What We Saw: Week 1

Vikings @ Giants

Final Score: Vikings 28, Giants 6

Senior Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1 on Twitter)

Life without Kirk Cousins began with a flourish for Kevin O’Connell and the Minnesota Vikings, who easily outclassed the hapless New York Giants, whose offense once again looked anemic with Daniel Jones under center. All eyes were on maligned (young) four-team veteran Sam Darnold, who was always to start this year despite the Vikings drafting first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who has since undergone knee surgery and will miss the season. However, it was another free agent signing who stole the show for Minnesota – enigmatic running back Aaron Jones, who plowed through the Giants at will to the tune of 109 scrimmage yards and his first touchdown as a Viking. A number of errors from Daniel Jones compounded the misery for Giants fans, who reverted to booing early in the contest when the writing was clearly on the wall.

Four Up

• Aaron Jones – an all-around performance for Vikings fans to enjoy as Jones looked electric on the ground, his elusive moves and next-level speed breaking off a couple of eye-catching runs.
• Sam Darnold – an accomplished, professional performance from Darnold who showcased his arm on a couple of deep balls to Jefferson but mainly played to the script and delivered what was asked of him. Darnold looks like he will be a serviceable QB2 or streaming option.
• Jalen Nailor – ran a perfect route to haul the ball in for a score, the wideout has elite skills. He only saw the one target, however, but still, he is one to watch if Jordan Addison is to miss time.
• Justin Jefferson – head and shoulders the best receiver out there and he did just enough for fantasy managers to be happy. This looked like Jefferson in first gear, there will be more to come.

Two Down

• Daniel Jones – this was as bad as we’ve seen Jones as the Giants’ signal-caller, he looked uncomfortable in the pocket and showed nothing to suggest he is going to grow in this offense and build chemistry with this set of receivers.
• Malik Nabers – Nabers had two deep grabs where he showcased his ability to create separation and find space downfield, the sad thing is that it just didn’t happen enough and the first-round rookie already looks wasted with Jones at quarterback.

Minnesota Vikings

Quarterback

Sam Darnold: 19/24, 208 Yards, 2 TD, INT, Sack | 3 Carries, 3 Yards

Looked uncomfortable on his first drive and took an early sack deep in his own territory but Darnold quickly found some confidence on the second drive throwing from the pocket, clearly something (a good coach like) O’Connell wanted to establish quickly. He went on to execute big throws to Jefferson and Addison on the same drive in the second quarter, an 11-play, 99-yard offensive masterclass that was polished off by a quick slant to Jefferson for six. Darnold grew into the game perfectly and started 10/10 for 136 yards and a TD.

O’Connell employed a hurry-up offense that caught the Giants off guard regularly in the first half and allowed Darnold to play off his instincts, something that may help him find consistency with the skillset he has. Darnold then orchestrated a touchdown drive to start the second half that included a face mask penalty that set the Vikings up just outside the red zone. The Vikings quarterback found Jalen Nailor down the right sideline on his first read for his second touchdown pass of the day. He did make one blemish, forcing a deep throw under pressure on first down, the ball looping up high in the air as he was hit when throwing. The hapless Giants could not capitalize, however.

Running Back

Aaron Jones: 14 Carries, 94 Yards, TD | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 15 Yards

It was the perfect start for the former Packer as he took the ball in from 3 yards out on the Vikings’ second drive of the day, showing impressive vision and speed to break to the left corner as the Giants stacked the box. Jones looked sharp and determined despite sharing touches in the first half with Ty Chandler, but got plenty of chances, including a nice 10-yard burst right up the middle on a hurry-up and a great second effort on a 3rd and short to make the line to gain. After the break, he handled the majority of the carries as the Vikings looked to close out the blowout.

Ty Chandler: 8 Carries, 17 Yards | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 25 Yards

Mixing in with Jones on alternate drives in the first half, the promising young runner showed nice hands with a brilliant grab as he contorted his body back towards an underthrown check down before twisting for a first down when backed up near his own goal line. That started a 99-yard drive that effectively put the Vikings in the comfort zone. Chandler looks to have a big role in this offense but his fantasy output is clearly secondary to Jones’ lead-back production.

Myles Gaskin: 1 Carry, -3 Yards

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Justin Jefferson: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 59 Yards, TD

Any worries about growing pains with a new quarterback were quickly dismissed as Jefferson hauled in a sensational first connection with Darnold, who dropped it in his bread basket for a 44-yard gain down the left sideline on the Vikings’ second drive of the game. Darnold went back to his superstar receiver on fourth down in the red zone when Jefferson was one-on-one at the goal line – it was no contest and he hauled in his first score of the year. As the Vikings led big early in the second half, Jefferson was involved less as O’Connell looked to run the clock out and protect his prize asset.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1832839585304621146

Jordan Addison: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 35 Yards

With doubts about his health going into this game after a less-than-conspicuous offseason, Jordan Addison looked explosive with his first couple of touches, beating his man twice on excellent routes and seeing three targets in Minnesota’s opening couple of drives. However, the exciting wideout hobbled off the field gingerly in the third quarter after failing to haul in a pass to the sideline and it seemed to be a recurrence of the high ankle sprain that bothered him through camp. Keep an eye on your newsfeed this week.

Josh Oliver: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 35 Yards

With T.J. Hockenson on the PUP list for at least the first four games, the Vikings will mix in a couple of tight ends until he returns. Both Josh Oliver and Johnny Mundt saw a few targets, with Oliver’s first-quarter 22-yard grab over the middle to set up the first touchdown the most impactful contribution. Don’t expect any meaningful fantasy implications, however.

Jalen Nailor: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 21 Yards, TD

After impressing late last year, third-year project Nailor stood out after a terrific camp and showed flashes of his quality in preseason. Filling the role left by K.J. Osbourn, Nailor looks to be integral in red zone situations. He burned his marker to haul in his first target for a score at the start of the second half. Interestingly enough, Jefferson was used as a decoy on a WR screen so Nailor could break downfield and go over the top. A nice play design for a receiver who could emerge as fantasy-relevant this season.

Johnny Mundt: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 15 Yards

New York Giants

Quarterback

Daniel Jones: 22/42, 186 Yards, 2 INT | 6 Carries, 15 Yards

Another year, another disaster to start the season for Head Coach Brian Daboll and his under-fire, highly-paid quarterback. In the first couple of drives, it looked like Daboll had clearly given his quarterback the license to run once again, something that was hugely successful for Jones (and his fantasy managers) a couple of years back. However, as the game went on that tactic soon disappeared. And what is still obvious, unfortunately, is that Jones doesn’t know where to throw the ball most of the time. Apart from a couple of deeper balls to Nabers, Jones failed to build any momentum with drives and his decision-making was again a big problem, highlighted by a premeditated throw on a wide receiver screen that Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel read like a book and picked off for a score.

https://twitter.com/Vikings/status/1832858492111081778

Throwing the ball away on first down on the next drive made me genuinely think it was time to see Drew Lock. That is not good in Week 1. Despairingly, Jones then overthrew his receiver near the sideline on a 3rd & 8 in the red zone directly after the Vikings turnover. Daboll chose to go for it and Jones immediately threw a pick over the middle that Harrison Smith grabbed with ease. Yikes!

Running Back

Devin Singletary: 10 Carries, 37 Yards | 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 15 Yards

Replacing Saquon Barkley is no easy task, especially after the former Giant balled out for the Eagles in their season-opener but that is what poor Devin Singletary has to live with as the lead back for New York. To say he is a downgrade is an understatement, and to be fair Singletary has always run hard. He did that today and dominated touches out of the backfield but with minimal effect. Playing from behind and with poor quarterback play, Singletary never really had a chance to make an impact. His lone red zone carry went for 3 yards from the Minnesota 11-yard line late in the fourth quarter.

Eric Gray: 2 Carries, 6 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Malik Nabers: 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 66 Yards

“Help us, Malik Nabers…you’re our only hope” – and, he really could be. The first-round receiver comes to New York with huge expectations and he did what he could with limited opportunities in his first game as a professional. His first reception was a nice 25-yard gain over the middle with no Viking defensive player within 10 yards of him. This attests to his ability as a route runner, and his speed off the mark. Nabers then ran a perfect route to lose Stephon Gilmore and go up to haul in a high pass from Jones in the third quarter for another 25 yards. Those two catches bookended a frustrating debut for Nabers, who led the Giants in receiving but wasn’t a factor in the second half as Jones reverted to checkdowns to Singletary and Wan’Dale Robinson, who had 12 targets but went for just 44 yards.

Wan’Dale Robinson: 1 Carry, 14 Yards | 12 Targets, 6 Reception, 44 Yards

Benefitting from the Giants trying to dink-and-dunk their way upfield with screens and check-downs in the second half (which didn’t work), Robinson saw 12 targets but only caught half of those, which says more about Jones’ throwing ability than Robinson’s ability to catch. After far-too-obviously motioning behind three wideouts on the same side, Robinson was the target for Jones on the ill-fated throw that resulted in a pick-six. Those desperate to look for volume in a WR3 or flex position could consider Robinson, but the upside is low and the downside is hell.

Darius Slayton: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 26 Yards, Fumble

Theo Johnson: 4 Targets, 1 Reception, 18 Yards

Daniel Bellinger: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 3 Yards

Jalin Hyatt: 1 Target