NFL Game of the Week: Giants vs. Vikings
Every year, the NFL proves to be one of the most unpredictable leagues in all of sports and this season was no different, as seven of the current 14 playoff teams did not make it to the dance last year.
Even with rookie head coaches at the helm, the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings managed to become two of these teams and will face each other in the Wild Card round at 4:30 on Sunday.
These franchises came into the year with very different expectations but both managed to shock the public audience.
Being in a division with the historically underwhelming Lions and Bear,s along with the Green Bay Packers who shipped their star receiver, Davante Adams, off to Las Vegas, the Vikings were expected to make a run at the division title this year, but weren’t expected to run away with it quite like they did.
On the other hand, the Giants haven’t made the playoffs in six years and were expected to finish near the bottom of the league, vying for an early draft pick once again. Yet miraculously got off to a hot 7-2 start to the season which propelled them to the sixth seed in the NFC.
In their first years with Minnesota, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell turned the franchise around en route to 13 wins, the first time they’ve reached that mark since 2017 when they eventually went to the Conference Championship.
What was previously a very run-heavy offense in recent seasons under the previous regime, completely transformed under O’Connell, as star wide receiver Justin Jefferson made a legitimate case to be touted as the best receiver in the league.
Jefferson totaled a whopping 1,809 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 128 receptions.
This is not to say that the run game suffered however, as Dalvin Cook came just 27 yards short of 1,200.
While the Vikings offense is one of the most prolific in the league at the moment, their defense has struggled all season.
The talent up front, which consists of Za’Darius Smith, Danielle Hunter and Dalvin Tomlinson, has been effective, but regressions from Patrick Peterson and Harrison Smith in the secondary, along with a lack of help around them, resulted in Minnesota allowing the second most passing yards in the entire league.
When stacking them up against the Giants, they might actually be at a disadvantage even though their record says otherwise.
Big Blue’s passing attack has been far from a strength for this team, but in their game against the Vikings in Week 16, Quarterback Daniel Jones totaled 334 passing yards as the likes of Richie James, Isaiah Hodgins and Darius Slayton put up 90, 89 and 79 receiving yards respectively.
Even star running back Saquon Barkley, who was effective on the ground and even scored a late game-tying touchdown, caught eight passes for 49 yards.
With the weak passing game getting a somewhat easy matchup that they already know they can take advantage of, the weak run defense may say otherwise.
Running the football is a key component in postseason football, and if you can’t stop the run, your team could be in serious trouble.
The Giants are allowing 5.2 yards per carry, which is second worst in the league just behind the Chargers at 5.4.
However, with the Vikings down to a third-string center and a backup right tackle, the Giants’ stacked front four of Kayvon Thibodeaux, Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams and Azeez Ojulari could, and should, have an advantage in the trenches.
The Giants also recently welcomed the return of Xavier Mckinney to their secondary and could even have their cornerback, Adoree Jackson, back in the lineup to help limit the damage of Justin Jefferson.
Also, in their last matchup, the Vikings took the victory on a last second 61-yard field goal, so Minnesota knows they are more than capable of advancing past this game, but Brian Daboll’s squad has to be hungry and confident that they can take care of business on Sunday.
Jakob Schnur is a third-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jks6463@psu.edu
