EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — It's easy to look at the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants and see similar teams.
Both made the playoffs in 2022 under first-year coaches — Kevin O'Connell of the Vikings and Brian Daboll of the Giants — and met in the postseason. The Giants won.
Both had losing records and missed the playoffs last season.
Heading into Sunday's matchup at MetLife Stadium, the teams have questions at quarterback with Sam Darnold starting for injured Vikings rookie J,J. McCarthy and Daniel Jones of the Giants coming off ACL surgery. They also have new running backs: Aaron Jones for Minnesota and Devin Singletary, who replaces Saquon Barkley for New York.
The offenses are loaded with talented, speedy wide receivers, led by the Vikings' Justin Jefferson, the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2022. The defenses have questions in the secondary.
Both teams are under pressure to get it right this year.
Daboll doesn't care about the past.
“Like I’ve said before, 24 years of doing this,” he said. “Twenty-fourth opening game. Every year is different. We’ve played on Thursday nights, played on Sundays at 1 (p.m.). It really doesn’t matter what you did the year before or two years ago, whatever that is. What matters is doing everything you can do for this week to get ready to play a football game.”
The Vikings feel the same way.
“We didn’t come this far to come this far," Minnesota outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard said. “At this point we’re all working to get to that big one at the end of the day. Everybody’s in that mindset. That’s one of the first things: If you believe it as a team first, then everything else can be executed with that same thing in mind.”
The interior of the offensive line has been an issue for the Vikings, and they will have their hands full against the Giants and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
“He’s an animal,” center Garrett Bradbury said.
The Vikings understand how Lawrence can disrupt their game plan, going back to his impact in the two games they played against the Giants in 2022, including the playoff loss.
“He’s a great player and he’s on the inside, which can be sometimes more of a challenge,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. “Not to discount the edge players, but there’s a lot of edge players where you know which side they’re going to align, you can have plans to slide to ’em, chip ’em, all those type of things. Sometimes it can be more difficult on the inside, particularly in the pass game. The quarterbacks, they hate that push from up the middle.”
One of the most anticipated NFL debuts in the New York City metropolitan area will be that of Giants receiver Malik Nabers. The No. 6 overall draft pick had a highlight-filled training camp, catching long passes and making one outstanding play after another.
“I’m embracing it very well. I’m excited to go out there,” Nabers said. “I’m excited to go catch some touchdowns and do what I can do to help the team, help the offense.”
Nabers had 89 catches for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns last season at LSU.
The Vikings have been struggled defending the pass for the last few years, as evidenced by the pair of 300-yard performances Jones produced against them in a four-game span at the end of the 2022 season. They’ve turned to experience to try to improve. They added Stephon Gilmore, the 2019 AP Defensive Player of the Year, and Shaquill Griffin, an eighth-year veteran, at cornerback, and brought back standout safety Harrison Smith for a 13th season.
After giving up a franchise-record 85 sacks last season, the Giants revamped their line.
New York replaced line coach Bobby Johnson with former Raiders assistant Carmen Bricillo and then signed Las Vegas free agents Jermaine Eluemunor and Greg Van Roten to play on the right side. Second-year center John Michael Schmit is back, along with left tackle Andrew Thomas. The left guard spot is filled by former Packer Jon Runyan Jr.
The Giants are celebrating their 100th season in the NFL and they will be wearing a throwback Century Red uniform for up to two games, including the opener.
The uniform dates to the earliest days of the franchise and features tan pants and red socks with blue and white stripes from the team’s inaugural 1925 season. The jerseys are accented with blue from 1933, when the Giants played in the first-ever NFL championship game; and a winged helmet honoring the 1938 champions as the Giants became a cornerstone in the foundation of the league. All of the team’s 2024 jerseys will feature a “100 Seasons” patch.
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