Early 2024 NFL picks, score predictions for Week 1 games

Minnesota Vikings @ New York Giants

Sunday

Hats off to the NFL for finding a way to schedule maybe the most uninteresting game of the entire 2024 season in the first week of the year.

They are mixing it up for us.

The Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants will open up their season facing off against each other in New York, and we’re all going to be on pins and needles waiting to find out what combination of quarterbacks this matchup will be between JJ McCarthy and Sam Darnold for the Vikings and Daniel Jones or Drew Lock for the Giants.

Again, riveting stuff.

As bad as this matchup may be on paper at the quarterback position, you actually have a lot of intrigue here from the standpoint that the coaches of these two teams – Kevin O’Connell and Brian Daboll – have been able to get the most out of whatever guys they have had under center.

The Giants might have one of the more underrated defenses in the NFL right now, and the chance to go up against either Darnold or McCarthy could have them licking their chops going into Week 1. I think the G-Men win a low-scoring affair.

Prediction: Giants win 20-16