Giants' report card vs. Vikings in NFL Week 16
Wan'Dale Robinson of the New York Giants after he was unable to come up with a catch during the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
OFFENSE: F
Jaxson Dart had by far his least productive game as a pro (7-for-13, 33 yards, five sacks, INT) and the Giants managed just 13 net passing yards. There were several drops but the two worst were the one by Theo Johnson (which led to an interception and a field goal) and by Darius Slayton (open on a slant in the fourth quarter). They did get some good runs from Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Devin Singletary early on but once the Vikings realized they were going to lean heavily on the ground game those evaporated too. The Giants were 2-for-10 on third downs and 1-for-3 on fourth downs.
DEFENSE: C
There were moments of dominance such as Brian Burns’ sack that forced a fumble recovered for the Giants’ only touchdown of the game and an interception by Paulson Adebo that led to a field goal, but just as many disappointing plays. Having a 96-yard interception return by Jevon Holland called back because of a neutral zone penalty against Abdul Carter was a little bit of both. The only touchdown they gave up was after the interception on a 16-yard drive but the Giants allowed the Vikings to convert 7-for-12 on third downs, including a third-and-17 in the fourth quarter that led to the deciding field goal and a third-and-8 run up the middle that, had it been stopped, would have given them the ball back with another chance to tie or win it with about a minute remaining.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C
After putting his first NFL kickoff out of bounds, rookie Ben Sauls, called up from the practice squad after the release of Younghoe Koo, settled in and connected on two field goals (27 and 39 yards) and an extra point. The return game remains flat and uninspiring as none of their kickoffs or punts were brought out beyond the 35. At least the Giants didn’t allow a special teams return for a touchdown after giving up two in the previous two games.
COACHING: D
It wasn’t just the rookie quarterback who was perplexed by the Vikings’ blitzing. Interim coach Mike Kafka and the staff had no answers for it when it came at them either. That was evident on the final offensive play when Johnson missed the block on the edge that led to Dart being sacked. If he knew he wanted it to be a low-scoring, control-the-ball game then Kafka should have kicked the field goal on the opening drive rather than try to convert fourth-and-5 from the 10; that one resulted in a sack too.
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.
