You never truly know how rookies will adjust to life in the NFL, but I love this spot for Nabers. Minnesota's secondary is mediocre, and Nabers is a big play waiting to happen. I expect Nabers to finish with 70+ yards here.

Jones faces Vikes DC BFlo who is as blitz heavy as they come. This means Jones will have to take off….add in a few designed runs and we should get six.

Jones face Vikes DC Brian Flores. BFlo runs a blitz happy scheme which should foce Jones to run. Take attempts and yards over

One of the Giants main concerns in the offseason was rebuilding their horrid offensive line. This new unit will instantly be put to the test, facing Vikings new DC Brian Flores, who is known for his exotic blitz packages. Last season, Daniel Jones finished dead last (42 out of 42) in passer rating against the blitz. Coming off an ACL injury, and now without Saquon Barkley's playmaking in the backfield... Jones could be in for a long day. Flores sends relentless pressure at QB's with his creative schemes. It is odd to see a Sam Darnold-led team favored on the road, but it looks to be the right side.

A healthy Daniel Jones is a weapon, with his legs more than his arm. Jones' mobility will come in handy behind a makeshift Giants OL that should expect pressure from Brian Flores' stop unit right from opening kickoff. Back in 2022, Jones ran for over 700 yards and that ability when the pocket broke down created big plays. Combine scrambles with designed QB runs and this number for me is 6-7 yards light in the season opener.

If the Vikings didn't have bad luck at the QB spot, they wouldn't have any at all. Last season, Kevin O'Connell kept cycling thru QBs after Kirk Cousins went down, and already the Minnesota QB situation was disrupted when Michigan rookie JJ McCarthy was felled by a knee injury. Sam Darnold, on hiss fourth team in as many years, steps into the breach...but how well? Of course, the Giants had a stinker of 2023, much of it falling on the regression of QB Daniel Jones before his knee injury. But Jones was making progress in the preceding 2022 and beat the Vikings in a playoff game at Minneapolis, and some new weapons like LSU wideout Malik Nabers are now in the fold. Play Giants

The Minnesota Vikings have veteran Sam Darnold leading the team with rookie JJ McCarthy out for the year. With all the issues the Vikings had the second half of the season at the quarterback position, the Vikings could be getting decreased attention from oddsmakers in week one. The New York Giants will be better than most anticipate offensively, but expect the rust to show for Daniel Jones who is as turnover prone as any starter in football. Take the Vikings.

Justin Jefferson put up big numbers with backup quarterbacks last season, and you can argue Sam Darnold is an upgrade over them. Jefferson is fully healthy and facing a bad Giants secondary. Look for Darnold to feed him early and often.

If Sam Darnold doesn't play well in Kevin O'Connell's offense, with Justin Jefferson and Aaron Jones headlining his weapons, with a strong offensive line protecting him, then he really deserves the criticism he gets. I'm betting he will play well, definitely better than Daniel Jones will in this matchup. Brian Flores' blitzing scheme is going to cause havoc for Jones, who historically has played worse at home. Minnesota made a lot of smart offseason acquisitions (Jonathan Greenard, Jones, Blake Cashman) and that will show up Sunday.

Following an unexpected breakout season, the Giants took just as stunning of a step back las season, beset by crippling injuries on both sides of the ball and some questionable coaching decisions. The public is down on the team and QB Daniel Jones following their appearance on "Hard Knocks" but the Vikings have their own issues. They have a dangerous set of offensive weapons but issues at QB with journeyman Sam Darnold at the helm and what should be a below-average defense. Look for the Giants to take advantage of a winnable matchup.

Minnesota's Sam Darnold doesn't exactly have a good history as a starting quarterback at MetLife Stadium in his NFL career -- and you know he's going to be hearing jeers all day Sunday even if it's Giants and not Jets fans. The Giants were among the NFL leaders last year in picks with 18.

In this game the biggest question to ask yourself is, whether or not you think the Giants can find the end zone? There's no doubt that they can get into Graham Gano range a few times, but finding paydirt will be tough vs a defense that can apply pressure going up against a QB who struggles vs pressure.

I make the Vikings -3.4 road favorites against Daniel Jones and the Giants. Sam Darnold is a nice upgrade at quarterback from last season and has a negligible impact on the spread compared to Kirk Cousins (0.3 points in the model). Brian Flores will have the Vikings' defense prepared for Daniel Jones and rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers. The Giants lack a strong home-field advantage, which works in favor of the Vikings

I may be underrating the Vikings a bit in my initial power ratings, as I believe Sam Darnold can be a fine leader of the offense with the awesome offensive coach Kevin O'Connell steering the ship. So my -2 rating on Minnesota may quickly rise. Even with that rating, I have this line as Vikings -2 as the Giants look like a team to attack this season. I expect a big day from Darnold here and the Giants offense to struggle to keep up.