Dec 24, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell celebrates the win after the game against the New York Giants at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports.
The long wait is almost at an end. Vikings football is back as Minnesota heads to MetLife Stadium to take on the New York Giants in Week 1 of the regular season. A winning start is vital to the Vikings’ season if they hope to make it successful.
On paper, the Giants game is the easiest one in the first set of five fixtures leading up to the Week 6 bye. After the Giants, the Vikings host the 49ers and Texans, go on the road to Green Bay, and then host the Jets. Those teams will expect to be playing playoff football in January.
Three home games should be an advantage, but U.S. Bank stadium wasn’t exactly a fortress last season. The Vikings posted a disappointing 2-6 record on home turf. Incidentally, one of the two home wins was a surprise victory over the 49ers.
Winning the first game is always nice, but in this case, failing to do so could lead to things getting out of hand quickly. Lose to the Giants, and before you know it, the Vikings could be 0-5 with a QB who won’t be here next season but without the opportunity to get the QB of the future into the team. It’s a funny situation the Vikings find themselves. The team will expect to do well and want to surprise people like they did on the the way to the division title in 2022 when expectations were low.
If things don’t pan out the way they hope, there is no “tanking” for a QB as the Vikings already have their guy as endorsed by head coach Kevin O’Connell. The Vikings will want to be competitive this year, but the long-term focus is getting this team ready to be successful with JJ McCarthy. Winning and losing are both a habit, and the Vikings won’t want to insert McCarthy into a team that won three games in the previous season. They will want him to step into a competitive team in which they feel he can flourish.
The Vikings and Giants have met 31 times (including playoffs), with the Vikings leading the series 18-13. The Giants won the most recent meeting, which was the very disappointing wild card game, where the Vikings dumped out of the playoffs in O’Connell’s first season. Minnesota had won the previous four meetings, including that season’s regular-season game, leading up to the playoff game.
Expectations for both teams are lukewarm at best this season, with only the Panthers and Patriots having longer odds to win the Super Bowl than the Giants as we go into the season. The Vikings are also very much seen as outsiders, and defeating them in the first game will cause those odds to plummet. It’s a long season, but if the Vikings will spring a surprise this season, it feels like they have to start with a win. The Giants are a team that this Minnesota team should be capable of winning. Now, they have to go out and prove it.
The Vikings are slight favorites to come home with a win.