EAGAN, Minn. — Kickoff Weekend is approaching fast.

By the time the Minnesota Vikings visit the New York Giants to tee up their 2024 NFL regular seasons, two games will already be decided.

The Vikings are opening the 64^th season in franchise history, and the Giants are reaching triple digits while wearing "Century Red" commemorative uniforms in honor of the franchise's 100^th season.

Note: Vikings.com is modifying the Game Preview format with some returning features below. We plan to post Game Previews on Wednesdays in weeks with Sunday games and circle back with final updates on Fridays.

Vikings Uniform

The Vikings will wear their modern white jerseys and purple pants, the look most commonly used by Minnesota in road games. Vikings players will wear a KJ helmet decal all season in honor of Khyree Jackson.

4 Storylines

1. Darnold's debut (and return)

For the first time since 2018, the Vikings have a new starter at quarterback.

Veteran Sam Darnold joined Minnesota in the opening days of free agency and has continued increasing his comfort in the system. He's quickly developed connections with pass catchers like Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.

After a season backing up Brock Purdy in San Francisco, Darnold is now ready to make his Vikings debut at MetLife Stadium, where his pro career began as a member of the New York Jets.

"I'm very comfortable with Sam's comfortability," Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips said. "He hasn't had any issues really, that I've noticed or that have come up. He's asked good questions when something does come up in the meeting room. … One thing he's done is come out and throw the football extremely well. … We're really excited about Sam and the kind of year we believe he can have and will have."

2. Defensive overhaul

Minnesota's defense also features plenty of newcomers who joined the team via free agency or the draft.

Pat Jones II is the only returnee among 2023 outside linebackers. He's been joined by veterans Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, former Giant Jihad Ward and first-round pick Dallas Turner, likely diversifying Brian Flores' plans of attack.

Ivan Pace, Jr., is ready for his second pro season and has been joined by newcomers Blake Cashman and Kamu Grugier-Hill.

The Vikings cornerbacks room has experienced continuous changes throughout the offseason. The most recent addition, Stephon Gilmore, along with Shaq Griffin and Fabian Moreau, have added 360 regular-season games of experience to a room that had limited experience entering 2023.

"I like the group," Flores said. "We're still kind of coming together. There's a lot of new faces there over the course of training camp with Fabian coming in, and then 'Gilly' coming in, Shaq going down and coming back, so there's still a little bit of putting those pieces together, working some of the communication that happens in the back end, along with the safety group we've got."

3. Rust vs. rest

Sunday's game will be almost a full month since most of Minnesota's starters last suited up for the Aug. 10 preseason opener against the Raiders, setting up a rust vs. rest debate.

Most starters on offense played 12 plays in that contest, if at all. Defensive players who started and are on the first team in the Week 1 unofficial depth chart played between 11 and 19 snaps.

Kevin O'Connell preferred to maximize the two days of joint practices in Cleveland, as well as an intrasquad scrimmage on the rainy Thursday before the preseason finale at Philadelphia for prepping players in more controlled settings.

4. New kickoff in play

Teams tried to strike a balance this preseason with exploring the NFL's new Dynamic Kickoff rules and not wanting to reveal too much strategy.

The Vikings have Ty Chandler and Brandon Powell listed as their first two options for returning kickoffs.

"It's almost kind of like a 9-on-7 drill in a way, to where it's like, 'How do we want to handle these run fits?' Because now you kind of eliminate the levels of defense that you did have in the old kickoff rule when you add fast guys next to slow guys so they're able to play off one another," Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels said.

3 Things 'Bout the Giants

1. From Saquon to Singletary

A big handoff in the backfield for Big Blue already occurred this offseason.

When running back Saquon Barkley headed to Philadelphia in free agency, the Giants brought in Devin Singletary to be their lead back. Singletary is wearing the No. 26 previously repped by his predecessor.

He has totaled 4,049 rushing yards and 20 scores with the Bills (2019-22) and Texans (2023). New York Head Coach Brian Daboll was Singletary's offensive coordinator in Buffalo for three seasons.

2. New defensive coordinator

The Giants have a new defensive coordinator in Shane Bowen, who previously held the same role for the past three seasons with the Titans.

Bowen has replaced Don "Wink" Martindale, who is now at Michigan.

Vikings offensive coaches have been revisiting tape of Tennessee's defense, as well as the two joint practices between the Vikings and Titans in 2023 to glean clues on what to expect from Bowen.

3. Howdy Nabers

The Giants sideline will also boast a first-round receiver out of LSU in the form of Malik Nabers, the No. 6 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Nabers played 12 snaps in New York's preseason opener but was not targeted. He played 30 snaps in the second preseason game and caught four passes for 54 yards on six targets by Daniel Jones, who was limited by injury to six games in 2023.

Vikings to Track

Justin Jefferson: You and everyone else were probably going to be following the phenom as he starts his fifth NFL season.

But you can also keep a running tally on a couple of stats.

Jefferson needs eight catches to become the ninth Vikings player all-time with 400 career receptions.

The receiver is beginning the season with 5,899 receiving yards through 60 games played, which is a record total among players who began their careers during the Super Bowl era.

With 101 yards through the air, Jefferson can beat a record set by Hall of Famer Lance Alworth (with the Chargers in the AFL) for the fastest receiver to 6,000 yards. Alworth reached the mark in his 62^nd game (1967 season).

Jefferson has posted 184 and 150 receiving yards in his first two Week 1 games with O'Connell.

Aaron Jones, Sr.: Jets isn't the only Vikings player who could become a member of a 6,000-yard club as early as Sunday.

Jones enters his eighth pro season and first in Minnesota with 5,940 career rushing yards. If he rushes for at least 78, Jones will pass Cedric Benson (6,017) for 100^th all-time in NFL history.

He closed his time with the Packers with a five-game streak (including playoffs) of at least 100 rushing yards, the longest active streak in the NFL and tied with Derrick Henry (five games in 2021 and five in 2022) for the longest in the NFL since 2014.

1 Key Matchup

Vikings offensive line vs. Giants defensive line

The Vikings offensive line has a great deal of continuity, having returned LT Christian Darrisaw, C Garrett Bradbury, RG Ed Ingram and RT Brian O'Neill. At left guard, Minnesota has plugged in Blake Brandel, who has been a versatile backup over the years.

The group has a Giant task ahead, starting with defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 340 pounds.

New York has built around Lawrence, and the front also includes edge rushers Brian Burns, who joined this offseason as a former first-round pick by Carolina, and Kayvon Thibodeaux (the fifth pick of the 2022 NFL Draft). A pair of former second-round picks, Boogie Basham and Azeez Ojulari, provide extra reinforcements on the edge.

The Giants defensive line is coached by former Vikings assistant Andre Patterson.

Beyond the talent across the line of scrimmage, Minnesota's offensive line will need to be able to operate cleanly through crowd noise.

Friday Updates …

The following content was added Sept. 6 after initial publication.

Status Report

Addison and Jalen Nailor were able to work through ankle injuries and fully participate Friday. Both are expected to be available Sunday.

Addison was interviewed Thursday and said there was "no question" toward his availability against the Giants.

"I'm feeling great. I'm 100 percent," Addison said.

The second-year wideout exploded onto the scene as a rookie, catching seven touchdowns in his first eight games. In the middle of the season, when Justin Jefferson was sidelined by a hamstring injury, Addison operated as Minnesota's No. 1 receiver, producing 437 yards and four scores on 35 receptions.

Overall, Addison ranked third among 2023 rookies with 911 yards receiving and tied for first with 10 touchdowns. His 13.0 yards per catch was the second-best mark by rookies with a minimum of 50 grabs.

Addison is ready physically, and better prepared mentally.

"Instead of thinking of [my assignment], I can just focus on the defense – seeing what they're doing and just react," Addison explained, noting he's more comfortable in O'Connell's system after a season of learning. "I can read the defense and know how to continue my routes a little bit differently. In Year 1, I was still thinking about the playbook and [making sure] I was doing the right thing. I feel a lot more confident."

O'Connell noted the initial success of Addison and the opportunity to build on that in his second year in this system.

"I think he ended last season really confident and has really gone about his business — he's one of those guys, I remember talking to you in the offseason, the work he was putting into his body and always having the mindset of attacking it from a meeting standpoint because he knows as talented as he is, he knows exactly what to do, where to line up and the technique and details Keenan emphasizes, he's going to have success," O'Connell said. "I think he also learned when Jets came back … he kind of got a taste of what it can consistently be like with both of them playing with that confidence and our ability to be explosive because of it."

Nailor's opportunities have been limited by injuries as he's tried to work his way up the depth chart. O'Connell said the third-year pro working through this ankle injury is an "affirmation of what is really the next step for him."

"I'm proud of the way he went about it. I'm proud of the way he responded to tackling his treatment but still staying mentally engaged," O'Connell said. "Really, any time he's gotten opportunities for us has been really positive."

Memorable Week 1 Quotes

Jefferson on gearing up for the opener

"I'm antsy, but I don't really get too antsy until about the night before the game. That's when I can't sleep; I have the jitters. I'm just excited or happy to finally play ball again and to play in front the world. So that's something I'm looking forward to. Just to kick off year five is something that's exciting."

Darnold on being named a captain and being able to be himself

"It's an honor. Anytime you are named a captain by guys like the group we have in our locker room means a ton. … It's easy when you can just be yourself. This group in the locker room makes it really easy for me to continue to be myself every single day. No one's going to ask me or anyone else to be anything other than that. I think that's the special part about this group."

Phillips on Jones' abilities at running back

"Aaron is not the biggest back, but what you see is he's been able to run just about any scheme. He's got great vision on tight zone runs where he hits backside cuts. He's able to run the duo play, the things inside, as well as running some of the perimeter stuff he's also had success with in Green Bay, so he's a really versatile guy, just a good runner, sees the field really well. He sees a lot and can tell you in real time what he's seeing and why he made a certain cut."

Jones on his desire to extend his career

"It was an ongoing question in the locker room, 'How much would somebody have to pay you right now for me to stop playing football?' And I was like, 'Pretty much no amount of money,' because I feel like I have a lot left in the tank. I was like, 'I feel like I can play eight more years.' And they're looking at me like, 'You're crazy.' And I remember Kamu [Grugier-Hill] was like, 'Yeah, I'll be at home watching, and I'll call you and say, You're crazy for still doing this.' So I feel like as long as that body stays feeling well, I feel like I can do it. But you've gotta be productive with that, as well. As you get older, I feel like they try to get you out of the door because you've got younger backs coming in who are pretty good, as well."

Flores on how much playing time is ideal for Harrison Smith

"Yeah, a thousand snaps sounds about right to me. I'd be very happy with that, but we'll see how it all shakes out. He's one of those guys, it's hard to take him off [the field]. If he's standing by me, I don't really feel good about that. Maybe that's the play where he goes in there and makes the game-changing play, so it's hard to take him out. … There's a plan to maybe get him out of there a series or two, but that same plan was in last year, and I kind of overrode all of that."

Josh Metellus on not focusing on any external expectations

"Respect in this league is earned not given, so until we start playing games and people see how we play, anything they say about us is false. They could say we're the best team or they could say we're the worst. It's false until we go out and put it on tape."

From the Inbox

Why are so many so-called experts picking the Vikings to only have a 9-8 or 8-9 record?' Are they forgetting last year, although starting off slow with a few unfortunate losses, when they finally got it together, they were on a roll, before [Kirk] Cousins went down, even going into Green Bay and winning convincingly? After Cousins was out, they had no real QB to fill in and they slid out of playoff contention. Everything I look at suggests they could be better this year then when they were on that roll. If Sam plays well at QB, and I think he will play the best football of his life with all the weapons that he will have, not to mention playing under Kevin as coach. And if the defense improves, and I think it will under Coach Flores, who I don't think gets enough credit as a defensive coordinator. If I'm not wrong, they could be better than when they were on that impressive roll last year. The Lions still scare me, but I think the Vikings, Packers and Bears will be closer than what people are saying. In fact, out of those three teams, I give the edge to the Vikings. I say Vikings 11-6 or maybe better. Does that make sense to you?

— Randy in Hampton, New Brunswick, Ontario, Canada

I think Metellus in the above quote summed up the temperature of the team heading into this season.

There are so many unknowns in any NFL season, and the Vikings roster underwent considerable changes on both sides of the football. Darnold's play will be important, and he's impressed at multiple points of the offseason.

Darnold is such an interesting case study regarding environment for QB success. Things didn't go as well as initially planned when the Jets picked him at No. 3 overall in 2018, but he's continued to develop his game during stops in Carolina and San Francisco. His passer rating in limited action the past two seasons is 90.8, compared to a 76.9 over the first four seasons.

As for last year, the Vikings started four quarterbacks for the first time in one season. The loss of Cousins at a time when the team was ascending, along with Nick Mullens being sidelined at the time, led to Jaren Hall being moved up quickly and the addition of Joshua Dobbs. Those guys and the coaching staff and team tried to work through the QB carousel, providing good and bad moments.

Minnesota feels like its run game is going to be better than last year, which also will be a big key to the team's success. Minnesota ranked 29^th with 91.4 rushing yards per game and tied for the fewest rushing touchdowns in the NFL (seven) in 2023.

Forecasting 9-8 or 8-9 could have a little bit with a gravitational pull of many teams toward the middle in a league that values parity.

I've been eagerly awaiting the deployment of the new-look defense by Flores.

Got hooked on the Vikings in 1969.

Hoping they have a solid year in this tough division.

I feel like this defense could dominate a few teams?

Skol Vikings!

Best of luck!

— Randy Washburn in Sioux City, Iowa

That's an incredible run with the team. Welcome back for another season.

There are multiple people who began their fandom at about that time, and it's easy to understand with how incredible that team was.

That season opened at the New York Giants in Yankee Stadium, and after blowing a lead in the fourth quarter to Fran Tarkenton, Minnesota's defense ushered in a decade of dominance.

This year's team has added quite a bit of experience through free agency, as well as first-round edge rusher Dallas Turner.

Randy is correct about the NFC North presenting as a tough division, but there are surprises every year in the NFL. Dominate is a tough status to achieve, but I do think people who grew their fandom watching the Purple People Eaters are going to enjoy what they see from this year's defense.