Takeaways from Giants' 27-24 Loss to Vikings

A loss is a loss, but the Giants' loss to the Minnesota Vikings was not as devastating as it could have been.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Dec 25, 2022 11:42 AM EST

In this story:

Not many expected the New York Giants to beat the Minnesota Vikings.

Then again, not many expected the Giants to keep things as close as they did against the current No. 2 seed in the NFC postseason race.

Yet that's what head coach Brian Daboll's scrappy Giants did. They made a game of it that saw New York lead at one point in the game only to lose it thanks to a series of mistakes--a lost fumble by tight end Daniel Bellinger, a blocked punt right up the gut, quarterback Daniel Jones's first interception in five games, two interceptions that weren't and a bad drop by receiver Richie James on third down which meant the difference between a touchdown and a field goal.

"You have two turnovers, and a blocked punt, to be in the game at the end of the game," said Daboll. "The guys were resilient, but you can't have those mistakes. The fumble took away three points, interception took away at least three points.

"Then we give the ball back to them in our end zone or in our territory where they hit (receiver Justin) Jefferson there. We got him doubled, but he makes a good play, and they made the plays they needed to win the game, so give them credit."

All season long, the Giants have shown that they're not at the point yet where they can overcome mistakes. And the more mistakes they make, the bigger the hole they dig for themselves, even if the score indicates otherwise.

To lose the game on a walk-off field goal was a tough pill to swallow. But these Giants won't have too much time to wallow in self-pity. The playoffs are still right there for the taking if they can win one of their remaining two games--against the Colts and Eagles.

They will finish with a winning record for the first time since 2016, the last year they made the playoffs. And they will avoid their sixth straight season with double-digit losses.

Whatever else happens, Daboll's first season with the Giants has been one of the most pleasant surprises in the NFL and a strong indication that even brighter skies are ahead for a Giants fan base that hasn't had much to cheer about for most of the last decade.

Here are some other takeaways.

Daniel Jones Continues to Strengthen His Case

Every week, quarterback Daniel Jones is showing even his staunchest detractors that he can be a very capable quarterback in this league. And what's even more incredible than the won-loss record he's posted is that Jones has been doing it without top-notch receivers or a consistent offensive line.

But like anything else in life, things happen in stages, and the one thing that no one can say Jones hasn't done is to take advantage of the situations in which he's supposed to excel. This week, he went toe-to-toe against a Vikings pass defense that hovered at the bottom of the league coming into this game.

And what did Jones do? He threw for 334 yards, only his second such 300-yard passing performance this season and his second-highest total of the year, and he completed 71.4 percent of his pass attempts as he continues to post his best completion percentage (66.5 percent) of his career this season.

What's been a difference, other than the Daboll-Mike Kafka factor? The Giants have Jones getting the ball out of his hand quickly, which helps the pass protection settle down. It takes away Jones's strength, which is the deep ball, but one can't have everything right away. Given what Jones has had to work with, he's made the most of his opportunities.

And if that's not convincing enough, look no further than the Giants' last drive, when he loaded the team on his shoulders and carried them so close to the finish line.

The Daniel Jones of recent seasons might not have been able to bring his team back from the brink of defeat. Yet, there he was, engineering a seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive ending in a 27-yard touchdown run by Saquon Barkley and the ensuing 2-point conversion to Bellinger to tie the game.

That's the kind of performance franchise quarterbacks make. Jones is finally starting to emerge as a legitimate NFL quarterback--just look around the league at all the teams with worse quarterback situations than the Giants. Thanks to Jones's development, finding a new quarterback is a big item that general manager Joe Schoen can cross off his off-season to-do list.

Isaiah Hodgins is a Keeper

There is no question that the most disappointing development of the Giants' 2022 season has been the receivers failing to even come close to fulfilling expectations.

Kenny Golladay continues to be an afterthought in the offense, where both sides just seem to be biding their time before the divorce happens this off-season. The Giants felt that Kadarius Toney wasn't a fit for their team, so they traded him away early in the year. And Sterling Shepard's comeback from an Achilles injury ended with a torn ACL.

While the Richie Jameses, Darius Slaytons, and Marcus Johnsons have had chances to step up and see the moment, the biggest and most pleasant surprise to come from the debacle at receiver has been the arrival of Isaiah Hodgins. Remember, Hodgins was scouted by Schoen and Daboll when they were with Buffalo, so it was not a surprise that they immediately scooped him up off the waiver wire when Hodgins became available.

But what's been particularly impressive about Hodgins is how quickly he's built chemistry with Daniel Jones and the offense. People will point to the fact that Hodgins has familiarity with the Giants offense, which Daboll ran up in Buffalo as their offensive coordinator. What doesn't get talked about is how there are a lot of times when it looks like Jones has been throwing to Hodgins forever--that's how comfortable the two look.

Hodgins' 87.5 reception percentage rate is the best among the Giants wide receivers. He's averaging a healthy 10.5 yards per catch and has three receiving touchdowns as a Giant in his last four games.

At 6-foot-4 and 209 pounds, no one is ready to anoint Hodgins, a No. 1 receiver. But as a potential No. 2 and outside threat, Hodgins' arrival has been one of the most pleasant developments at a position that has disappointed this team.

What's Really Best for the Team?

Daboll has always insisted that every decision he makes is in the team's best interest.

For the most part, he's been on point with his decisions. Still, one such decision he made that was not in the best interest of the team, even though he might have thought otherwise at the time, was the one to allow cornerback Adoree' Jackson to return punts.

Sure, Daboll probably didn't count on Jackson suffering a sprained knee that would cost him weeks down the stretch. Still, he also had to know there was always a chance that giving the team's top cornerback additional chances to have something happen to him was always a possibility.

The Giants have missed Jackson's presence in the lineup, especially in yesterday's game when Justin Jefferson ran wild for 133 yards on 12 receptions. While no one cornerback can completely erase Jefferson from the scene, it certainly stands to wonder if Jackson might have had better success against the NFL's receiving yardage leader than Fabian Moreau.

Moreau's tough afternoon was capped off in the fourth quarter when Jefferson made an all-too-easy touchdown catch. Moreau played a trail technique that had him at least five yards behind Jefferson, which gave his safety help too much space to defend, hence why Jefferson seemed to be so wide open.

Moreau has been solid for the role he was initially brought in to play, which is spot duty. When it's come to defending the opponent's No. 1 receivers, don't be surprised if the Giants are counting the minutes until the medical team clears Jackson to come back.

Landon Collins' Growth

It wasn't that long ago when Landon Collins was reportedly unwilling to convert to playing more of an inside linebacker role when he was with the Washington Commanders.

But since returning to the Giants for his second tour of duty, Collins, who was primarily a box safety for most of the early part of his career, has not only accepted the conversion, he's done quite well with it.

Against the Vikings, Collins, playing in the big nickel, delivered three huge plays of impact. The first came on a third down against tight end T.J. Hokenson, who, like Jefferson, destroyed the Giants' pass defense (13 catches, 109 yards, two touchdowns).

On this play, Collins knocked away the ball to force a punt. He then came up with a solo tackle that blew up a red zone receiver screen, showing instincts and awareness.

He also delivered a sack of quarterback Kirk Cousins with 0:19 left in the fourth quarter, which unfortunately went for naught given that the Vikings picked up 17 yards on the ensuing play before Greg Joseph's franchise record-setting and game-winning 61-yard field goal was struck.

Earlier in the week, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale spoke with a very noticeable tone of glee about how well Collins has come along in this defensive scheme. Now we see why Martindale was so giddy.

By The Numbers

Kicker Graham Gano continues to be Mr. Clutch. Gano made all three of his field goal attempts, two from 44 yards and one from 55 yards. Gano is now 8-of-9 on field goal tries from 50+ yards this year.

And he also delivered touchbacks on all six of his kickoffs, an underrated but key win against Vikings kickoff returner Kene Nwangwu, who already has one kickoff return for a touchdown this season (against New England).

The Giants continue to struggle on third downs. This week they were three of 11 (27.3 percent). Meanwhile, the defense, which had been so good on third downs, allowed the Vikings to convert six of 13 (46.2 percent). Those numbers are trending in the wrong direction.

Another number trending in the wrong direction? Penalties. The Giants had seven penalties accepted for 63 yards, giving them 111 penalties this season. The Giants are averaging 6.3 penalties per game this season, the seventh-worst average in the league.

Worst yet is the number of penalties resulting in stalled scoring drives. In their last two games, the Giant shave had four stalled scouring drives (two each). For a team that has struggled to score more than 20 points this season, that's the last thing the Giants need to happen consistently.

Despite It All...

Although Giants fans didn't wake up Sunday morning knowing the team has clinched a postseason berth, all it takes is for the Giants to win one of their remaining two games this season, and they're in.

Logic would dictate that the magic win will come against a Colts team that's in a state of disarray and has averaged 17.5 points per game. That said, no game is ever a given, and it would behoove the Giants not to take any team lightly, especially given how they've had their issues with playing pristine games and overcoming their mistakes.