Zulgad's 4 thoughts on Vikings' victory over Giants
Items on Kevin O'Connell's tougher training camp paying off, Sam Darnold's successful debut, the return of the run game and an impressive effort on defense.
(Image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings)
The Minnesota Vikings entered their regular-season opener Sunday as 1.5-point favorites against the host New York Giants, so it wasn’t a shock that Kevin O’Connell’s team came away with a victory.
What was surprising was how easily the Vikings dispatched of the Giants in quarterback Sam Darnold’s first start in Purple.
The Vikings trailed 3-0 in the first quarter after C.J. Ham’s fumble on his team’s first drive gave New York favorable field position that led to Graham Gano’s 23-yard field goal. The Vikings scored the next 21 points en route to a 28-6 win over what looks to be a woeful Giants team with a woeful quarterback (Daniel Jones).
Here are four thoughts from O’Connell’s second season-opening victory in his three seasons with the Vikings.
TOUGH CAMP LED TO DESIRED RESULT
The two-a-day practices that used to be a hallmark of training camp are long gone. The NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement has strict rules about when padded practices can start and how long a practice can go.
But O’Connell made it clear from the outset this summer that he wanted a higher-intensity camp and a more physical one than he had conducted in his first two years. One of the Vikings’ problems in a disappointing 7-10 season in 2023, was an issue with turnovers that began early. During an 0-3 start in September, the Vikings lost the ball nine times.
The Vikings’ first drive Sunday ended with a “here we go again” feeling as Ham turned over the ball after an 8-yard catch on third-and-16 from Minnesota 9-yard line. But after Gano’s field goal, the Vikings responded with a five-play, 65-yard drive that ended with Aaron Jones’ 3-yard touchdown run.
The offensive line also got off to a shaky start — nose tackle Dexter Lawrence tossed right guard Ed Ingram around before sacking Darnold — but that was the only sack the line would give up.
Darnold did throw an interception — on which his arm was hit — but there were no more fumbles by the Vikings and Minnesota more than held its own in the trenches.
Did O’Connell’s new training camp approach play a role in how prepared the Vikings looked for this game? It certainly appeared that way.
THE DIFFERENCE IN DARNOLD
Darnold didn’t face his former team on Sunday, but he did play in the stadium that had been a house of horrors for him during his first three NFL seasons. He spent that time with the New York Jets after being the third selection in the 2018 draft.
Darnold, now entering his seventh season, is being given what is likely his final chance to prove he belongs as a starter in the league. Darnold has put his faith in O’Connell and on Sunday that looked like a good choice.
There is a reason O’Connell was a third-round pick by the New England Patriots in the 2008 draft and also a reason why so many felt he should get into coaching. While O’Connell might have lacked the physical ability to start in the NFL, he was more than qualified when it came to his football intelligence.
Darnold’s struggles often have seemed to be more mental than physical, given he has a big arm and can move around. So what better combination than to combine O’Connell’s smarts with Darnold’s physical tools.
In the first game in which O’Connell was calling plays for Darnold, the quarterback completed his first 12 passes and finished 19-of-24 for 208 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Darnold completed a beautiful 44-yard pass to Justin Jefferson on a 99-yard scoring drive in the second quarter, continuing the chemistry that those two showed on deep passes in training camp.
O’Connell has the ability to feed directions into Darnold’s ear until 15 seconds remain on the play clock. On Sunday, many of those directions led to success.
THE RETURN OF THE RUN GAME
Fans spent plenty of time in Mike Zimmer’s final years as Vikings’ coach complaining about how much he ran the ball. By last year, that had changed and many were wondering if O’Connell would ever commit to the run?
On Sunday, we got the answer.
Aaron Jones, in his first game with the Vikings since being let go by the Packers after last season, rushed for 94 yards on 14 carries and a 3-yard touchdown. The TD run might have been a short one, but seeing Jones head up the middle, realize there was nothing there, bounce outside and outrace the defender to the corner of the end zone was a work of football art.
The Vikings began last season with Alexander Mattison as their top running back. He carried the ball 180 times and did not have one rushing touchdown. Warren Sharp, who runs the Sharp Football Analysis website, tweeted this offseason that Mattison had nine carries inside the 5-yard line and not only failed to score, but also lost 7 yards on those attempts.
That forced the Vikings to turn to the pass more in the deep Red Zone, which isn’t easy because there isn’t much space to operate. Jones’ presence, and the fact that Ty Chandler can be relied on more, gives the Vikings the type of threat they haven’t had in the run game since Dalvin Cook was going strong.
FLORES’ MASTERPIECE
Coordinator Brian Flores’ defense had a phenomenal performance, pitching a touchdown shutout against the Giants. Yes, Jones is an atrocious quarterback and likely will get a few people fired, but Flores dialed up a game plan that took advantage of Jones’ many shortcomings.
The Giants finished with 240 net yards, including 166 through the air and 74 rushing.
Flores took over as defensive coordinator last season after Ed Donatell spent a year running a passive scheme that finished 31st in total defense, as well as against the pass, 20th against the run and tied for 28th in scoring (25.1 points).
A big part of the reason Jones got a four-year, $160 million contract in March 2023 was because of his performance against Donatell’s defense a couple of months earlier in a Giants win at Minnesota in the wild card round.
The Vikings improved to 16th in total defense in 2023 under Flores, finishing 24th against the pass, eighth against the run and tied for 13th in scoring (21.3 points). That was with Flores having to get creative with many of the players Donatell had tried to use.
The Vikings’ defense now has more of the personnel that Flores wants to run his schemes. The loss of edge rusher Danielle Hunter (16.5 sacks in 2023) hurts, but the edge room is far deeper with free agent additions Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel in starting roles and first-round pick Dallas Turner seeing plenty of time.
Van Ginkel, who suffered a foot injury late last season with Miami and didn’t participate in practice until training camp began, was fantastic on Sunday. He returned an interception 10 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter and also had a sack and two quarterback hits.
Turner had the first sack of his career late in the second quarter.
Flores likes to keep opposing offenses guessing, so it will be interesting to see what he cooks up for the Vikings’ home opener next Sunday against the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers.