The 4 Best Vikings Performances from Week 1
The Minnesota Vikings defeated the lowly New York Giants on Sunday, stifling Brian Daboll’s team to the tune of a 28-6 victory.
The 4 Best Vikings Performances from Week 1
Kevin O’Connell’s squad played wonderfully on all sides of the ball. No exclusions.
Along the way, these four players stood off the page, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = best performance).
4. Aaron Jones (RB)
Week 1 PFF Grade: 90.9
Aaron Jones answered the Vikings’ ground-game questions from the last two seasons. He tallied 109 yards from scrimmage with a touchdown, making the offense multi-dimensional arguably for the first time since Dalvin Cook’s prime.
Of course, the Giants had a stinky run defense in 2023 — that evidently bled into a new season — but Jones’ theatrics cannot be discounted. His consistency kept New York honest, enabling the next guy on the list to feast.
3. Sam Darnold (QB)
Week 1 PFF Grade: 88.1
Darnold ranked as the league’s best quarterback per EPA+CPOE and PFF in Week 1 (before Monday Night Football when the San Francisco 49ers host the New York Jets). He delivered 208 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and one accidental interception courtesy of Dexter Lawrence.
Moreover, Darnold looked comfortable all afternoon, dispersing the pigskin to a litany of pass-catchers — not simply fixating on Justin Jefferson, which can be tempting.
The reclamation story has begun.
2. Andrew Van Ginkel (OLB)
Week 1 PFF Grade: 90.6
Before Van Ginkel stabbed a Daniel Jones pass out of midair and took it to the house, he was authoring a magnificent game. His pick-six merely ensured the Vikings would fire up their first blowout in five years. It was the cake topper.
Van Ginkel’s versatility shined through, pressuring Jones, dropping back into coverage, and, well, scoring touchdowns.
What a wonderful offseason addition by general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
1. Blake Brandel (LG)
Week 1 PFF Grade: 91.2
Perhaps the most surprising performance of the week by a casual fan’s standards, Brandel utterly held his own versus an ultra-talented Giants defensive front. Not every team employs Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Brian Burns.
But for Brandel, he did his job — at an incredibly sweet clip — proving to the world why he relatively easily swiped Dalton Risner’s left guard job a couple of months ago.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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