Vikings-Giants

What a difference a week makes. After a terrible game in Chicago last Sunday, there was a week-long media and fan feeding frenzy in Minnesota. What's wrong with the Vikings' offense? Kirk Cousins sucks. What's eating Stefon Diggs? The honking by the fans, the beat writers, and the national media made the past seven days feel like seven months. The Vikings really just needed to get back on a football field and play a football game. Unfortunately for the New York Giants that football field and game was in New Jersey.

The Vikings did just about everything right in the 28-10 win.

Vikings Offense:
490 total yards
279 passing yards
211 rushing yards
7.7 yards/play

Kirk Cousins did in the first half something that he'd failed to do in each of the first four games, throw for more than 250 yards. He had 278 yards at the half.

Vikings Defense:
211 total yards
147 passing yards
64 rushing yards
3.4 yards/play
4 sacks
1 interception

Special Teams:
4/4 field goals
2/2 extra points

It was a complete team win.

The Vikings' lone turnover, a Dalvin Cook fumble one yard from a touchdown, turned into two points from the defense. Anthony Barr smothered Giants running back Jonathan Hilliman in the end zone for a safety on the next play. It was that sort of game for the Vikings.

Perhaps the lone issue for the Vikings, other than the 12 penalties for 112 yards, was the four field goals. They possessed the football for nearly the entire first half. The drive that ended with Cook's fumble and a half-ending Hail Mary were the only offensive possessions that ended with no points. It felt like the score could've been 30-7 at the half. Having to settle for three field goals kept the halftime score much more manageable for the Giants, 18-7.

And, the Giants offense got after it in the second half. Or, they sure tried to get after it in the second half.

In terms of time of possession, the Giants offense did in the second half what the Vikings offense did in the first half. The Giants kept possession of the football. Despite possessing the football for all but 2:52 of the third quarter, the Giants scored three points. The Vikings made the most of their lone possession in the third quarter by scoring a touchdown. Advantage Vikings.

Basically, this game came down to the Vikings offense controlling things in the first half, scoring enough points, and setting it for their defense to finish the game off in the second half. Despite bending a bit between the 20s, the defense did just that. They kept a pesky Giants offense out of the end zone.

Giants 2nd half possessions:
1. 15 plays, 61 yards, 7:25-field goal
2. 11 plays, 63 yards, 4:43-downs
3. 10 plays, 29 yards, 5:03-downs
4. 4 plays, 8 yards, 0:49-interception

Those first three possessions would be beautiful if the Giants were protecting a lead.

The second turnover on downs was done so at the Vikings' 3-yard line. That was the game's turning point. There were seconds remaining in the third quarter. A touchdown there and it's a one score game, 25-17/25-18. The Giants would've had momentum and a quarter still to play. Instead, coming up empty was a giant blow to the Giants. They possessed the ball for nearly the entire third quarter and they only scored three points. In fact, they lost the quarter 7-3 despite controlling it.

Game Balls:
Kirk Cousins
22/27, 306 yards, 2 TDs, 138.6 QBR
-Cousins' 278 yards in the first half were on pace for the NFL single game passing record. He was 3/4, 28 yards, 1 TD in the second half. It was that sort of game for the Vikings.

Dalvin Cook
21 carries, 132 yards
6 catches, 86 yards
218 yards from scrimmage

Adam Thielen
7 catches, 130 yards, 2 TDs

The defense, as a whole, deserves a game ball but one defender deserves special mention.

Anthony Barr
3 tackles, 1 TFL, safety, 1 pass defense, 1 QB hit, 1 interception

For more than a year the Giants were criticized for selecting Saquon Barkley over Sam Darnold in the 2018 NFL Draft. The combination of Daniel Jones and Barkley is a much better combination than Darnold and anybody that they could've selected with the sixth pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Giants fans should feel pretty good about the future of their team. Barkley is an incredible talent. And Jones didn't look like a rookie making his third NFL start. He had poise. He was steady. He made terrific throws. His stats don't come close to the game that he played. He had this Vikings fan on the edge of his seat through three quarters. It wasn't until the turnover on downs at the Vikings' 3-yard line at the end of the third quarter that I was really able to relax. The Vikings dominated this game yet Jones kept his team in it. He did it without Barkley. He did it despite losing Wayne Gallman early in the game. I've liked Giants head coach Pat Shurmur since his time in Minnesota. He's very good at keeping a defense off balance with his play-calling. I really like the potential of the Giants offense in the coming years. And I'm really glad this game is behind the Vikings.

The Vikings return home next week for a big game with the Philadelphia Eagles. I'll be there for my first Vikings game in Minnesota. Can't wait. Skol!