Vikings dominate Giants on both ends in blowout season-opening victory

The Vikings cruised on offense and shut down the Giants defensively to start out 1-0.

Sep 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the New York Giants during the first half at MetLife Stadium. / John Jones-Imagn Images

That's how you draw up the first game of a new season.

The Vikings were sharp on offense and utterly dominant on defense in a season-opening 28-6 victory over the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Midway through the fourth quarter, many Giants fans had cleared out of the building, while visiting fans in purple were leading SKOL chants to cap off a euphoric afternoon.

Sam Darnold was efficient and threw two touchdowns in his Vikings debut, Aaron Jones ran for a score, and a statement outing from Brian Flores' defense was highlighted by an Andrew Van Ginkel pick-six. It was an incredible performance from the Vikings in a game that they really needed to win, considering the difficulty of their schedule for the rest of September and October.

Two things appear to be true: The Vikings are better than most of the country thought they'd be — and the Giants are one of the worst teams in the league. Boos rained down from the home crowd during a brutal day from Daniel Jones — who threw two picks — and the rest of his team. The Giants' ineptitude included nine penalties for nearly 100 yards and several other miscues.

But the Vikings deserve some credit, too. Their offense was efficient and showed some signs of explosiveness. Their defense, which is loaded with veteran talent, held the Giants to 3.5 yards per play, recording five sacks and two takeaways. If Darnold can continue to play like this, the Vikings could be very relevant in the NFC this year.

Things didn't get off to a pretty start for Minnesota. The Vikings' first offensive possession was a "here we go again" disaster when C.J. Ham lost a fumble that the Giants recovered. After fumble woes hurt the Vikings so badly early last season, that was the absolute last thing they wanted to see to start this game. The Giants turned some excellent field position after the fumble into an early 3-0 lead.

But from there, the Vikings cruised to a blowout win, which marked their first victory by 17 points or more since December 2019 against the Chargers. They took a 21-3 lead early in the third quarter on a Darnold touchdown pass to Jalen Nailor, then sealed the deal when Van Ginkel and Harrison Smith picked off Daniel Jones later in the half.

Darnold finished 19 of 24 for 208 yards, 2 touchdowns, and a deflected interception in his Vikings debut. Aaron Jones had 109 yards from scrimmage and a score on just 16 touches. Justin Jefferson had 59 yards and a TD on four receptions. There were standout performances up and down the roster on defense. This was a complete team victory for Minnesota.

Next up for the Vikings is a home game against the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers in Week 2.