Aug 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Harrison Phillips (97) after the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports.
The Minnesota Vikings are just days away from kicking off their 2024 regular season. The expectations for their results are not high. However, that doesn’t seem to deter sportsbooks from believing that Kevin O’Connell’s team has the upper edge in week one.
Daniel Jones is an established veteran quarterback in the NFL. It’s the Minnesota Vikings that got him paid coincidentally. He certainly has not had the greatest track record since, resulting in the Giants looking at quarterback options as recently as this offseason. Despite Jones being established and the Giants being at home, the Vikings are favored in Week 1.
The Vikings are in a pretty good spot with a -1.5 spread in favor of O’Connell’s squad. Typically, home-field advantage is worth three points, so the Giants don’t even get that benefit to lean on. Minnesota comes in with Sam Darnold as a complete wild card, and this may be the only week that the Vikings find themselves on the right side of the line.
If Darnold flops, as many are projecting him to do, then there’s no way he will last the whole season. That moves either Nick Mullens or Brett Rypien into starts under center, and regardless of Minnesota’s playmakers, none of them will be able to overcome that level of quarterback play to rip off consistent victories.
Brian Daboll has an athletic quarterback who can be a fantasy darling, given how well he uses his legs. The stuff between the ears is a question mark for Jones, and it will be on Brian Flores to exploit that. The last time New York saw Minnesota, they came up against a lackluster Ed Donatell scheme. They won’t have that same luxury this time around.
Should Minnesota start out strong, they’ll find an opportunity to build believers each week going forward.
If they stumble, trusting them the rest of the way will be a waning proposition, and the countdown to a quarterback change will be on.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.