Giants quarterback Daniel Jones did not make a triumphant return to the lineup on Sunday.
Jones tore his ACL after playing poorly early last season, but the Giants stuck with him as their starter for this season and the first day back on the field was a rough one. Jones threw two interceptions and failed to lead the Giants to a touchdown in a 28-6 home loss to the Vikings.
Jones was 22-of-42 passing the ball and ran six times for 15 yards on a day when it looked like the Giants may not have the right answers to their offensive questions, so it wasn’t a surprise that head coach Brian Daboll was asked if he’s thinking about a quarterback change. It doesn’t sound like that’s in the cards just yet, though.
“We’re gonna watch everything. That’s not in my mind,” Daboll said at his press conference.
The Giants are in Washington next weekend and another bad outing against a divisional foe won’t do anything to sell the idea that Jones will wind up as the right answer for the offense.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell called quarterback Sam Darnold’s effort in Sunday’s 28-6 win over the Giants a “huge performance for us to be able to build off” as they move into the rest of the season.
Darnold completed his first 12 passes of the game and led a 99-yard touchdown drive in the first half to help the Vikings get out to a big lead at MetLife Stadium. Darnold added another touchdown throw in the third quarter and finished his first start in purple 19-of-24 for 208 yards.
“I don’t think anybody’s surprised that Sam Darnold played the way he did today,” O’Connell said. “I know I’m certainly not. I tried to foreshadow as much as I could throughout training camp, so I’m just proud of him.”
The Vikings will be at home against the 49ers next week and Darnold knows them well after playing for the NFC West team last season. He’ll try to put that information to use and move his new team to 2-0 on the season.
The Giants didn’t get off to the start they wanted on Sunday.
Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold threw two touchdowns and their own quarterback Daniel Jones threw a pair of interceptions in a 28-6 home loss to Minnesota. It was a dispiriting offensive performance across the board, especially with the defense picking up a pair of turnovers to help give them more opportunities.
After the game, Brian Daboll said he thought the defense played hard and repeatedly pointed at himself when discussing who needs to be better for the Giants to pick up better results in the future.
“There’s a lot of things to clean up. I’ve got to do a better job all the way around and that’s what I’ll do,” Daboll said in his postgame press conference.
The Giants ran 17 more plays than the Vikings, but were outgained by more than 70 yards and Jones was 22-of-42 while being sacked five times. Daboll may see areas he needs to improve, but that will only do so much if Jones and the rest of the offense perform as poorly as they did on Sunday.
Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold didn’t see any ghosts in his return to MetLife Stadium, but the one-time Jets first-round pick found plenty of open receivers.
Darnold was 19-of-24 for 208 yards and two touchdowns as the Vikings rolled to a 28-6 win over the Giants to kick off the 2024 season. It’s the first time Darnold has started a win for his team since he was with the Panthers during the 2022 season.
Darnold’s first touchdown came on a three-yard throw to wide receiver Justin Jefferson that capped a 99-yard drive in the second quarter of the game. His second was a 21-yard strike to Jalen Nailor in the third quarter and that score stretched the Vikings’ lead to 18 points.
The Vikings also got a strong debut from running back Aaron Jones. He was a longtime adversary as a Packer, but Jones ran for 94 yards and a score to help out his new club.
The final Vikings score came from their defense as linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel snagged a Daniel Jones pass at the line of scrimmage and strolled 10 yards for a score. Jones would throw another interception in the fourth quarter as safety Harrison Smith picked him of in the end zone and there wasn’t much to like about the offense’s overall performance in the quarterback’s return from a torn ACL.
Their only points in the first half came on a field goal after they took over on the Vikings’ 20-yard-line following a fumble and they punted five times through the first three quarters of play. Jones padded the final stats in the fourth quarter and he did find first-round pick Malik Nabers five times, but the Giants had a difficult time moving the ball for the most part and they made nine penalties for 95 yards to make life even more difficult for themselves.
The Giants will now move on to road games in Washington and Cleveland and memories of last season’s 2-8 start will hang over the team until they can show a bit more than they did in the opener. The Vikings will have Darnold’s former teammates from the 49ers visiting next weekend and they’ll be hoping to get wide receiver Jordan Addison back from an ankle injury for that one.
Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison was able to get on the field for Sunday’s game against the Giants after dealing with a high-ankle sprain this summer, but he won’t be playing out the final minutes of the contest.
Addison went back to the locker room while the Giants had the ball in the third quarter and the Vikings ruled him out with an ankle injury a short time later.
Addison had three catches for 35 yards before his injury. Two of them helped set up Justin Jefferson’s touchdown catch in the first half of the game.
The Vikings are up 21-6, so they may be able to survive Addison’s absence for the rest of this contest.
Two of the Vikings’ biggest offseason additions have helped them take a commanding lead over the Giants in the third quarter.
Quarterback Sam Darnold hooked up with wide receiver Jalen Nailor for a 21-yard touchdown pass to cap the opening drive of the third quarter with his second scoring pass of the game. The Vikings now lead the Giants 21-3 at MetLife Stadium.
Running back Aaron Jones, who also joined the team as a free agent, ran twice for 31 yards on the two plays before Nailor’s score. Jones also ran for the first Vikings touchdown of the game in the first half.
Jones has eight carries for 53 yards and the Giants will need things to turn on a dime to avoid a season-opening home loss.
Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold began his NFL career playing home games at MetLife Stadium and he’s looked right at home in his return to his old stomping grounds.
Darnold finished the first half 13-of-14 for 151 yards and a touchdown and the Vikings lead the Giants 14-3 after 30 minutes of play. Darnold’s lone incompletion came just before halftime and his touchdown came on a three-yard toss to Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson had a 44-yard catch to set up that score and he has three catches for 50 yards in his first game since signing his new contract this offseason. Jordan Addison also has three catches and Aaron Jones ran for a touchdown in his Vikings debut.
The early results back up Vikings linebacker Ivan Pace’s belief that the Giants weren’t up to the task of beating his team, but Pace did his best to help the Giants out by picking up a personal foul for a strike to the head of a Giants player during a post-play scrum. The Giants offense continued their trend of not being able to do much with the ball, however, and the Vikings will open the second half with a chance to stretch their lead.
The Vikings spotted the Giants a 3-0 lead, but they are now comfortably ahead at MetLife Stadium.
Sam Darnold hooked up with Justin Jefferson for a three-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to cap a 99-yard drive with the team’s second straight touchdown. Running back Aaron Jones got the first one and the Vikings now lead the Giants 14-3.
Darnold and Jefferson also connected on a 44-yard strike earlier in the drive and the Vikings quarterback is now 10-of-10 for 136 yards in his first start for the team. Jordan Addison has three catches for 35 yards.
The Giants were able to get the ball to rookie Malik Nabers a couple of times on their third possession, but penalties pushed them back and forced a punt. The coverage team did an impressive job of downing it on the 1-yard-line, but the defense couldn’t turn their good work into anything.
Aaron Jones’s first touchdown as a Viking gave his team their first lead of the season.
Jones ran from three yards out to cap the Vikings’ second possession of the game with six points. The extra point extended Minnesota’s lead over the top Giants to 7-3.
The Vikings got some help from a penalty on their way to the end zone. Wide receiver Jordan Addison’s attempt to go back to a ball from quarterback Sam Darnold was hindered by cornerback Adoree’ Jackson and the defensive pass interference turned into the biggest gain of the day for either team.
Darnold then hit tight end Josh Oliver for 22 yards and Jones took care of the rest for the first Vikings points of the day.
The Giants turned a Vikings fumble into their first points of the 2024 season.
Rookie cornerback Dru Phillips dislodged the ball from Vikings fullback C.J. Ham and linebacker Bobby Okereke recovered the ball on the Vikings’ 20-yard-line. The Giants picked up a first down on a Daniel Jones scramble, but two of the quarterback’s other runs went nowhere and the Giants had to call on kicker Graham Gano.
Gano hit the field goal and the Giants lead 3-0.
Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence had a sack of Sam Darnold on the first Vikings possession and the Giants went three-and-out to open the game.