AVG (Andrew Van Ginkel) delivered an OMG interception that he returned 10 yards for a touchdown and was also one of five sacks for the Vikings, joining Kevin Williams (2007 vs. Atlanta) and Harrison Smith (2014 in St. Louis and 2018 vs. San Francisco) as Vikings since 2000 to record a sack and an interception in a Week 1 game.
Receiver Jordan Addison, who had worked his way back into the lineup after an ankle injury in Cleveland, sustained an injury to his other ankle and left the game.
The Vikings will watch the film and quickly shift their focus to hosting San Francisco in Week 2.
The 2024 season is finally here. The Vikings played great overall on both sides of the ball. Darnold also played a good game and led our offense. A good road win to start the season is always a good thing. Too bad Addison injured his ankle.
Here are my 3 highs and 3 lows for the first game of the season:
1. The defense started strong. Forced a punt on a three-and-out on the Giants’ first possession. And forced a field goal after the offense gave the Giants the ball at the 20. They held out the entire game and did not allow the Giants a touchdown. An outstanding performance by the defense.
2. Impressive 99-yard touchdown drive by the Vikings, including a touchdown pass to Jefferson on fourth down. And a very nice touchdown drive to start the second half. Beautiful call and execution for the completely free (Jalen) Nailor. Wow.
3. Pick six for Van Ginkel and Harrison Smith’s fourth down interception in the fourth quarter. Both very well done.
1. The first offensive possession of the 2024 season ends with another Vikings fumble. Why am I not surprised? The Vikings set NFL records for fumbles on first possession. Sad.
2. Stupid, undisciplined penalties in the first half. (Jay) Ward with his rough holding on the first punt of the season that cost us 20 yards of field position. Defense calling offsides, offensive penalties on our side of the halftime ball, (Ivan Pace, Jr.) with two penalties on our punt at the end of the first half, defensive penalties on third down that gave the Giants a first down at the end of the half. Not the right way to start the season. Teams better than the Giants will make us pay for this kind of stupidity.
3. Wasted timeouts because the play wasn’t started on time. The clock hit zero on several occasions, usually after a first down. Completing plays in the allotted time is a problem that has spanned several seasons. Kevin O’Connell needs to fix this.
A nice win to start the season. Darnold and the offense and defense gave it their all. I’m looking forward to the Niners next week. I’m lucky enough to have tickets for this game. Go Vikings!
I’m glad you can join us for the Vikings’ home game against the 49ers on Sunday. The atmosphere should be electric.
The Vikings didn’t play a perfect game, but they were pretty good on offense considering the team has a new starting quarterback in Darnold and Aaron Jones, Sr.
CJ Ham’s fumble after a pass reception was a tough one to watch, but nothing unusual. The FOX broadcast said this was the sixth turnover since the start of the 2023 season that ended a Vikings first possession. Six in 18 games is the wrong frequency, and the Vikings need to break that habit.
The defense was able to limit the damage to three points after the turnover and the offense was able to quickly score a touchdown, leaving Minnesota trailing for only 3:26 minutes in the entire game.
