman at 91.2 overall. Brandel gave up zero QB pressures and scored an outstanding 87.4 PFF grade.

Was his grade so high because Giants star DT Dexter Lawrence lined up on the other side? Not exactly. Per PFF, Lawrence was on Brandel’s side for 15 plays and the right side for 20 snaps.

Could he be the guard that everyone has been dreaming about since Steve Hutchinson? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves yet but Sunday was a very good sign for the development project LG.

D-line and OLB depth

Everybody got involved in the party up front for the Vikings on defense. In total, nine DTs or outside linebackers ended up playing at least 10 snaps against the G-Men. Jonathan Greenard led in pressures with five and then Jihad Ward had four, Jerry Tillery three, Harrison Phillips and Pat Jones posted two and then Dallas Turner and Jonathan Bullard each had one.

That’s a lot of pressure from different players. Last year the Vikings relied heavily on Danielle Hunter and tons of blitzes but that wasn’t required on Sunday. Daniel Jones was only blitzed on 19 of his 50 drop-backs and he gained 3.7 yards per attempt when he wasn’t blitzed and was sacked four times.

Harrison Phillips played 36 snaps, which would have tied for his lowest number in 2023. That’s not reflective of performance (he was the highest graded DT), rather the fact they can keep him more fresh with Tillery and rookie Taki Tiamani (10 snaps) in the mix.

Safeties in coverage, linebackers everywhere

Welcome to Year 13, Harrison Smith. The Vikings’ star safety graded a 90.4 in the opener, allowing one reception in three targets and grabbing a dagger interception in the end zone. Smith was on his typical line-up-everywhere game, spending 35 snaps as a deep safety and 23 plays in the box and nine more either in the slot or on the DL.

This time last year we were all surprised to see Josh Metellus all over the field but after a year of playing one of the most versatile roles in the NFL, the hybrid safety/linebacker/corner was at it again against the Giants. He played 63 total snaps, made three run stops, allowed eight yards receiving on nine targets and had an impressive pass breakup. Metellus spent 29 snaps in the slot and 27 in the box.

Cam Bynum had a solid, uneventful day with just one target into his coverage.

Inside linebackers Ivan Pace Jr. and Blake Cashman showed they are quite a combination in the opening game. Pace Jr. had four QB pressures and four run stops, grading 82.2 (third best on the defense). Cashman had five run stops and allowed 21 yards on five attempts into his coverage. They combined for 15 pass rush snaps.

What went wrong