The Vikings handled business against a bad team in impressive fashion on Sunday, imposing their will on the Giants in a 28-6 romp. A blend of newcomers and mainstays meshed excellently in their first opportunity to take the field together and set the tone for this season.
Let’s take a look at the snap counts and some notable Pro Football Focus grades to see what we can learn from the Vikings’ opener.
* QB Sam Darnold: 55
* C Garrett Bradbury: 55
* LT Christian Darrisaw: 55
* LG Blake Brandel: 55
* RG Ed Ingram: 55
* RT Brian O’Neill: 55
* WR Justin Jefferson: 46
* WR Brandon Powell: 30
* RB Aaron Jones: 30
* TE Johnny Mundt: 29
* WR Jordan Addison: 28
* TE Josh Oliver: 27
* WR Jalen Nailor: 26
* RB Ty Chandler: 20
* FB C.J. Ham: 19
* WR Trent Sherfield: 17
* TE Nick Muse: 2
* RB Myles Gaskin: 1
Addison left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury, which meant the Vikings leaned on Powell, Nailor, and Sherfield to complement Jefferson. Nailor scored a touchdown, but it’s notable that he played fewer snaps than the veteran Powell (who didn’t have a target). Jones out-snapping Chandler 30 to 20 feels about right, although I’d imagine Jones’ share of the playing time will go up slightly in next week’s tough matchup against the 49ers.
The Vikings’ top five grades on offense included three linemen.
1. Brandel — 91.2
2. Jones — 90.9
3. Darnold — 88.1
4. O’Neill — 85.9
5. Darrisaw — 79.4
Among that group, Brandel stands out. The former backup tackle had a stellar debut as the Vikings’ starting left guard, earning a grade above 87 in both run blocking and pass blocking. He didn’t allow a single pressure. O’Neill and Darrisaw did what they often do and held Giants edge rushers Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux to one pressure apiece. Darnold was sharp and efficient. Jones showed why the Vikings were so high on him.
Ingram and Bradbury, who had their hands full with the dominant Dexter Lawrence, received poor grades. So did Ham, who lost a fumble on the opening possession, and Mundt.
* S Camryn Bynum: 67
* S Harrison Smith: 67
* S Josh Metellus: 63
* LB Blake Cashman: 62
* CB Stephon Gilmore: 61
* CB Byron Murphy Jr: 55
* OLB Jonathan Greenard: 51
* CB Shaq Griffin: 44
* OLB Andrew Van Ginkel: 41
* LB Ivan Pace Jr: 38
* DL Jerry Tillery: 38
* DL Harrison Phillips: 36
* OLB Dallas Turner: 35
* OLB Pat Jones II: 34
* DL Jihad Ward: 29
* DL Jonathan Bullard: 27
* DL Diamond Check: 10
* S Jay Ward: 3
* CB Akayleb Evans: 3
* S Theo Jackson: 3
* CB Bobby McCain: 3
What a performance by this group. Brian Flores looks to have all the pieces he needs to lead a very dangerous defense in 2024. It’s notable that Cashman wore the green dot and played 87 percent of the snaps. Pace only played 54 percent of the snaps, but he was very disruptive when he was on the field. Van Ginkel, whose pick-six was one of the highlights of the game, also shined in a less-than-full-time role.
16 players seeing at least 27 snaps shows off the rotation that Flores wants to use to keep guys fresh, particularly among his defensive linemen and outside linebackers. Even Greenard might not be as much of an every-down player as Danielle Hunter was last year. It clearly worked, as the Vikings finished with five sacks and had five players record at least three pressures. Flores was even able to get some backup DBs on the field at the very end of a blowout win.
These were the top five grades for Flores’ group:
1. Van Ginkel — 90.6
2. Smith — 90.4
3. Pace — 82.2
4. Phillips — 80.3
5. Metellus – 80.2
That’s one newcomer in AVG to go along with four key holdovers from last year’s team. Jihad Ward finished just off of that list with a 79.9 grade and four pressures in a matchup against his former team. Gilmore, Cashman, and Bynum also earned grades in the 70s on a banner day for the Vikings’ defense. Notable lower grades went to Griffin, Jones, and Turner, even as the latter two combined for three sacks.
