The Vikings head to MetLife Stadium to take on the Giants to start their 2024 season. Here is how to bet on the game at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Vikings (-2) vs. Giants o/u 41
Vikings Team Breakdown
The Vikings had their season plans slightly derailed, what with the preseason injury to rookie QB J.J. McCarthy that will keep him out for the entire season. However, Sam Darnold may be the better option as the Week 1 starter, anyways. Darnold has not had a very successful career so far, but he has been on a lot of bad offenses with bad coaches.
Now, he has one of the brightest offensive minds in the game, Kevin O’Connell, calling plays for him. Darnold now gets to throw to the best wide receiver in football, Justin Jefferson. Darnold could have a really productive year if it all clicks properly.
The Vikings are one of the best-coached teams in the NFL. O’Connell is a great offensive coach and Brian Flores is an elite defensive coordinator. The Vikings don’t have the most talented defense in the league but they are so solid because of the creativity of Flores. The Vikings’ defense finished 11th in defensive DVOA and 12th in scoring defense last season, despite not getting a lot of help from their offense for long stretches of the season.
The defense should be even more talented this year with first-round draft pick Dallas Turner and the new signings of Blake Cashman, Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard at linebacker. The Vikings also brought in veteran CB Stephon Gilmore to help out in the secondary.
Giants Team Breakdown
The Giants could be one of the worst teams in the NFL this season. They made a great first-round pick in WR Malik Nabers, but a wide receiver doesn’t help too much if nobody can throw to him. Daniel Jones could be in for a really rough season, based both on what he showed last season and what he showed in preseason.
Not to mention, this offensive line was the worst in the NFL last season and the Giants made a lot of moves to improve that line but they will still be a below-average unit.
I don’t disagree with the Giants’ decision to let Saquon Barkley go from a value perspective. However, in the short term, this offense will miss his explosiveness. Devin Singletary will be the main back for the Giants, and while he has been a consistent back throughout his career, he lacks that big play ability. The Giants have some exciting young receivers, including Nabers, but that doesn’t mean much without good quarterback play.
Defensively, the Giants have a really good defensive line but a bad secondary. The Vikings are totally fine with that because they have Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. The Giants don’t have anyone who can guard those guys and Kevin O’Connell should make it easy for Darnold to find his weapons. The Giants defensive line is probably the best unit on their team but in this matchup, they will be counteracted by the Vikings’ elite offensive tackles.
Pick and Prediction
Justin Jefferson should have a monster game. When he is healthy, he is the best wideout in the NFL, as evidenced by his performance last season. He went over 1,000 yards last season, despite only playing ten games and catching balls from Nick Mullens and Joshua Dobbs for a good chunk of those games. After receiving a big contract this offseason, Jefferson should be ready to shred this weak Giants secondary.
When it comes to quarterback play, the Vikings have a slight edge. When it comes to wide receiver, running back and offensive line, the Vikings have a big edge. As for the linebackers and secondary, the Vikings have a big edge. The Giants’ only real edge on the field is at defensive line and that can be counteracted by the Vikings’ elite tackles.
Brian Daboll is a good offensive coach but from everything that came out during the offseason, he wanted a new quarterback and is not happy to be dealing with Daniel Jones again. So, the Vikings also have the coaching edge with Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores. The Vikings are just the better team top to bottom so getting them under a field goal is a great bet to make.
Best Bet: Vikings -2
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