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Giants (6-8) vs Vikings (9-5)
Last
week the Vikings took the lead early on and never let go in their game with the
Bears. Both teams were on losing streaks, but the Vikings ended theirs with a
38-17 win.
On Sunday the Giants came up with 28 unanswered points to tie their
game with the undefeated Panthers. Then they
allowed the Panthers to score a game winning field goal in the final two minutes
to take a 38-35 loss.
Giants
- Panthers Wrap-Up
The
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are doing
better than most had expected of them going into the season. They had won the
NFC North division title in 2008 and 2009, then slumped to 5-11 and 3-13 in the
following two years before earning a one and done wild card slot in 2012. After
6-10 and 7-11 seasons they are now a 9-5 second place team vying for a wild card
with a win over the Giants. The Vikings also have a chance at the division title
if the 10-4 Green Bay Packers falter against Arizona and then lose to them in
the final game of the season. Mike Zimmer was brought in to be the head coach
for the 2014 season. The Vikings had just given up the most points in the league
and Zimmer was a former defensive coordinator in Dallas and Cincinnati. He brought
in George Edwards to be the defensive coordinator and Norv Turner to fulfill those
duties on offense. The Vikings improved dramatically on defense last year in both
points and yards allowed. The offense went the other way as they tried to work
in their first round pick rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater without the benefit
they expected to have in the running game. Adrian Peterson played in only the
first game last season after being banned by the NFL due to a child abuse charge.
This year the defense is as solid as last, running is up near 20 yards a game
and while the offense still lags in points and passing yards, they have already
won more games than last year and are on the way to the playoffs. Vikings
Offense
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater really
got it going last week against the Bears. He ran for one touchdown to bring his
total to three and completed 17 of 20 passes with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Bridgewater entered the game having thrown just nine touchdowns and eight interceptions
over the course of the season. It was a breakout game for Bridgewater at a time
when his team is gearing up for the playoffs.
Running back Adrian Peterson
leads the league with 1,314 rushing yards and nine touchdowns and has also helped
his quarterback out by catching 28 passes for 206 yards. Peterson missed some
plays against Chicago because of an injury to his left ankle and some practice
time after that, but is expected to play. The next leading rusher is Jerick McKinnon
with 41 carries and quarterback Bridgewater is next with 40 and three rushing
touchdowns.
Last week Bridgewater completed 17 passes, and on that his receivers
gained 169 of their 231 passing yards after the catch. The short passing game
worked well for them. Overall the receiver with the most yards per catch on the
season is Stefon Diggs averaging 14.7. Diggs and tight end Kyle Rudolph lead the
team with 47 receptions and both have 4 touchdowns. Mike Wallace is next with
36 catches and 2 touchdowns. Vikings
Defense
Christmas came early to the Vikings
secondary as they didn't have to prepare for Odell Beckham Jr. who has been suspended
for this game. That's a break for cornerback Xavier Rhodes who would have been
matched up with him. Rhodes has taken some dings in the past two games. Defensive
starters Linval Joseph, Anthony Barr and Harrison Smith have missed some or all
of the past few games, but they could be ready for this game.
The team has
played remarkably well without these key players and it's surprising that some
weren't named to the Pro Bowl. Talented rookie middle linebacker Eric Kendricks
leads the team with 89 tackles, including 4 sacks. Defensive tackle Linval Joseph
started his career with the Giants. Joseph, considered by many to be one of the
best run-stuffers in the league, is expected to play after missing the last three
games. Giants offense
Odell
Beckham Jr. earned himself a one game suspension for his three personal foul antics
in the game last week against the Panthers. Whether he was baited or not Beckham
needs to learn how to handle various situations as well as he's been able to handle
tricky football catches. Beckham with 91 catches on the season, accounts for over
25 percent of Eli Manning's receptions.
It's a shame this happened at a time
when the offensive line is putting it all together. The Panthers were at the top
of the league with 40 sacks and got none on Manning, knowing that he had to put
the ball in the air repeatedly in order to overcome the point deficit they faced.
They also helped Rashad Jennings get the team's first 100-plus yard rushing performance
of the year against a top notch rushing defense.
So Eli Manning won't have
his top receiver in this game and it will be interesting to see who rises to the
occasion. Last week Rueben Randle caught four of five passes headed his way, including
a 27-yard touchdown. Randle and Shane Vereen are actually tied on the season with
51 catches after Vereen caught 8 against the Panthers with one touchdown. Dwayne
Harris and Will Tye will see more opportunities and maybe we'll finally get what
we've been looking for for a while now, Vereen lining up with Jennings as an alternate
running back-receiver to keep defenses guessing. Giants
defense
The pass rush keeps improving
and they're getting more sacks, but it never seems to be enough and this week
they'll be focusing on a quarterback coming off the best game of his career. Teddy
Bridgewater had a five-touchdown (four passing, one rushing) game against the
Bears, and the week earlier threw for a career-high 335 passing yards against
the Cardinals. Quarterback pressure is important against the Vikings who don't
always do their best at pass blocking. In their nine wins Bridgewater was sacked
14 times. In their five losses he's been taken down 25 times.
The
Giants still rank dead last in the league, giving up an average of over 300 passing
yards a game. Cam Newton hit them for 309 yards and 5 touchdowns and he ran the
ball for 100 yards. Carolina's other runners tacked on 71 yards more for 171 total
without their top running back, Jonathan Stewart in the game. Now they will be
facing Adrian Peterson and a mix of a few other running backs who also average
over four yards a carry.
Overall this defense can put on a good show at times.
Somehow they held the Panthers at bay long enough for their offense to come back
with four straight touchdowns to tie, and then somehow they suddenly forgot what
they had just accomplished. Overall
Depending on an earlier game, this one could just present an opportunity for the
Vikings to see one of their players dinged up before they face the Green Bay Packers
for the division title the following week. If the Packers lose to the Cardinals,
that's how it will be. The Giants had their chances this season and it could all
come to an end if the Redskins beat the Eagles on Saturday night. Right now for
the Giants to make the playoffs, they need to win their final two games and the
Redskins must lose theirs. It's been a crazy season and something to look at in
the stats - the Giants are the only team in the NFC East to have scored more points
than they have given up. NFC
East Games
Saturday at 8:25pm Redskins
(7-7) at Eagles (6-8)
Sunday at 1:00pm Cowboys (4-10) at Bills (6-8)
Sunday
at 8:30pm Giants (6-8) at Vikings (9-5)
The Eagles are the only one of the
NFC East teams favored to win in these games.
Check out.
The Team
Giants Store, and see some of the really unique items we put together.
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TeamGiants on Twitter.
Notes.
Giants
haven’t missed the playoffs four straight years since 1981.
Giants
have lost six games this season after being tied or in the lead in the fourth
quarter. Giants have scored 35 or more
points twice this season and have lost both games. Giants
last road game vs. the Vikings was in Detroit after the Metrodome roof collapsed
in a snowstorm. Vikings defensive tackle
Linval Joseph played for the Giants from 2010-2013. Vikings
Adrian Peterson was the only member of the Vikings to be selected to the Pro Bowl
.
Next Games
Jan 3 - Eagles at Giants.
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