The Minnesota Vikings are 2-0 in the 2024 season after a 23-17 upset victory over the San Francisco 49ers. They are the talk of the National Football League going into week three due to their surprising record.

There have been a lot of interesting elements to the Vikings this season. From the renaissance of quarterback Sam Darnold to the defense dominating in the pass rush, the Vikings have proven they are a team to watch this season.

As we continue to look in-depth at the Vikings in 2024, these stats epitomize how well the Vikings have played.

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Sacks: 11.0

The Vikings defense in 2023 did a solid job of keeping them in games. When the coverage wasn't able to thrive consistently, the pass rush was able to step in. They were solid in getting to the quarterback, tying for 19th in sacks with 43.

Two games into the 2024 season, the Vikings are first in the NFL with 11 sacks, two more than the second-place Houston Texans. They have done a great job in pressuring the quarterback with 49 pressures over two games with edge rusher Jonathan Greenard having the most with 12. They have done a great job pressuring the quarterback and 12 players have a pressure through two games. They are getting creative with their pressures and stunts, but they arent being gifted pressures. These guys are earning everything.

Big time throws: 4

The renaissance of Darnold continued on Sunday against the 49ers with an impressive performance. Two of the throws that stood out were the 97-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson and the 27-yard seam route to Jalen Nailor on third down in the fourth quarter.

So far this season, Darnold has four big-time throws to just one turnover-worthy play with that likely being the interception to Fred Warner. Lets face it though, that's more of a bonkers play by Warner than it is a bad throw.

If the Vikings continue to play like this, things are going to continue looking up this season and beyond.

Rushing yards: 257

The running game was one of the biggest things the Vikings needed to fix this offseason. The Vikings finished 29th in the National Football League in rushing with a paltry 91.35 yards per game. They couldn't do much of anything on the ground and the offensive line struggled to move defenders out of the way.

Now, it wasn't all on the offensive line. The running backs were not great in 2023. With Ty Chandler having one more season under his belt and Aaron Jones in the fold, they have jumped from 29th to 13th in the league. They are moving players in the run game with Blake Brandel, Garrett Bradbury and Ed Ingral doing a great job on the interior.

Sam Darnold’s renaissance season is epitomized by Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell having the utmost confidence in him

We are in for a great season with Darnold