Monday Mayhem: Vikings defense devours Giants as Brian Flores gets revenge

Before getting hired to be the new defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings in 2023, Brian Flores spent a few hours of his life interviewing with the New York Giants in the 2022 offseason to possibly become the franchise's next head coach.

Unfortunately for Flores, he was not selected by the Giants to fill the vacancy, as the team decided to give the job to Brian Daboll, who spent the 2022 season as the Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator. To make matters worse, the current Vikings defensive coordinator allegedly found out about New York hiring Daboll thanks to a text that was mistakenly sent by former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

According to a lawsuit filed by Flores in 2022 against the NFL, Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, and Giants, Belichick accidentally sent Minnesota's defensive coordinator a text that revealed he heard from "Buffalo and NYG that you are their guy." That message was actually intended for Daboll, and instead of him receiving it, it popped up on Flores's phone a few days before he was set to interview with New York.

A few weeks after the lawsuit was filed, Flores was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he spent the 2022 season as the team's linebackers coach and senior defensive assistant. Less than a year later, he got the nod to become the new defensive coordinator of the Vikings, who just had their 2022 campaign ended by Daboll and the Giants in the opening round of the playoffs.

On Sunday, Minnesota opened up its 2024 regular season inside New York's MetLife Stadium against the Giants. Flores, now in his second year with the Vikings, had a chance to prove that a mistake was made in 2022 when New York passed him over to hire Daboll.

After all four quarters were played on Sunday, it was clear that Minnesota's defensive coordinator had taken full advantage of the opportunity placed in front of him. Led by Flores, the Vikings defense demolished Daboll's offense and handed the Giants an embarrassing 28-6 loss to begin the 2024 season.

It was only one game, but for Minnesota's defensive coordinator, he likely enjoyed the victory a little more than the majority of the people celebrating in the team's locker room on Sunday.

Monday Mayhem: Everything you might have missed from the Minnesota Vikings win in Week 1 over the New York Giants

With their win over New York this weekend, the Vikings are 1-0 to begin the season for the second time in three years under head coach Kevin O'Connell. Minnesota made the playoffs following its previous 1-0 start under O'Connell (2022), and dating back to 2017, the team has qualified for the postseason in three of the last four instances in which they began their schedule with a win.

In addition, the last five Vikings teams to make it all the way to the NFC Championship (2017, 2009, 2000, 1998, 1987) all began their respective seasons with a 1-0 record.

Next week, Minnesota has a chance to begin the 2024 campaign with a 2-0 record for the first time since 2016. That Vikings team, unfortunately, did not make their way into the playoffs after a 2-0 start. But Minnesota's 2009, 2000, 1998, and 1987 squads that made it to the NFC Championship all started their seasons with a 2-0 record.

During their win on Sunday, the Vikings held the Giants to a total of just six points. That ties Minnesota's all-time record for points allowed in a Week 1 game on the road with the 2014 Vikings, who began their season with a 34-6 win over the St. Louis Rams inside the Edward Jones Dome.

Minnesota's five sacks on Sunday are tied for the third-most in franchise history in a Week 1 game. This weekend's win over New York was the eighth time the Vikings have accumulated at least five sacks in the team's regular-season opener. The all-time record is held by Minnesota's 1989 team that racked up seven sacks in its Week 1 victory over the Houston Oilers.

If not for the fumble by fullback C.J. Ham on the Vikings' opening offensive drive of the game on Sunday, the Giants probably would have only finished the matchup with three points. New York failed to gain more than 15 yards on five of the team's first eight offensive drives of the afternoon, and in their three trips in the red zone, they only managed to put a total of three points on the board.

Minnesota linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel scored the team's final touchdown of the contest on Sunday after intercepting Jones and returning it 10 yards the other way for a score. For Van Ginkel, it was the third touchdown of his NFL career and his second pick-six. He's the first Vikings player to register a Week 1 pick-six since former Minnesota cornerback Mike Hughes did it in the team's 2018 opener.

Vikings safety Harrison Smith snagged the other interception on Sunday and he now has picked off a total of 35 passes in his NFL career. Smith ranked fifth in Minnesota team history in career interceptions before the game against New York, and he still ranks fifth after this weekend. However, he now only needs three more interceptions to pass former Vikings defender Joey Browner for fourth all-time.

Smith was in Minnesota's own end zone when he came up with the pick on Sunday, and he decided to down the ball for a touchback instead of attempting to make a return. After the game, the 35-year-old safety told reporters, "Younger me might've taken that out of the end zone [and] gone for that pick-six."

Speaking of the end zone, Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson hauled the 31st touchdown catch of his young NFL career during Sunday's win over the Giants. Jefferson's 31 touchdown receptions are the third-most by a Minnesota player in the first 61 games of their career, behind only Sammy White, who had 33 in his first 61 appearances, and Randy Moss, who holds the NFL's all-time record with 53 receiving touchdowns in his first 61 career games.

In his debut with the team, veteran running back Aaron Jones scored the first touchdown of the season for the Vikings after he found the end zone on a three-yard run. Jones had an impressive first game with Minnesota (109 total yards), but his scoring play on Sunday was extra significant considering it took the Vikings until Week 8 last season to score a rushing touchdown.

Lastly, Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold delivered a solid performance in his regular-season debut with the team on Sunday. Darnold completed his first 12 passes of the matchup, and he finished the afternoon with a 79.2 percent completion rate, 208 pass yards, two touchdown passes, one interception, and a 113.2 passer rating.

His 113.2 passer rating is the second-highest in Vikings history for a quarterback making his first start for the franchise, behind only the great Fran Tarkenton, who had a 148.6 passer rating as a rookie during his first-ever start for Minnesota in 1961.

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