Aaron Jones' impressive Vikings debut validates the offseason hype

Jones is going to be a major part of Kevin O'Connell's offense this season.

Sep 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the New York Giants during the first half at MetLife Stadium. / John Jones-Imagn Images

Kevin O'Connell really wanted to keep Aaron Jones' streak alive. The Vikings' new running back finished his Packers career with five consecutive 100-yard performances, and he wasn't too far away from that number late in Sunday's opener against the Giants. Having picked up a couple chunk gains on a garbage time drive with the Vikings leading by three scores, Jones got one final carry after the two-minute warning but couldn't break loose.

"I told him he would get one more shot at it," O'Connell said afterwards.

Jones settled for 94 rushing yards on 14 carries in his Vikings debut, averaging 6.7 yards per attempt. He scored Minnesota's first touchdown of the season and also added 15 yards on a couple receptions. It was the kind of efficient, impactful performance the Vikings saw many times while playing against Jones over the years. In a 28-6 victory where a lot of things went right, this was a debut that showed exactly why O'Connell and company were so excited to add the veteran running back to their offense this year.

Five of Jones' 16 touches on the day went for ten yards or more. All 16 gained at least a yard. Considering how often Alexander Mattison and Dalvin Cook were stuffed for no gain or a loss over the last two years, that's meaningful. Jones has the burst and agility to explode through the line of scrimmage and make people miss in the open field. He also has the vision to get what's blocked and avoid negative plays.

All offseason and throughout training camp, O'Connell talked up Jones and what he was going to bring to this team. Now you understand why.

"What you're going to see out of Aaron, no matter what concept we call, he's going to make things come to life," O'Connell said. "He's got an ability in his body and the experience of over 6,000 yards in his career. This guy can make things happen for you in the run game. When you can get people covered up and figure out front structures and how we can try to give him a head start to hopefully get through the initial surge and the initial line of scrimmage, he's not going to get tackled by the first defender very often."

In the locker room after the game, O'Connell gave one of five game balls to Jones, who became the 102nd player to ever reach the 6,000-yard mark on the ground. The Vikings' head coach believes this is just the start of a big season for him.

"We'll continue to explore ways — we had some things that we didn't get to today with Aaron, but he's going to be a major, major part of our offense and somebody I can really rely on," O'Connell said.

One area where Jones made an instant impact was in the red zone. On the Vikings' second offensive possession, he took a handoff from Sam Darnold at around the 9-yard-line, recognized what was in front of him, and instinctively bounced it to the outside. With his trademark quickness, Jones beat a Giants defensive back to the pylon for his 64th career touchdown.

AARON JONES FIRST TD AS A VIKING!!! 😤

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/e0ZwFN5sQo

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 8, 2024

Last season, the Vikings didn't score a rushing TD until Cam Akers got one against the Packers in Week 8. Even with 180 carries, Mattison didn't have one all year. It took less than a quarter for Jones to get his first on the board in 2024. His vision and acceleration can be particularly useful traits down near the goal line.

"Things happen fast down there," O'Connell said. "You rely on vision. You rely on guys understanding the feel of the blocking combinations in front of them. As people attach to blocks, sometimes it declares and it's in milliseconds that you've got to make a decision to then have a chance to gain leverage on the outermost defender. ... You're talking about vision, feel, and then acceleration and burst to go finish the play. It was a great example of what he's going to bring to our team."

He didn't quite get to 100 yards on the ground, but this was an excellent Vikings debut for the 29-year-old Jones. Working in a rotation with Ty Chandler, who had 11 touches of his own, Jones was efficient and productive in an easy season-opening victory. As the difficulty of the schedule picks up starting next week against the 49ers, the Vikings are going to continue to lean on him as a focal point of what they hope is a balanced offensive attack.

Related: Sam Darnold plays 'efficient football' in strong Vikings debut performance