EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Most of the talk surrounding the Vikings heading into this season seemed to centered on the big pieces they had lost.

How was the offense going to operate without franchise quarterback Kirk Cousins? How was the defense going to generate pressure without star pass rusher Danielle Hunter?

Those questions shaped the narrative on the Vikings from a national perspective. Not the spending spree in free agency that netted them a number of impactful players on both sides of the ball.

The unveiling of the new look came on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium and the Vikings made a pretty good first impression with a dominant 28-6 win over the New York Giants.

On offense, veteran quarterback Sam Darnold completed 19 of 24 pass for 208 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while running back Aaron Jones posted 14 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown. On defense, edge rusher Jonathan Greenard made his presence felt with some pressure, while fellow edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel highlighted an impressive performance with an interception returned for a touchdown.

It was a slow start for the Vikings as a a fumble from fullback C.J. Ham put the them behind 3-0 in the early stages.

In need of a spark, the Vikings got a little bit of help from the officials, as receiver Jordan Addison worked back toward an underthrown ball and drew a pass interference call.That put the offense in business and after a catch form tight end Josh Oliver near the goal line running back Aaron Jones found pay dirt to make it 7-3 in favor of the Vikings.

The next possession for the offense gave the Vikings a chance to make a statement after getting the ball back at their own 1-yard line. What followed was a surgical effort from Darnold jump started by a 44-yard pass to star receiver Justin Jefferson followed by a pair of nice throws to Addison near the sideline. In the end, Darnold capped the 11-play, 99-yard drive with a touchdown pass to Jefferson to put the Vikings in front 14-3.

The results already appeared to well in hand at that point and the Vikings put the game away shortly after halftime when Darnold hit speedy receiver Jalen Nailor for a touchdown that stretched the lead to 21-3. It was a perfectly drawn up play by coach Kevin O’Connell as Darnold faked a screen pass to Jefferson, which caused the defense to bite, and left Nailor running wide open downfield.

After a long field goal from the Giants cut the deficit to 21-6, Van Ginkel provided the exclamation point for the Vikings when he read the eyes of maligned quarterback Daniel Jones, intercepted the ball, and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown to finalize the score at 28-6.

The game ended with Darnold take a knee. Though the Vikings will face much tougher competition over the next month or so — the San Francisco 49ers come to town next weekend — they certainly put some people on notice with how good they looked against the Giants.

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