The New York Giants were defeated by the Minnesota Vikings, 27-24, in a conference matchup on Saturday afternoon.
The defeat brings the Giants to 8-6-1 and sixth in the wildcard race. It was a tough loss but New York will have a chance to get back in the win column, and secure their first playoff birth since 2016, next week against the Indianapolis Colts.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what we saw during the game and how we graded the Giants in this loss.
Offense: C+
The offense definitely took advantage of this favorable matchup, scoring 24 points for just the fourth time this season.
From a pure statistical output point of view, it was a great day for Big Blue’s offense as they totaled 445 yards on the day. Daniel Jones looked like a marksman completing over 70 percent of his passes for 334 yards. Saquon Barkley was also efficient on the ground as he rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
However, the same problems struck again for New York on Christmas Eve. There were several crucial drops from their receiving core. This killed several drives and was one of the main reasons for the loss. Jones was also pressured all day as he was sacked three times and hit 11. But the biggest problem for this offense in Week 16 was the turnovers as a fumble and an interception both happened in Minnesota territory.
Defense: C-
The defense had a rollercoaster afternoon. The unit started off allowing 10 points in the first 20 minutes of the game. After that, the team looked phenomenal holding Minnesota scoreless until the fourth quarter. However, when the Giants needed them the most the defense vanished, allowing 17 fourth-quarter points.
The biggest positive on the day was New York’s pass rush as they sacked Kirk Cousins four times and hit him 11 times. The pressure was consistent throughout the game and was likely the only reason Cousins didn’t end up with a record-breaking performance.
Minnesota’s weapons in the passing game were simply too good for the Giants’ banged-up defensive backfield. The safety and linebacker play has been subpar all season, allowing several 100-yard rushers and tight ends to feast.
While Dalton Cook was held relatively in check, T.J. Hockenson was unstoppable as he totaled 109 yards and two touchdowns on 13 receptions. And then Justin Jefferson is simply unstoppable for almost any team, especially a team with practice squad cornerbacks, so his 133-yard performance came to no one’s surprise.
This was definitely a tough test for New York but they will have an opportunity to see a more even matchup next week when they face an unimpressive Colts offense that is missing Jonathan Taylor.
Special Teams: C-
This grade is heavily deflated due to the blocked punt that gave the Vikings amazing field position. Other than that one very costly miscue, the Giants’ special teams unit played very well on Christmas Eve.
Graham Gano was once again perfect, making his one extra point and all three of his field goals, the longest coming from 56 yards out. Jamie Gillan also had arguably his best day punting as he had all three of his punts land inside the 20 and had a booming 61-yard first-half punt.
Coaching: B+
Brian Daboll and his group were clearly the biggest reason that the Giants were in this game. Daboll had his troops ready and prepared to face one of the better teams in football and it showed as the Giants competed all day. The time management and in-game decisions were great by this staff and gave New York many chances to win this game.
On the offensive side of the ball, Mike Kafka drew up an amazing game plan to take advantage of the weaknesses in the Vikings’ defense. Jones was able to be very effective in the dink and dunk passing game which opened up a few deep balls. Kafka’s best call was the fourth-down run which completely fooled the Viking’s defense and tied up the game.
As for Kafka’s counterpart, Wink Martindale also did his best in stopping such a potent offense. He drew up a lot of pressure even with Azeez Ojulari going down. Martindale was also great in critical moments keeping Minnesota under 50 percent on third downs and stopping the Vikings on their only fourth down.
