Mike Kafka on Why Giants Went with Run-heavy Offensive Game Plan

Kafka defended decision to roll with run-heavy approach which limited passing game.

The Minnesota Vikings defense tackles New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (29) during a game at MetLife Stadium, Dec 21, 2025, East Rutherford, NJ, USA | Yannick Peterhans / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Thirty-three total passing yards, and of those, only 13 net yards?

Offensive. But yet that’s how New York Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka and the rest of the Giants' offensive brain trust set things up in what would be a 16-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

But don’t tell Kafka that the game plan was conservative, despite the lackluster production against a Vikings defense that has had its share of issues, even with a motivated Brian Flores running it.

“They did a nice job of mixing up some coverages, some pressure packages,” Kafka said of the Vikings. 

“And the attempts that we had, which were limited, we had some cover zero alerts, some tags built into it. Just need overall better execution there from the whole group.”

Yes, there were dropped balls–two by tight end Theo Johnson, who leads the offense in drops this season, and one by Darius Slayton. 

But to handcuff the offense by not striving for a more balanced approach was definitely a headscratcher that raised the question of whether Kafka and company were trying to simply protect young Jaxson Dart from being eaten alive by what can be a very aggressive Vikings pass rush.  

“I think for us, we just wanted to try and minimize some of that pressure package and let our run game go,” Kafka said. 

“We were mixing a couple of different personnel groupings. Getting into some 13 personnel, some 12, a little bit of 11, but trying to create an advantage for us.”

Per TruMedia, the Giants, in their Week 16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, ran the following personnel packages:
*23 in 12-personnel (79 yards)
*10 in 13-personnel (40 yards)
*13 in 11-personnel
(Giants had 48 total offensive plays.)

— Locked On Giants (@LockedOn_Giants) December 22, 2025

Perhaps it was a matter of Kafka and company trying to take advantage of the struggling Vikings' run defense that, before Week 16’s meeting, had allowed opponents 127.6 yards per game, 24th in the league.

Of the Giants’ 30 rushing attempts, they ran the ball 16 times on first down, averaging 4.68 yards per attempt, and 10 times on second down, averaging 4.1 yards per attempt.

“Yeah, part of the plan was getting to the run game a little bit more, and that's part of the process we went through this week,” Kafka said. 

“When you have a coordinator that likes to pressure, and that's a strength of theirs, you can minimize it by a couple of things, whether it's screens, whether it's max protecting it, or the run game, which helps neutralize that.”

After the game, Dart admitted he'd never thrown for so few passing yards in all the years he’s played football. But he added, “I trust the coaches' game plan each week. Understand it. You have conversations, and my job is just to go out there and execute the play that's being called.”  

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