Vikings-Giants Preseason Recap: What Minnesota and New York Learned in Week 1

Minnesota beat New York 13-10 at MetLife Stadium in the preseason opener for both teams, and the final score is the least useful line in the box score. The real signal came from the quarterback rotation, an undrafted receiver's push for a bigger role, and a scary hit on New York's starting quarterback that resolved the right way.

Kyler Murray got the start, McCarthy backed him up, exactly as billed

Kyler Murray J.J. McCarthy

Kyler Murray started for Minnesota, his first game action since Arizona released him and the Vikings signed him to a one-year deal worth just $1.3 million against their cap, with Arizona still paying the rest of his 2026 salary. Minnesota split first-team reps between Murray and J.J. McCarthy all spring before naming Murray the Week 1 starter, and this game was the first live look at that call. Murray played a single series, completing 2 of 3 passes for 10 yards on a drive that ended in a field goal, then came out for McCarthy, who finished 4 of 7 for 34 yards in relief. Neither line changes anything about the season-long plan. This was about reps, not production, and Murray got the first-team keys again exactly as the depth chart said he would.

An undrafted receiver's one-handed touchdown reshuffles the WR4 race

Myles Price went undrafted out of Indiana in 2025 and spent almost all of his rookie season on special teams, setting a franchise single-season record for combined return yardage while logging just 17 offensive snaps. He got real offensive run in this game and made it count: four catches for 51 yards, including a one-handed touchdown grab on a fade route, per AtoZ Sports. Our own player database does not have Price rostered anywhere yet, so treat any ranking or ADP you see for him right now as unreliable until that catches up.

That performance complicates a race that looked settled a week ago. Tai Felton had entered camp as the presumed favorite for the fourth receiver job, but he caught just 1 of 2 targets for 5 yards and dropped a back-shoulder throw he should have brought in. Two preseason games remain before the room is set, and Price, not Felton, is the name coaches are talking about now.

A scare at backup quarterback

Price's touchdown came on a third-quarter throw from Carson Wentz, back for a second stint after the Murray and McCarthy series ended. Max Brosmer took the next series and went 1 of 2 for 6 yards before leaving with a right thumb injury on his throwing hand, per NBC Sports. Head coach Kevin O'Connell said the team planned to image the thumb and was not taking chances, and Wentz came back in to close out the game. None of this touches the actual QB1/QB2 plan at the position, but it is a reminder of how thin a quarterback room gets by the fourth string in August. Brosmer made two emergency starts last season when this same room was in far worse shape than it is now.

Jaxson Dart's concussion scare, and Malachi Fields answers

Jaxson Dart took a big hit late in the first quarter from the opposing defense and went to the blue medical tent for a concussion evaluation. He was cleared and returned early in the second quarter, and afterward said he was "puzzled" by how often he ends up in the protocol, noting he was checked five separate times as a rookie last year, per ESPN. Nothing here changes Dart's standing as New York's starter, but a fifth-plus evaluation in barely more than a calendar year is a pattern worth tracking if a hit like this happens again.

Dart's touchdown throw went to Malachi Fields, the third-round rookie New York traded up for, sending picks 105 and 145 plus a 2027 fourth-rounder to Cleveland for the No. 74 selection. Fields caught a 15-yard score in his preseason debut, and beat reporters have already noted the Giants are impressed with him early in camp. A third-round rookie scoring in his first game action is a real signal for a Giants receiver room that needed a clear answer behind its top options.

The injury that matters more than any stat line

Jamal Adams, signed on July 28, left on a non-contact right knee injury and was carted off the field. O'Connell told reporters the "initial exam does not look good" while the team waits on MRI results, per CBS Sports. Adams does not move fantasy rosters directly, but it is the most serious outcome from either sideline in this one, and a real setback for a secondary that just added him.

What to do with this

Price's line is exactly the kind of camp signal to act on before the market catches up. Check the best ball rankings over the next few days to see whether his price as a return-heavy WR4 candidate actually moves. Fields belongs on any rookie watch list now that he has a real catch on tape and a coaching staff already talking him up. Dart's health is the one to check before New York's next exhibition, and if you are stress-testing either team's depth chart for a dynasty or best ball build, the mock draft simulator is a reasonable way to see how much these roles actually shift your rankings.