Giants-Vikings game to be switched to prime time
New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) salutes as he celebrates scoring a touchdown with teammates Ereck Flowers (76), Weston Richburg (70) and Jerome Cunningham (86) during the first half of a game against the New England Patriots, Sunday Nov. 15, 2015, in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: AP / Julio Cortez
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tom Coughlin has spoken about the Giants being “relevant” this season. That perception was on the line in no more direct way Monday night than how the game against the Dolphins would affect their upcoming schedule.
Because the Giants beat the Dolphins, their Dec. 27 game against the Vikings in Minnesota will be flexed to prime time with an 8:30 p.m. start on NBC. If the Giants had lost, essentially the rest of the country would have had no further use for them and that game would have been played as scheduled at 1 p.m. on Fox.
Of course, the Giants were not worried as much about the schedule as the standings. The win kept them in a three-way tie with Washington and Philadelphia for first place in the NFC East. The Giants already have split with Washington and play Philadelphia in the regular-season finale Jan. 3.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
