Vikings vs. Giants | Key Personnel Battles
The Vikings get the show on the road with a trip to MetLife Stadium to take on the New York Giants this Sunday. This game could be vital to how the Vikings fair this season. With a tough opening group of games, the game against the Giants looks like the most likely win on paper. If the Vikings are going to come out of this one victorious, there are some key personnel battles they will need to win.
Vikings vs. Giants | Key Personnel Battles
Of course, there will be more to the game than the key personnel battles I will examine. For example, the performance of each team’s quarterback and each team’s ability to run the ball will be necessary. The more players playing at a high level on your team, the more likely you are going to win. However, some key battles will take place on Sunday that will have a big say in how the game unfolds.
Garrett Bradbury vs. Dexter Lawrence
Garrett Bradbury’s weakness has always been the big, dominant pass-rushing defensive tackles. An opening game against the 6’4″ and 342 lb nose tackle is not what the undersized Vikings center needs. The previous time Bradbury and Dexter went head-to-head, it was a rough day for the Vikings. In the wildcard playoff game in 2022, Bradbury allowed 4 QB hits and 5 pressures while posting a dismal 28.0 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus.
It will be tough for Sam Darnold’s first outing as a Viking if Bradbury is dominated by Lawrence like that again. There is only so much Bradbury can do against the physically superior Lawrence, and Bradbury needs to be able to hold his own. Double teams and scheme will be important for the Vikings’ ability to nullify Lawrence’s presence in the game. From the Giants’ perspective, they hope their man can wreck the game and force Darnold into game-defining mistakes.
Christian Darrisaw vs. Brian Burns
When the Vikings are on offense, there will be another critical battle at the line of scrimmage, this time on the left side of the Vikings OL. Minnesota’s star offensive tackle, Christian Darrisaw, will go ahead with Giants’ edge rusher Brian Burns. The Giants traded for the Pro Bowl edge defender in March to add firepower to their pass rush.
Burns racked up 46 sacks in his five years in Carolina since being drafted by the Panthers in the first round back in 2019. With the Vikings likely to have a hard time stopping the interior pass rush, Darrisaw’s ability to handle Burns on his own will be vital. The Vikings 2021 first-round pick is garnering a reputation as one of the best tackles in the league. Starting this season by keeping a player of Burns’ stature quiet would be an excellent way to bolster that growing reputation.
Justin Jefferson vs. Deonte Banks
The Giants face the question every team that plays against this Vikings team faces. How do you stop Justin Jefferson? Last season, the Giants played a lot of man coverage, but with a new defensive coordinator in Shane Bowen, they will run a more diverse blend of coverages. Second-year CB Deonte Banks will have the main job of picking up Jefferson, while it remains to be seen what sort of help he gets.
Banks was a player on many Vikings fans’ mock drafts last year, but the Giants selected him with the 24th overall pick. They did so knowing he would be the guy to lockdown opposing team’s star wide receivers. Banks felt like his rookie season was a “warm-up year,” and he now feels ready to be the guy the Giants wanted when they drafted him. Jefferson is as tough an assignment as it gets first up for Banks. He knows that and was full of praise for Jefferson but is relishing the challenge ahead of him this weekend.
Stephon Gilmore/Byron Murphy vs. Malik Nabers
I always felt that the Vikings needed something extra at CB, and that was before they tragically lost their third-round rookie Kyree Jackson, and Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL, ending his sophomore season before it began. Late in the day, the Vikings added Stephon Gilmore, the veteran All-Pro defender, who was the likely starter on the perimeter with Byron Murphy. The pair will likely share the responsibility of guarding the Giants’ primary weapon — rookie WR Malik Nabers.
The Giants were already thin on the ground with offensive playmakers before they lost Saquon Barkley to the Philadelphia Eagles. They had to select one with their sixth overall pick in this year’s draft, and Nabers’ number was called. With little else on the Giants’ offense to get truly excited about, there will be pressure on Nabers to come straight in and be “the guy.” This weekend is his first chance to show what he can do, and it’s Gilmore and Murphy’s job to keep him quiet. If they can, the rest of the Giants’ offense shouldn’t cause too many headaches for the Vikings’ defense.
Brian Flores vs. Brian Daboll
The Brian Flores Vikings defense is exciting to watch. In the first half of last season, an exotic defense that was on the blitz but also heavy in dropping back into coverage. It confused teams throughout the season, but injured players emerged, and the lack of talent on the roster took its toll. The Vikings’ defense got found out. I’m intrigued to see what Flores brings us in the early part of this season.
The man trying to figure that out in Week 1 is Brian Daboll. The Giants head coach has taken over play-calling duties this season — OC Mike Kafka had the role the previous two years. You don’t want to be figuring things out against this Vikings defense, so Daboll needs to have his team ready. If Flores can get his men after Daniel Jones and put him under pressure, the Vikings will have a very good chance of winning this game.
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