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The Minnesota Vikings have a tough road ahead of them in 2024.
Minnesota parted ways with Kirk Cousins this offseason, signaling that the team is entering a rebuilding phase. Cousins may not have been the best QB in the league with the Vikings, but he gave the team a very high floor each year. It is rough to see his tenure with the team end with a dramatic injury.
Now the Vikings find themselves are one of the bottom dwellers in the NFC North. This does not mean that the Vikings are doomed to have a losing season, but it makes it hard to be optimistic about a deep playoff run.
One antidote for this misery is winning football games, and the Vikings have a chance to do just that in Week 1.
Below are four bold predictions about the Minnesota Vikings head of their season opener against the New York Giants.
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Vikings QB Sam Darnold will look like a solid starting QB against a shaky Giants secondary
Vikings fans everywhere felt their hearts sink when the team announced that rookie QB J.J. McCarthy will miss his rookie season with an injury.
That leaves veteran QB Sam Darnold in control of the Vikings, going up against a stacked NFC North division.
Darnold has had his struggles throughout his career, but I predict that he will look solid against a weak Giants secondary.
The Giants starters in the defensive secondary include Deonte Banks, rookie Dru Phillips, Cor'Dale Flott, Jason Pinnock, and Dane Belton. Perhaps this group can come together to create something that is greater than the sum of its parts. They better hope they can do that, otherwise they will be picked apart all season long.
One major caveat: Minnesota's offensive line needs to hold up. The Giants true strength on defense is rushing the passer with Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
My prediction: Sam Darnold will have Vikings fans optimistic about the 2024 season after delivering a good, not great, performance against the Giants. Darnold will likely take a handful of sacks, but he will make enough plays to give Vikings fans hope of being a relevant team.
Justin Jefferson will put up monster numbers in Week 1 against the Giants
Justin Jefferson is the essential piece of Minnesota's offense. If Sam Darnold is going to look competent, he'll do that by consistently feeding Jefferson the ball.
Jefferson did an admirable job returning from injury late in the 2023 season. Now he is fully healthy and should return to being the most dominant receiver in the NFL.
We already established that the Giants do not have the best group of secondary defenders. That is great news for Jefferson, though admittedly he can make it work against any secondary in the NFL.
One common theme of this game could be quick passes to Jefferson. The Vikings have proven in the past that Jefferson can create yards after catch on short passes and screen plays. That would be a reasonable wrinkle to include in the gameplan, as it could help neutralize New York's greatest strength — rushing the passer.
My prediction: Justin Jefferson goes nuclear in Week 1, eclipsing 150 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
The Vikings new pass rushers look great, but the defense struggles overall
The Minnesota Vikings completely reconstructed their pass rushers this offseason. For many years, Danielle Hunter was the guy. Now he is a Texan and the Vikings have a host of new names at outside linebacker.
The project began in free agency, when the Vikings signed both Jonathan Greenard, previously of the Texans, and Andrew Van Ginkel. Greenard was an underrated pass rusher up until the 2023 season when he had a career year opposite of Will Anderson Jr. Van Ginkel comes from Miami and is a versatile weapon who can both drop into coverage and rush the passer at a respectable level.
Minnesota doubled down by trading up in the first round to draft Dallas Turner out of Alabama. Turner was considered the top defensive player in the 2024 NFL Draft and is expected to work his way into the starting lineup during his rookie season.
This gives the Vikings an excellent trio of pass rushers to build around for the next several seasons.
Unfortunately, the rest of their defense does not have the same talent.
The d-line is okay with Jerry Tillery, Harrison Phillips, and Jonathan Bullard, but could use some young talent in the future. Ivan Pace Jr. and Blake Cashman are not an ideal pair of inside linebackers and I expect opposing offenses to regularly pick on them throughout the 2024 season.
The secondary is a big question mark, despite having some recognizable names. Stephon Gilmore, Shaquill Griffin, and Byron Murphy Jr. are the team's starting corners, which would have looked a lot better two seasons ago. The Vikings are also trotting out 35-year-old Harrison Smith and Camryn Bynum.
My prediction: the Vikings gets at least three sacks from their edge rushers specifically. However, Malik Nabers and the Giants torch the Vikings defense for at least 350 yards of total offensive production.
The Vikings eek out a victory in an extremely close overtime win
This game has a chance to give Vikings fans flashbacks of the 2022 Wild Card matchup between these two teams.
I am predicting an extremely close game that features less-than-average defensive play for both teams. Both offenses will be able to take advantage of those defensive woes, but I don't see either team truly dominating this game.
That means we're in for some sloppy Week 1 football. If we're looking for tiebreakers, I believe that Minnesota is better coached than New York. I believe that, plus Minnesota's legit superstars like Justin Jefferson, will make the difference in a close game.
Give me a Justin Jefferson touchdown in overtime that gives the Vikings their first win of the season.
