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Giants - Vikings
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Oct 3, 8:30 pm - Giants at Minnesota
Game 4
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Giants lose to the Vikings 24-10.
Eli Manning was 25 of 45 for 261 yards with 1 INT.
Orleans Darkwa rushed for 48 yards on 12 carries and 1 TD.
Bobby Rainey rushed for 22 yards on 4 carries and caught 7 passes for 43 yards.
Paul Perkins rushed for 8 yards on 2 carries and caught 2 passes for 72 yards.
Victor Cruz caught 5 passes for 50 yards.
Will Tye caught 4 passes for 43 yards.
Sterling Shepard caught 4 passes for 30 yards.
Odell Beckham Jr. caught 3 passes for 23 yards.

Dwayne Harris had 1 fumble.
Josh Brown kicked a 40 yard field goal.

Game Notes:
"After last week I didn't know what to expect. In the first two games the Giants struggled, had turnovers and all, but were able to get their act together. Then, against Washington, they lost it in more ways than one. Tonight, against the Vikings, they played like they were in a trance or forgot to eat their Wheaties. I was hoping the Giants would break out of their funk, but hat didn't happen.
The Vikings were the first to score in this game. It happened when Dwayne Harris fumbled a punt return and they recovered. Later in the drive, a 13 yard pass interference penalty in the endzone brought them to the one yard line and they scored on their second try. Thanks to this extra possession, the Giants were now down 7-0.
In the second quarter Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford threw a seven yard touchdown pass to put the Vikings up 14-0. Watching the Giants go nowhere so far in this game, one thought I had was that Eli Manning shouldn't be trying to change the plays at the line so much. It's a real noisy stadium, and his guys looked confused at times after he made some calls. The Giants didn't get on the scoreboard until near the end of the half. They managed a field goal, but maybe could have done better because they didn't use a timeout after Victor Cruz caught a 10 yard pass at the Vikings 17 yard line. Manning hurried, threw an incomplete pass, and that stopped the clock with 7 seconds left. They lined up for a field goal and drew another dumb penalty with a 5 yard loss, before Josh Brown kicked a 40 yard field goal.
The Giants caught a break at the start of the third quarter when the Vikings missed on a field goal. They had decent field position at their 36 yard line, but three plays later, Manning threw an interception. The Vikings added another field goal so now the Giants were down 17-3. Manning continued to be in too much of a hurry to get rid of the ball, and he threw a lot of incompletions. Then it looked like things would turn around at the top of the fourth quarter when Manning hit running back Paul Perkins with a short pass that he took 67 yards to the Vikings 4 yard line. A few plays later Orleans Darkwa ran the ball in for a touchdown, and now we had some hope with a 17-10 game. However, the Giants defense couldn't stop the Vikings on third downs on their next turn, and Bradford completed a 40 yard pass that soon led to a touchdown. That increased their lead to 24-10. The Giants had two more chances to get some points after that, but neither team got any, and that became the final score. Overall it was a very disillusioning game, especially following the one the week before. I really hope the Giants can get something going next Sunday night in Green Bay."

Game Notes:
"No one expected the Giants to win and they played up (or down) to those expectations. They looked like they were sleepwalking through most of this game. There was just no spark on the field, no fire. Last Sunday the problems were injures, penalties, and poor decisions by players. There was also a bit of questionable coaching. You would hope to see that Ben McAdoo isn't just a first year head coach trying to figure his team out on the fly. He's had the advantage of being with the team for two full years as offensive coordinator, but still there was no improvement tonight. In the first two games there were a combined 4 turnovers and 7 penalties. In the third last week the Giants lost to Washington with 3 turnovers and 11 penalties. They learned nothing, and against a better team like the Vikings, committing 2 turnovers and 8 penalties in this Monday night matchup was just too much.
Dwayne Harris was responsible for the first turnover, and it was a big one. The Giants defense had taken the Vikings three and out on their first possession at their 8 yard line. The punt went to the Giants 39 where Harris muffed the catch, and great field position for the Giants was suddenly switched over to the Vikings. They recovered at the Giants 41 yard line, and six plays later the Vikings had a 7-0 lead.
In this game it seemed that whether by design or maybe from lack of opportunity, Eli Manning was ignoring Odell Beckham Jr. It wasn't until after 11 pass and 12 running plays, resulting in four drives ending with punts, that Beckham finally got a look. It was about halfway into the second quarter when Manning tagged him for the first time. Following up on that, Beckham caught all three passes directed at him on this drive. Unfortunately Beckham incurred a 15 yard taunting penalty after the second one, and the Giants, down 14-0, ended up punting for the fifth time in a row.
After that Beckham was 0 for 6 for the rest of the game. Did the Vikings figure out how to totally shut Beckham down with great coverage or intimidation or does he shut down all on his own? The Giants messed up a bit, but were lucky enough to hurriedly get their act together right before the end of the half, and Josh Brown kicked a field goal.
Later on, Manning threw an interception in the third quarter on a deep pass intended for Beckham. It looked like there was miscommunication between the two, with Beckham slowing as the ball sailed over his head. Beckham had just initiated contact with cornerback Xavier Rhodes, and perhaps was more focused on doing that than the actual play. In any event, Rhodes grabbed it, and that turnover led to a Vikings field goal and 17-3 lead. Rhodes had been doing a great job covering Beckham from the start, and he kept at it.
Everyone knows that b
efore games Beckham wows the crowd with his one handed practice catches. It looked to me that on the next Giants possession, he could have pulled in a deep pass if he had chosen to use both hands. No one was 'wowed' when he didn't make a spectacular catch right here, and the Giants had to punt once again.
The Giants did have one big play the drive after that from
rookie running back Paul Perkins, a 67-yard catch-and-run that led to the Giants only touchdown. Perkins took that short pass and made it all happen with his running ability, but the Vikings came right back with their own touchdown drive to kill any momentum. There was no more scoring in the game.
I've pointed out a number of failures by the Giants, and not to be misunderstood, I'm not taking away anything from the Vikings in this win. Mike Zimmer and his coaching staff have been able to get everything out of their players, and that's the major fault with the Giants at this point. Ben McAdoo has to learn that trick. What better time to start? Next week McAdoo brings his team to Green Bay for a Sunday night game. It will be the first time McAdoo has returned there in any capacity to face off with his former head coach, Mike McCarthy."

First Quarter

VIKINGS - TOUCHDOWN
Play: Matt Asiata 1 Yd Run (Blair Walsh Kick)
Drive info: 6 plays, 41 yards, 2:42
Vikings 7-0

Second Quarter

VIKINGS - TOUCHDOWN
Play: Kyle Rudolph 7 Yd pass from Sam Bradford (Blair Walsh Kick)
Drive info: 9 plays, 65 yards, 4:56
Vikings 14-0
GIANTS - FIELD GOAL
Play: Josh Brown 40 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 11 plays, 44 yards, 2:44
Vikings 14-3

Third Quarter

VIKINGS - FIELD GOAL
Play: Blair Walsh 44 Yd Field Goal
Drive info:
6 plays, 17 yards, 2:16
Vikings 17-3

Fourth Quarter

GIANTS - TOUCHDOWN
Play: Orleans Darkwa 1 Yd Run (Josh Brown Kick)
Drive info: 5 plays, 91 yards, 1:47
Vikings 17-10
VIKINGS - TOUCHDOWN
Play: Jerick McKinnon 4 Yd Run (Blair Walsh Kick)
Drive info: 8 plays, 76 yards, 4:18
Vikings 24-10


Notes:
Giants Odell Beckham Jr. was held to only three receptions for a career-low 23 yards.

Giants have failed to force a turnover for the fourth consecutive game.

Giants committed two turnovers that the Vikings capitalized on for 10 points.

Vikings, after a penalty put them on a first-and-goal at the 1, had their first rushing touchdown of the season.

Vikings have hosted the Giants 4 times in the last 8 seasons, and each time it was in a different stadium - The Metrodome in 2009; Detroit’s Ford Field in 2010 after the Metrodome roof collapse; The University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium in 2015; U.S. Bank Stadium, 2016.
Next Games
Oct 9 - Giants at Green Bay.
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Oct 16 - Baltimore at Giants.
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