Vikings preseason opener: 6 takeaways from win over Giants

(FOX 9) - The Minnesota Vikings first preseason game is in the books, a 13-10 win over the New York Giants on the road. We saw a short debut from Kyler Murray and some shaky play from backup J.J. McCarty.

We took a look at some of the biggest takeaways from the first game through the lens of Coach Kevin O'Connell and FOX 9 Sports Vikings beat reporters Dawn Mitchell and Ahmad Hicks. Here is some of their analysis from the Vikings Post Game show and Coach O'Connell's postgame news conference on Saturday.

Jamal Adams suffers injury

Jamal Adams made a quick impact with an explosive tackle for loss, but later suffered an apparent non-contact right-knee injury and was carted to the locker room.

O’Connell was glum about the early outlook for Adams' status. He described Adams as someone who was earning a meaningful defensive role and quickly becoming an influential figure in the locker room.

Analysis

• Coach Kevin O'Connell: "This guy’s come in and impacted our organization. He’s energy every day, affecting people in a positive way… and he was genuinely carving out a significant role for himself. He was doing that by just being totally all-in on the process."
• Dawn Mitchell, FOX 9 Sports: "You could hear in KO’s voice exactly how he felt about Jamal Adams and how he’s earned the respect [of this team] in such a short amount of time, so quickly… That says a lot about his character as a person, as well as his physical play."
• Ahmad Hicks, FOX 9 Sports: "So now it's like well we only got three safeties with experience in the National Football League. I guarantee you a calls going to Harrison Smith and I guarantee you his brain's twirling. I'm sure he was watching that game seeing that injury."

Rebuilt running game showed reason for optimism

Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason combined for 44 rushing yards on six carries during the opening drive. The line created clear cutback lanes, and O’Connell emphasized that the production reflected a deliberate philosophical change.

Analysis

• O’Connell: "I think that's that's been a huge point of emphasis is we want to we want to run off the football. We want to get into these combinations. We want to play on the other side of the line of scrimmage. And I thought it showed up. You know, it'll be exciting to jump on the plane and watch the tape and see exactly what it looked like… It's something that we have a total commitment to and looking forward to seeing it kind of build out from here."

Murray's debut was short but showed command

Murray completed two of three passes and led the opening scoring drive. More important to O’Connell was his pre-snap command, work under center, huddle presence and handling of the play clock and sideline communication.

Analysis

• O'Connell: "Kyler has done a great job from an above-the-neck standpoint… His command of the huddle – there were a lot of really positive things that we saw out of that first group."
• Ahmad Hicks: "He executed the offense with great precision. He did exactly what he was supposed to do. He took the easy throws that were given to him and that's exactly what you wanted to see."

McCarthy uneven, supporting-cast issues

McCarthy finished 4-of-7 for 34 yards. It was a rough day for McCarthy. On his first snap, there was confusion on a jet sweep handoff that McCarthy just had to run himself. McCarthy missed some throws he should make, like a speed out to Jeshaun Jones on third down. He also took a critical third-down sack near his own goal line.

McCarthy was working with the second unit facing many of the Giants starters on defense. The team was also backed up quite a bit due to penalties.

Analysis

• Ahmad Hicks: "We have to make note that he is playing with the [second team] here. He has a backup offensive line and backup receivers. So you have to kind of limit your expectations here. Do we want to see him play more decisively and quicker? Yes, but he is in with the backups. So hold that criticism until you evaluate the tape."
• Dawn Mitchell: "Like we said, not all the blame was on J.J. Kyler had the opportunity to be behind all of his starters and the offensive line – which we have not seen in a long time. J.J. McCarthy didn’t really have that as much."

Wentz and Myles Price made plays in second half

Wentz led Minnesota’s second-half comeback, finishing 9-of-14 for 81 yards with a touchdown and no turnovers. After Jacob Roberts’ interception gave the offense a short field, Wentz found Price for the go-ahead one-handed touchdown.

Price caught all four of his targets for 51 yards. Beyond the highlight catch, he made another contested reception.

Analysis

• Coach O'Connell: "It’s not all the time you throw the ball to one of your shortest receivers on a fade, but that’s a credit to Myles."
• Ahmad Hicks: "He did exactly what you want to see a backup quarterback do: move the ball, don’t turn the ball over, don’t force anything and take what’s given… Then he delivers a dime to Myles Price, and Price makes the one-handed grab."
• Ahmad Hicks: "I think Kevin O'Connell and [wide receivers coach] Keenan McCardell are realizing they have a Swiss Army knife, with him being a returner and a wide receiver, maybe even a running back."
• Dawn Mitchell: "He’s not the tallest of guys, so he had some hops. But having that control, knowing where he was, real estate-wise, in the end zone and controlling it one-handed – that’s why [Justin Jefferson] got so [excited]."

The defense made an impact at every level

Minnesota recorded four sacks and two interceptions while shutting out New York in the second half. Dallas Turner and Jay Ward produced early sacks against Jaxson Dart, while Elijah Williams and Bo Richter added sacks later. Undrafted rookies Jacob Roberts and Jacob Thomas also made impacts with the interceptions.

• Ahmad Hicks: "That’s the beautiful thing about Brian Flores’ defense. He puts you in so many difficult positions if you’re a quarterback. Fortunately for Jay Ward, he was able to capitalize and get a second sack for the Vikings in the first quarter."