Keys to Victory: Giants, Vikings look different since last meeting

Here are three ways the Giants can start their 100th season with a win:

Twenty-two days after the Giants defeated the Vikings 31-24 on the road in the 2022 Wild Card Round – a game in which Daniel Jones became the first quarterback in NFL postseason history with at least 300 passing yards, two touchdown passes, and 70 rushing yards in a single outing – Minnesota hired Brian Flores as defensive coordinator.

In his first season in Minnesota, Flores helped the Vikings defense improve from 31st to 16th in yards, fourth in rushing yards per play (fourth) and eighth in rushing yards per game. The Vikings also led the NFL in forced fumbles with 21, three more than any other team in the league and the most in franchise history since 2007.

And he did it with pressure.

“Coach Flores does a great job,” assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said. “I have a lot of respect for him. Not only did they lead the league in Cover 0, they led the league in Cover 2. They led the league in drop eight, prevent coverage, P coverage, we call it. They led the league in pressure. All by a large margin. They use a bunch of multiple looks, multiple fronts and personnel groupings. We’ve got to be prepared for all that. So, we work through that throughout the week, put together the best plan we can and then go out and execute.”

“They’ve re-done everything defensively since the last time we saw them (two years ago),” Daboll added. “They’re a completely different defense. They do a great job of taking the ball away, particularly getting it off the runners. They line up in multiple fronts. They’re a pressure team. Flo has done a really good job there. I’ve known Flo for a long time. He’s a very good football mind. And they’ve got some veteran players that know how to play a scheme. They’re in another year of it, so that helps.

“But playing a team like this defensively in the early part of the season – there’s unknowns when you play them in the eighth week of the season based on how they game plan. I don’t want to speak for them. The way Flo’s grown up in the business, we’ve worked together for a long time and they’re a game plan team. So, you’re playing them in Week 8, you really don’t know what you’re going to get. So, Week 1 you just have all this tape to look at from last season, the 17 games and the three preseason games. There’s 20 games right there. And again, we’ve competed against one another when he’s called games. He’s been a head coach at Miami. We have a lot of tape to look at. You get to a point where you’ve watched so much of it you say, ‘Okay, let’s focus on us.'”

That’s where the offensive line comes in.

“I think the biggest thing would be communication,” Kafka said. “When you have a team that does a lot of things, you want to make sure that we’re all on the same page and seeing it through the same lens.

It helps that the revamped offensive line is also veteran-laden.

“Absolutely, it does, it does,” Kafka said. “When you have guys that have played even against Coach Flores in the past. I know Vegas, they played him last year or a couple of years back, even when he was in Miami. Having that familiarity, having those older vets that have seen it a few times, for (center) JMS (John Michael Schmitz Jr.) to be up there and kind of set the table for us. It’s good to kind of lean on those guys and their experiences.”

After they parted ways with quarterback Kirk Cousins in free agency, the Vikings signed Sam Darnold and selected J.J. McCarthy with the 10^th overall draft pick. The rookie, however, tore his meniscus in the preseason and will miss the entire 2024 season, paving the way for the former third overall pick to take over for Minnesota.

Darnold joined a Vikings offense that has averaged the third-most pass attempts (38.3) and passing yards (260.1) per game in the NFL since O’Connell became head coach. Minnesota has also attempted 219 downfield passes (10+ air yards) since 2022 because that’s what you do when you have Cousins and All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson.

While the Vikings no longer have the former, they still have the latter. Jefferson has the highest career receiving yards per game (98.3) in NFL history (minimum 50 games played) and has improved his average each season (87.5, 95.1, 106.4, 107.4 in 2023).

“You better know where he’s lined up,” Daboll said. “He can hurt you in all three areas of the field. Catch and run, intermediate, vertical, double moves. They’ll use him in a variety of spots, and then you look on the opposite side of it with (wide receiver Jordan) Addison, who we did a lot of work on when he was coming out last year, who’s an exceptional route runner, very gifted receiver, was excellent at Pitt, and you can see. Then they acquire a veteran in (running back Aaron) Jones (Sr.), who’s a very good runner, can run inside, run outside, solid offensive line, and Sam (Darnold). You go back and watch Sam. I’ve watched Sam for a long time at all the spots he’s been, whether it’s San Francisco, the Jets, Carolina. He’ll be ready to play. He’s a pro. Got a lot of respect for him.”

Sunday will be the first test for the Giants’ revamped defense under Shane Bowen, who believes in mindset over scheme. The front, including Brian Burns making his Giants debut, will have to set the tone so Darnold can’t get the ball to his play-makers. If he does, the game could come down to the red zone, which was a calling card for Bowen in Tennessee.

“As it relates to red zone defense, it takes all 11 down there,” said Bowen, whose Titans last year boasted the No. 1 defense in red zone scoring, goal-to-go scoring, and third-down conversation rate in the red zone. “The run game, obviously, you don’t want to let teams run it in when you’re that close, but the passing windows get tighter. We’ve got to use that to our advantage and understand that. I think the coordination, the understanding, being able to play off each other, the leverage that comes into play and just how you’re able to fill windows with some different pieces at times, hopefully that continues.

“Hopefully we’re working hard every day to hopefully be one of the better red zone defenses. It’s a game-changer. They score three points instead of seven, that’s a huge difference in a game. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s ‘Bend don’t break,’ as much as it’s, ‘Let’s make sure if they do get down there, we don’t really care how they do, but let’s make sure when they do get down there that we’re defending our house.’ That end zone is our house. We’re going to do everything we can. We’re going to empty the chamber. We’re going to defend our house and find ways. That goes back to mental toughness. Being able to play the next play, not be focused on what happened, but be focused on what’s coming. I think that’s probably more the emphasis from my point of view than saying, ‘Bend don’t break.’

Wide receiver Malik Nabers is the headliner, but he is far from the only young player that will be called upon this season. The sixth overall pick is one of two rookies penciled into the starting lineup on the unofficial depth chart, the other being third-rounder Dru Phillips at nickel corner. Tyler Nubin, a second-round pick, is also a major part of the Giants’ future and could be asked to do even more with Dane Belton dealing with a back injury.

“They’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do,” Daboll said. “Now, they’ll determine their roles. I mean, again, that’s the early part of the season. They’ve go out there and they play, then they’re going to have mistakes just like everybody is. And you correct them, and you see how they respond to them. And they’re going to continue to need to prove that they can do it down in and down out. But their mindset, their preparation, their work ethic, their commitment, the way they interact with their teammates, I’ve been pleased with all the rookies.”