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The Vikings claimed a convincing 28-6 victory on Sunday to open the 2024 season.

Minnesota minimized some early danger by forcing a field goal after a turnover at its own 20, then blended a couple of explosive plays along with a solid contribution by its running backs.

Sam Darnold began his Vikings tenure by completing his first 12 passes, including a 44-yard strike to Justin Jefferson that was followed by a 3-yard touchdown on fourth-and-2 to cap a 99-yard drive.

AVG (Andrew Van Ginkel) delivered an OMG interception he returned 10 yards for a touchdown and also recorded one of five Vikings sacks. He joined Kevin Williams (2007 against Atlanta) and Harrison Smith (2014 at St. Louis and 2018 against San Francisco) among Vikings since 2000 who have recorded a sack and an interception in a Week 1 game.

Receiver Jordan Addison, who worked his way back into the lineup after an ankle injury at Cleveland, suffered an injury to his other ankle and left the game.

The Vikings will go through the film and quickly pivot their focus to hosting San Francisco in Week 2.

The 2024 season is finally here. Vikings played great overall on both sides of the ball. Darnold had a good game running our offense, too. A quality road win to open the season is always a good thing. Too bad Addison hurt his ankle.

Here are my 3 ups and 3 downs for the first game of the season:

UPS:

1. Defense starting off strong. Forced a punt on a three-and-out on the Giants game opening possession. And forced a FG after the offense gifted the Giants the ball on the 20. Kept it going all game, not giving up a TD to the Giants. An outstanding performance by the defense.

2. Impressive Vikings 99-yard TD drive to include the fourth-and-goal TD pass to Jefferson. And very nice TD drive to open the second half. Beautiful call and execution to wide open [Jalen] Nailor. Wow.

3. Pick six for Van Ginkel and Harrison Smith's fourth-down interception in the fourth quarter. Very nicely done on both counts.

DOWNS:

1. First offensive possession of the 2024 season ends with yet another Vikings fumble. Why am I not surprised? The Vikings setting NFL records on first-possession fumbles. Sad.

2. Dumb undisciplined penalties in the first half. [Jay] Ward with his gross holding on the first received punt of the season costing us 20 yards of field position. The defense lined up offsides, offensive penalty on our end of the half possession, [Ivan Pace, Jr.] with two penalties on our late first half punt, defensive penalty on third down gifting the Giants a first down at the end of the half. Not the right way to start the season. Teams better than the Giants will make us pay for that kind of foolishness.

3. Wasted timeouts due to not getting the play off in time. Multiple times the clock was at zero, usually after a first down. Getting plays off on the time allotted is a multi-season problem. Kevin O'Connell needs to fix it.

A nice win to open the season. Darnold and the offense, and the defense, all making the grade. Looking forward already to the Niners next week. I am lucky enough to have tickets to that game. Go Vikings!

Respectfully,

— Jeff Ludwig

Glad you'll be able to attend the Vikings home opener against the 49ers on Sunday. It should be an electric atmosphere.

The Vikings didn't play a perfect game, but they were fairly sharp on offense, given the fact the team has a new starting backfield of Darnold and Aaron Jones, Sr.

The fumble by C.J. Ham after a reception was a tough sight but not unfamiliar. The FOX broadcast noted that was the sixth turnover to end a Vikings opening possession since the start of the 2023 season. Six in 18 games is the wrong kind of frequency, and the Vikings must kick that habit.

The defense limiting the damage to three points after the turnover, and the offense quickly following with a touchdown drive meant Minnesota trailed just 3:26 of the entire game.

It was also cool to see Harrison Smith open his 13^th NFL season with an interception. It's the fourth time in his career he's nabbed an interception in a Week 1 game. Smith's 35^th career interception occurred in the end zone, and he opted for a touchback instead of trying to return the football.

The penalties can be cleaned up, for sure. It's not uncommon for mistakes to happen, but seven for 63 also is more than ideal (not as bad as the nine for 95 by New York).

The following mentions aren't intended to be excuses, but they might be contributing factors to Sunday's clock management: road environment (although the Vikings flipped it to a home game by the end), the first time working together in a game setting (for O'Connell and Darnold), and the loss of Addison during the game.

Came out gangbusters on defense, get the ball back, and hello turnover, are we right back to last year? Defense holds again, and we're off!! Great game overall on both sides of the ball. Darnold starting off 12-12! Come on! The only interception was the batted-arm duck he threw, that in my opinion on replay, should've been caught. Otherwise, great game against a lesser team. We'll see what's to come, but let's celebrate the Week 1 win on the road! SKOL VIKINGS. LET'S GO!!!

— J.B. Brunet

Somewhat lost in the fun plays by the skill players was the performance of the offensive line.

Minnesota suffered a sack by Dexter Lawrence on its second snap of the season (and the fumble on its third offensive play), but that was the lone sack by the Giants. Lawrence was able to hit Darnold's arm on the pass that was intercepted in the third quarter, and Kayvon Thibodeaux made contact with Darnold's hand on the deep attempt to Addison in the first quarter (the ball was short, but Addison drew a pass interference penalty during the play). Those were the only two hits allowed.

Credit the offensive line, Darnold for staying mostly on rhythm and the Vikings game plan for minimizing the impact of New York's defensive line.

I have to say this is the first time in 40 years I haven't yelled or cussed at the TV while watching a Vikings game.

We have a very good defense that played 60 mins. Darnold looked composed and solid. I'm optimistic about this year. Next week will tell us a lot.

— Kevin

I laughed at Kevin's opener. We've hit on a few moments that could have produced words of frustration during the game, but all things considered, the Vikings put together a good game.

I had been eager to see how Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores was going to implement all the new pieces to the system, and it appears there will be plenty of opportunities for everyone to make an impact.

Players who turned in strong training camps put that effort forward in a game.

Based on what I had seen from Darnold in camp, I thought he was going to play well. Easy for me to say now, I know, but I had seen so many good days punched in during the offseason program and camp that it seemed like he was quite comfortable with the offense and has confidence in his line and playmakers.

"I don't think our guys are surprised that we're able to come here and get a win in a tough road environment," O'Connell said after the game. "But I also would pair that with I don't think anybody's surprised that Sam Darnold played the way he did today. I know I'm certainly not. I tried to foreshadow as much as I could throughout training camp. I'm just proud of him. Sam will be the first one to tell you it's time to go back to work and get ready for a really, really good 49ers team next week at home."

Darnold, who was San Francisco's backup in 2023, knows plenty well the challenges posed by the defense of his previous team.

Let's start here. We are not discussing a kicker today. When you score nothing but TDs and the PATs are solid, you look elsewhere for commentary. Next? Darnold. Man's got skills. The weapons were available, and the OL was good enough. And at times it was punishing. 12/12 passing to start. Very nice. One more on offense. Aaron Jones has plenty left. Keep him healthy, and teams will have to choose between giving up yards to Jones or "Jets" Jefferson. Lastly, all hail the return of a dominating Vikings defense. The depth is amazing. And the starters are stellar. To pick up a W on the road in Week 1 by multiple scores with minimal miscues and zero TDs by the home team says a lot. Let's clean up the mistakes and get another W [next week].

Skol!!

— Jeff in Sacramento, California

There was plenty for Vikings fans to enjoy. The team will just need to remember the results only count one game in the standings and utilize a focus similar to what was implemented for Week 1.

Minnesota's defense turned up the heat on Daniel Jones, recording five sacks, 12 quarterback hits and six passes defensed.

The group also totaled six tackles for loss against just the six points allowed.