Vikings-Giants Preview: Three Keys To Victory

It's been an interesting week. Between Adam Thielen's postgame comments after an ugly loss to the Bears, Kirk Cousins apologizing to Thielen on his podcast, and the Stefon Diggs saga, tensions have been running high at TCO Performance Center.

The best way to soothe those tensions? Go win a football game. That's what the Vikings will try to do on Sunday against the Giants, who are also 2-2 through the first quarter of the season.

Here are three things that would help the Vikings take down old friend Pat Shurmur and win their first road game of the year.

1. Grease the squeaky wheels (feed Diggs and Thielen)

The season high in combined targets for the Vikings' two star wide receivers is 15, which came against the Packers in Week 2. For multiple reasons, I would be very surprised if that isn't broken this week at MetLife Stadium. The first is that it would greatly benefit the Vikings' offense to open things up in the passing game. They'll look to get Dalvin Cook back on track after a slow week against the Bears' elite front, but the Giants defense is better against the run than the pass. They mostly limited Ezekiel Elliott in Week 1, but were eviscerated by Dak Prescott through the air. Jameis Winston and Mike Evans similarly carved up the Giants' secondary in Week 3.

The Vikings need to push the ball downfield to their big-play threats, and there's reason to believe they will. Cousins told Thielen he needs to get him the ball more, then spent his Wednesday press conference talking about how he can improve at keeping his eyes downfield, staying in the pocket, and finding explosive plays. He knows he's been too tentative. Cousins spent time after practice Wednesday working on deep balls to all of his receivers except the absent Diggs. Giants rookie cornerback Deandre Baker is exploitable.

The second reason is that it's in the Vikings' best long-term interests to keep these two guys happy. The situations are volatile right now, especially with Diggs. He finally spoke to reporters on Thursday and essentially confirmed that he is very frustrated with the way things have been going. He said he loves being in Minnesota, but didn't flatly deny trade rumors. My guess is the Vikings will feed the hungry mouths of Diggs and Thielen in an effort to keep them content.

2. Limit the Giants playmakers, especially on third down

The Vikings defense facing a rookie quarterback seems like a recipe for success, but I bet Mike Zimmer and his players on that end would've much rather seen Eli Manning one more time. Manning was 2-6 against the Vikings with as many touchdowns as pick-sixes, including two blowout losses in the Zimmer era.

Instead, they'll be facing Daniel Jones, who is 2-0 since stepping in as the starter. Jones cooled off a little last week against Washington (1 TD, 2 INTs) after his near-flawless debut in Tampa Bay. Regardless, he is a much more difficult weapon to plan for than Manning was. Jones has excellent mobility – he's averaging 6.6 yards per carry and has two rushing touchdowns – which is part of why he's been remarkably successful at extending drives.

Jones is 16 for 28 (57 percent) on third and fourth downs over the last two games, making plays with his arm and his legs. The Vikings under Zimmer are always among the best third-down defenses in the league, but they did allow Chase Daniel to pick up some big ones last weekend with quick throws.

Even though the Giants will almost certainly be without Saquon Barkley, Jones has plenty of weapons at his disposal. Evan Engram is one of the best tight ends in the league, and Wayne Gallman filled in effectively for Barkley with over 100 yards from scrimmage and two scores last week. The Giants get back noted Viking-killer Golden Tate from suspension this week, and he'll give Jones another target alongside Engram, Gallman, and Sterling Shepard.

3. Pressure Jones and force turnovers

This goes hand-in-hand with No. 2. The best way to limit the effectiveness of the Giants' playmakers and get them off the field is to make Jones' life difficult, early and often. Danielle Hunter will get to go to work against old friend Mike Remmers, and Everson Griffen will have a fascinating matchup against Nate Solder. Preventing Jones from feeling comfortable and getting into a rhythm will be crucial.

If the Vikings can do that, they're likely to force some mistakes. Jones threw two bad interceptions last week, so Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris are probably licking their chops. Force a few turnovers, put the offense in good field position, and the Vikings should be able to leave New Jersey with a win.

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