Team Giants

Giants - Vikings Game 16 preview

Giants (12-3) vs Minnesota (9-6).
Last week, the Minnesota Vikings lost their game to the Atlanta Falcons 24-17 despite having more first downs, total yards, rushing yards, passing yards, and despite holding an advantage in time of possession. That's what turning over the ball four times can do to you. They missed an opportunity to lock up the NFC North and perhaps relax a bit in their last game of the season with their playoff hopes now in doubt.
Last Sunday night Carolina was very much in control in their game against the Giants. They were ahead 28-20 as the end of the game neared, but Eli Manning led the Giants on a 7-play, 44-yard drive and capped it off with a 2-point conversion pass to tie the score. The Giants scored in their second drive of the overtime session. Derrick Ward had runs of 51 yards, 14 yards and 17 yards, to help set up Brandon Jacobs winning touchdown from the 2 yard line. The Giants earned home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with the 34-28 overtime victory.

The State of the Vikings - Brad Childress.
Head coach Brad Childress who once had been the offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles, has led the team to where Minnesota can clinch the NFC North with a win over the Giants or with the Chicago Bears losing their game to the Texans. That game will be played at the same time as the Giants game on Sunday. A loss to the Giants and a win by the Bears would eliminate the Vikings from any playoff contention. Childress said the Vikings have worked to put themselves in position to win the division on their own but called the Giants a "formidable opponent."

The State of the Vikings - Offense.
The mystery Vikings rank 27th in passing, but don't let your guard down when protecting against their third ranked rushing game, because they lead the NFL with 15 touchdowns of 20 or more yards, 11 of them passing. Adrian Peterson has run for 1,657 yards and is the NFL's top rusher. Lately he's been fumbling the ball, and he had two of the Vikings seven fumbles in last week's game, where they lost four. The current quarterback is Tarvaris Jackson who stepped back into the starting spot when Gus Frerotte was injured and he is playing extremely well. Tavraris was very effective last time he faced the Giants (10-for-12 for 129 yards) and the Giants pass rushing and run stopping hasn't been near its best lately.
He'll be looking to pass to receiver Bernard Berrian, who averages an impressive 20.1 yards per catch, and leaning on a running back Chester Taylor on third down. He leads the NFL running backs with 23 third-down catches.

The State of the Vikings - Defense.
They have the top ranked running defense in the NFL giving up under 75 yards per game, but will be missing Pro Bowl run-stopper Pat Williams with a fractured right shoulder. Even without him though last week the Vikings still gave up only 98 yards to the Falcons who have as strong a rushing game as the Giants. Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward ran for a season-high 301 yards last week when Ward rushed 15 times for a career-high 215 yards and Jacobs added 87 yards and three touchdowns. The Vikings might not see that rushing tandem for the entire game, but Derrick Ward will be trying to get 52 yards to increase his total to 1000 yards on the season. Cornerback Antoine Winfield was voted to his first Pro Bowl this year and the other cornerback Cedric Griffin is second on the team with 94 tackles and 13 passes defended.

Visanthe Shiancoe.
You remember, he used to back up Jeremy Shockey when he played for the Giants. Now for the Vikings he's their main man and leads all NFC tight ends with his seven touchdown catches. He seems to do well when Tarvaris Jackson is the quarterback. Last week he was red hot catching 7 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 582 total receiving yards on the season. He was also a red hot item a few weeks ago when a postgame video aired from inside the Minnesota Vikings' locker room and there was a brief shot of him after a towel had slipped. The network issued an apology soon after.

The State of the Giants - Tom Coughlin.
The Giants don't have much to play for in this game against the Minnesota Vikings except for pride and momentum. They stand a chance to lose a whole lot if anyone gets hurt. Last year Tom Coughlin was under similar circumstances for the last game of the season when the Giants were playing at home in front of all the diehard fans who show up for those cold November and December games. They had first hand memories of a 31-20 loss to Dallas, a 41-17 loss to the Vikings, and a 22-10 loss to Washington. Tom Coughlin, facing a playoff game the following week had to decide if he should rest his players, and he made the right decision. Playing all out, the Giants still lost that game to the Patriots 38-35, but the fans and the players left the stadium for the last time of the season feeling inspired, hopeful and even eager for the playoffs. This year the Giants rewarded all the home fans with a 7-1 record and sent them home with an exciting 34-28 overtime win over the Panthers. The Giants are on the road this time for the finale with paying fans watching comfortably from home and it's all up to Tom how he decides to play this one.

NFC East.
On Sunday after the Giants game, The (9-6) Cowboys try to keep their playoff hopes alive. If they beat the (8-6-1) Eagles in Philadelphia, they clinch a wild card spot. If the Eagles win, they would need Tampa Bay and Chicago to lose to get into the playoffs. The (8-7) Redskins are playing at the same time in San Francisco against the (6-9) 49ers.

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Notes.
Giants Derrick Ward needs to pick up 52 yards to hit 1,000 for the season and make the Giants only the the fourth team in NFL history with two 1,000-yard rushers.

Vikings Shiancoe had a career-high 136 yards receiving last week.

Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson lost two fumbles in the 24-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday.

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