The New York Giants hosted the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season. The weather was picture-perfect for football as Big Blue celebrated the start of their 100th season in the NFL.

The Giants wore their 'Century Red' uniforms to commemorate their 100 years in the league. Ring of honor quarterbacks Phil Simms and Eli Manning rang the bell before the game, and Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor handled the honorary coin toss.

The Giants entered the game with no injuries to report. The inactive list was populated with all healthy scratches: S Anthony Johnson, CB Tre Hawkins III, OLB Boogie Basham, OL Jake Kubas, and QB Tommy DeVito (3rd QB).

The Giants lost their season opener last year at home, 40-0, to the Dallas Cowboys. This year, it wasn't as bad, but it was far from good.

Final score: Vikings 28, Giants 6

Keys to the game

• Penalties. The Giants had nine accepted penalties for 95 yards. Minnesota wasn't much cleaner with seven infractions for 63 yards but the Giants aren't helping themselves with this sloppy play.

• Few deep shots. All summer long we saw the Giants going deep in practice. On Sunday, they played very conservatively, with just one reception over 15 yards.

• Turnovers. Daniel Jones threw two picks -- one went for a pick-6 and the other was in the end zone, ending a possible scoring drive.

• Red Zone failures. The Giants went 0-3 in the red zone and the Vikings went 2-2 against Shane Bowen's tough red zone defensive scheme.

• Nothing's changed. Jones looked terrible most times, and a lot of that could be rust. He went 22-for-42 passing for 186 yards with two picks for a 44.3 rating. The offensive line is still a work in progress, allowing five sacks and 12 total QB hits.

It was over when...

Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel picked off a Daniel Jones pass with 4:26 in the third quarter on the Giants' 10-yard-line and ran it in for a touchdown to give the Vikings a 28-6 advantage.

Van Ginkel was the player who sacked Jones, re-injuring Jones' neck, last year as a member of the Miami Dolphins.

Players of the Game

• Wide receiver Malik Nabers. The Giants' top draft pick wasn't asked to do a whole lot since the game plan called for short-to-intermediate passes, but he had a solid debut with five receptions for 66 yards.

• Safety Tyler Nubin. The Giants' second-round pick this year played well in his first game in blue leading the Giants with seven total tackles.

• Linebacker Darius Muasau. Another rookie who impressed with six total stops (one for a loss) and an interception.

Injuries

Wide receiver/return man Gunner Olszewski re-injured his groin in warmups and was ruled out before the game. Running backs Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Eric Gray lined up as the kickoff returners and wide receiver Darius Slayton handled punt returns.

Linebacker Carter Coughlin, the Giants' top special teamer, left the game with a shoulder injury and was questionable to return.

Cornerback Nick McCloud (knee) left the game in the third quarter and was questionable to return. He was replaced by Adoree' Jackson.

What's next?

Head coach Brian Daboll will hold a Zoom call with the team's beat writers on Monday afternoon before a few players are also made available.

The Giants will return to practice on Wednesday ahead of a Week 2 game against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday afternoon.

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants humiliated by Vikings, 28-6, in potential tone-setting opener