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Week 1 of the NFL season was not kind to most offenses sporting new quarterbacks, old quarterbacks returning from serious injuries, new coaches, new coordinators, or some or all of the above.
(See: Cousins, Kirk; Atlanta)
So how in the world did Sam Darnold and the Vikings buck that league-wide trend with a 28-6 road-win layup at the Giants?
“We talked about how teams typically lose Week 1 games more than they win them,” left guard Blake Brandel said. “So the focus for Week 1 was more trying not to do the self-inflicted drive killers.”
Yeah, but, Blake, c’mon. There’s a giant hole in that theory.
Sunday’s game started the same way last season spun down the toilet. The first play was a run that was stuffed. The second play was right guard Ed Ingram looking awful while giving up a sack. The third play was a C.J. Ham lost fumble for a league-leading sixth opening-drive turnover since the start of last season.
Leave it to coach Kevin O’Connell to peel a positive from somewhere inside that mess.
“What I was most proud of,” he said Monday, “was there was no feeling of, ‘Here we go again.’”
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