It's hard to think of a better start for the Minnesota Vikings season.
The new quarterback-running back duo of Sam Darnold and Aaron Jones looked explosive, the defensive line was dominant, and veteran Harrison Smith started his 13th season off with his 35th career interception. There was much to love for the Vikings in week 1, but the victory was far from perfect.
Minnesota faces off against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2, a team considered to be the consensus favorite in the NFC. Not to punch down on the Giants, but a clear talent gap between New York and San Francisco provides a bigger challenge for Minnesota this upcoming Sunday.
If the Vikings want to start off the season at 2-0, there are some things they can fix from Week 1 that can elevate their play and keep things going.
Interior offensive line protection
This section is specifically about Ed Ingram and Garrett Bradbury, as Blake Brandel was a standout performer in Week 1. Ingram and Bradbury can get a partial excuse for their rough outing due to the fact that they went up against Dexter Lawrence, who may be the best nose tackle in the NFL. Their shortcomings still need to be fixed moving forward, as Ingram and Bradbury have shown to be weak links well before.
Ingram compiled an abysmal 9.3 PFF pass-blocking grade in week 1, with Garrett Bradbury not much farther ahead at 26.8. Even though Dexter Lawrence is a dominant player, this kind of poor play must be fixed, as teams moving forward will begin to target the Vikings' interior line due to its weak nature.
San Francisco is a team that has been notorious for having an exceptional defense in recent years. Opposite of Ingram and Bradbury will be Pro Bowl defensive tackle, Javon Hargrave, setting up for another hard battle in the trenches. If Minnesota gets pushed around in the interior again in week 2 against a much harder opponent, it's going to be tough sledding for the Vikings.
Ball security
The Vikings seem to have a fumbling problem.
Minnesota coughed up the ball once again this past week, continuing a concerning trend of fumbling issues that were prevalent all of last season. Luckily Minnesota's defense was able to hold the Giants to a field goal off of the fumble, but the Vikings cannot continue to give the opposing team free points like that.
The Vikings had a total of 26 fumbles in 2023, averaging well over one fumble per game, which is inexcusable. Losing the turnover battle in the NFL is, more often than not, a death sentence for the team, and Minnesota consistently lost the battle in 2023. Minnesota was able to tie in the turnover battle in Week 1 due to Daniel Jones making some reckless passes, but the offense cannot bank on the defense, causing multiple turnovers every game.
Last season against the 49ers, Minnesota was able to win the turnover battle 3-1, and they came away with a close victory against a solid Niners squad. When Minnesota at least ties in the turnover battle, Kevin O'Connell is 18-0 as a head coach, showing just how important ball security is. Minnesota cannot continue to give the opposition free chances, which is something Vikings fans have been preaching since last season.
Penalties
Minnesota committed seven penalties in Week 1 for 63 yards, but luckily the Giants committed nine penalties for 95 yards.
The Vikings cannot bank on their opponent committing nearly double-digit penalties each week. Seeing as it was the first week, the Vikings get some grace for sloppy play, but this trend cannot continue into Week 2 against a more challenging opponent.
In the 49ers' first game, they only committed four penalties for 40 yards, coming out of the gates already refined as a team. Playing a clean game is important, which seems like a simple enough concept, but is very hard to actually execute. Last season, Minnesota and San Francisco were nearly identical in the penalty category, and we saw the Vikings come out on top in that matchup.
Similar to securing the football, the Vikings cannot give away free yards to the Niners due to penalties. There is a reason that San Francisco was recently in the Super Bowl, as they are a tough opponent and will take advantage of mistakes. Minnesota was able to beat the 49ers last season due to a relatively clean game, and they will need to play another clean game in week 2 if they hope to come away with a win.