Kyler Murray’s debut, Caleb Banks’ inconsistencies, and a breakout performance Vikings preseason win vs. Giants
The Minnesota Vikings kicked off the preseason in major fashion against the New York Giants with multiple standouts.
In the 2026 preseason debut, the Minnesota Vikings found a way to get it done against the New York Giants by a score of 13-10.
It was far from a perfect game, including a likely season-ending injury for safety Jamal Adams, but the defense stood out in a big way outside of one drive, and the depth players on both sides of hte ball flashed.
We got to see a lot of players get on the field Sunday afternoon, and here’s what stood out the most.
Kyler Murray leads productive drive
While the first drive lasted 10 plays and went 54 yards before ending in a field goal, Kyler Murray only got to throw the ball three times. He was under center for the majority of snaps on Saturday afternoon, and looked comfortable doing so. It’s a big part of what head coach Kevin O’Connell wants to do.
The three throws he made were varying levels of success.
- Play-action bootleg to the flat to Max Bredeson for two yards.
- Third down out route to Jordan Addison with good ball placement low, albeit slightly behind.
- Third down stick route miss to Aaron Jones where he was off target, but placed it away from pursuing defenders.
It wasn’t a perfect series from Murray, but there were some really nice elements to build upon moving forward.
Caleb Banks is a work in progress
We got to see first-round pick defensive tackle Caleb Banks on the field for the first time, and it was an up-and-down day. What was cool to see was that he took the lineage of being a Vikings defensive lineman seriously, rocking the John Randle face paint.
His performance on the day was inconsistent, which shouldn’t be a surprise for a player who missed all of the offseason program leading up to training camp. At 6-6 and 327 pounds with 35″ arms, it creates a unique set of challenges for him to win on the inside. He got stood up a couple of times too many due to his height and pad level, but also the arm length sometimes being a detriment.
Ideally, you’d like to see more consistency there, but we did get to see the positives. Banks flashed his ability to attack with quick pursuit through gaps. That’s where Banks is going to be consistently at his best
EDGE 3 is reaching a crisis point
We knew going into training camp that EDGE3 was going to be a big weakness on the team, and there were questions about whether or not Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins could be the guy.
Earlier this week, I wrote about how Ingram-Dawkins could be a secret weapon against 13 personel, and it still holds true, but it was not a good day for him. He struggled to attack the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle, and broke contain multiple times on run plays, allowing big gains. Now, some of that could be due to a multitude of different things, including inexperience at edge. There is still growth that can happen, but it’s not looking great.
Elijah Williams continues to perform
Last year during training camp, Williams was an unheralded signing out of rookie minicamp who did a great job throughout all of camp and the preseason, leading him to make the roster. He only played 42 snaps in 2025, but looked like a player who coulddgrow and develop into a real player.
He showed out on Saturday afternoon. Had a nice sack where he kept the offensive lineman out of his chest with great hand usage and slipped off to make the play. Later on, he got pressure in the A-gap, forcing quarterback Brandon Allen to escape the pocket right into Bo Richter. Another really strong day for Williams, who is in a roster battle for a backup offensive lineman spot.
J.J. McCarthy proved why he’s not the starting quarterback
After Murray’s first drive, J.J. McCarthy got the rest of the first half and the operation didn’t look good. He struggled in a multitude of areas, including processing the defense down the field. McCarthy finished 4-7 for 34 yards with a passer rating of 69.9. There were other elements at play, including a couple of dropped passes [one on a nice throw to Tai Felton] and penalties, but the issues didn’t stop there.
McCarthy was inconsistent mechanically, throwing off of his back foot multiple times, and continuing to throw rocket balls when it’s not necessary. It’s not all bad for McCarthy, as his best rep was that drop by Felton, but there are still numerous issues that need to be worked on.
Myles Price stands out
The depth at wide receiver continues to be really good for the Vikings. WR4-6 are going to have some difficult choices. After being a solid returner last year Myles Price has shown out during training camp. That continued in a big way on Saturday.
He led the Vikings with four catches for 51 yards, including a gorgeous one-handed touchdown catch on a fade route from Carson Wentz. What really stood out was his ability to get open and attack the football. He’s still a slot-only player due to his size limitations, but Price is proving to be a worthwhile asset in the wide receiver room.
