Edge Pressure Can Change Minnesota’s Early Season Leash
Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Vikings defense was nearly flawless in Sunday’s 28-6 win over the New York Giants in the Meadowlands. Not only did Minnesota keep the Giants out of the end zone, they scored a touchdown of their own en route to halting New York all day.
“I don’t know what you can say, other than just it was an unbelievable performance out of that group,” coach Kevin O’Connell said in his postgame press conference.
Sam Darnold and the offense were solid themselves, at least for a week. Thanks to the defense, that’s all the team needed to sail to an easy victory. As the Vikings embark on a difficult stretch, the Week 1 version of their defense showed they have what it takes to give the offense some breathing room and keep them afloat.
From Weeks 2 through 10, Minnesota will have much tougher foes than the Giants and Daniel Jones. Eight of their next nine opponents had winning records in 2023. And while they might avoid Jordan Love at Lambeau in Week 4, the Vikings will still face Brock Purdy (vs. SF, Week 2), C.J. Stroud (vs. HOU, W3), Jared Goff (vs. DET, W7), Matthew Stafford (@ LAR, W8), Anthony Richardson (vs. IND, W9), and Trevor Lawrence (@ JAX, W10).
That’s a gauntlet, but it’s a lot less scary if we see this Vikings defense play as tough as they just did, week after week. We saw the type of unit Brian Flores — it’s fun to hear his name in a positive light, huh? — had success with as the head coach for the Miami Dolphins.
The most encouraging part of Week 1 might have been how many players contributed big to the defense’s effort. Minnesota had 16 different players register at least one tackle. They appeared to switch up several players when blitzing. Four players got five sacks: linebackers Pat Jones II (who had two), Andrew Van Ginkel, and Dallas Turner, then one from Harrison Smith. Van Ginkel and Smith also recorded interceptions, with Van Ginkel returning his for a score.
It was vintage Flores, with his group disguising blitzes, going from different angles, and rushing the QB from a plethora of spots. All that made the day difficult for Jones and the Giants offense.
Andrew Van Ginkel was everywhere in that first half defensively. Just always around the ball. Had a sack. Four combined tackles. A QBH. Just such a fun player to watch.
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) September 8, 2024
Minnesota’s pass rush also made things much easier on their cornerbacks. The position was their biggest question mark in the preseason, but they acquitted themselves well. While the Vikings scrambled to sign Stephon Gilmore and Fabian Moreau in August, the group looked cohesive, rather than slapped together.
The Giants had a few one-on-one opportunities with quick receivers, and Malik Nabors had a decent day with 66 yards. Still, the linebackers flew around in coverage, and Byron Murphy Jr. was excellent with a team-high nine tackles and a crucial fourth-down pass deflection. The Vikings’ coverage team did enough to keep New York’s receivers from getting open — in both man and zone coverage — during the precious few seconds Jones had to scan the field.
Even better, the front seven filled just about every running lane, as Giants running backs earned just 74 yards on the ground (3.5 yards per carry). Again, it’s worth noting that the Giants are not good. Jones has historically struggled against complex schemes like the one Flores deploys, and New York lacks elite talent, besides perhaps Nabors. But, at least for a week, there’s much to be encouraged by on defense.
It meant that Darnold and the offense didn’t need to rely on heroics to win, they simply needed to keep stringing positive plays together. The 27-year-old journeyman did just that, enjoying one of the most efficient games of his career. Darnold went 19-for-24 on passing attempts for 208 yards, two touchdowns, and just one late pick after the game was all but decided. The Vikings can live with that, as long as they don’t have to get into shootouts with Stroud, Goff, Stafford, et al.
It sounds like a broken record, but it’s worth noting again that Darnold also put up those numbers against a poor team. Against better competition, it’s fair to expect the offense to regress somewhat. But good defenses tend to be consistent in ways even explosive offenses rarely are. If Flores can establish a baseline that’s even close to what the Vikings showed on Sunday, they should do well.
It’ll start with the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans coming to town in Weeks 2 and 3, respectively. The 49ers are still the defending NFC Champs, so it’s tough to expect them to be anything other than really good. While Stroud and the Texans aren’t infallible, they still looked pretty good in staving off a late comeback from the Indianapolis Colts. Then in Week 4, the Love-less Green Bay Packers feel like a much more manageable challenge than they seemed a week ago.
If the Vikings can continue to generate the pressure they had in Week 1, they might have a chance to pull off a victory or two more than most of the league expected. What once looked like a 1-3 start — at best — with the new-look Vikings’ offense needing time to get healthy and humming, now looks like it could turn into a fast start. But only if the defense continues to carry them.
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