How Giants Changed Up Offensive Game Plan in Win Over Vikings

The New York Giants must have really liked their Week 16 offensive game plan they ran against the Minnesota Vikings because they came out in their Wild Card matchup with a very similar plan with a few tweaks here and there.

What made the plan so successful this time around? For starters, there were no turnovers, and the Giants utilized quarterback Daniel Jones's running ability to the tune of a career-high (and team-leading) 17 carries for 78 yards (also team leading).

As they did in Week 16 and the Wild Card game, they put the ball in Jones's hands and asked him to distribute it to their weapons, which he did masterfully. Jones completed 71 percent of his passes for 338 yards and a touchdown in the first game. In this one, he completed 68 percent of his passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns.

This week, he completed passes to six receivers versus five in the previous game. In both games, Darius Slayton, Richie James, Isaiah Hodgins, and Saquon Barkley were effective pass catchers for Jones, but Hodgins has continued to impress.

He followed up eight catches for 87 yards and a touchdown in their first matchup with eight receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown in the second and was a major reason why these two games were two of Jones's most effective games as a passer this season.

The two turnovers in their first meeting--an interception by Jones and a fumble by tight end Daniel Bellinger--took away opportunities to either put points on the board or continue to run down the clock and win the time of possession.

There was also a blocked punt that gave the Vikings the ball in scoring position and resulted in a field goal for the Vikings. That was not the case in this meeting. The Vikings never enjoyed a short field, the Giants never had a three-and-out drive, and they also dominated the time of possession 33:36 to 26:24. That is a stark difference from the first game, where they lost the time of possession by a minute.

The other place where the game turned in favor of the Giants was in Jones's becoming a weapon as a runner. His ability to pull the ball down and pick up positive yards when pass rushers were close forced the linebackers and secondary to pay attention to him instead of thinking about receivers.

He carried the ball four times for 33 yards in the first game. As previously mentioned, he had 17 carries for 78 yards in this one. Among them were several key first-down pickups on passing plays, with the pass rush bearing down on him. Jones carried the ball so much that he limited Barkley to nine carries for the game.

The game plan to throw the ball against the 31st-ranked passing defense proved to be the correct call for a team that has only thrown for over 300 yards five times this season (including once against Minnesota).

This also marks the first time this season and the second time in three years that the Giants have won a game when Jones has attempted 35 or more passes. That's a lot of trust when you consider how well Saquon Barkley ran the ball in the first matchup and this playoff game.

Over the two games, he has averaged almost six yards per carry, and he has three rushing touchdowns. That says a lot about how much faith Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka have in Jones.

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