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It’s ironic how this game was closer than we thought it would be and yet worse than we expected in every other aspect. The New York Giants fell to the Minnesota Vikings 16-13 yesterday in what was mostly a stalemate between two struggling offensive units.
What we saw yesterday is what we mostly expected from Big Blue from the start of the season: offensive struggles combined with solid defensive play, particularly from the front four. The G-Men tallied four sacks as Abdul Carter continues to breakout after a slow start to his rookie campaign; adding another sack to his season total along with four quarterback hits.
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All in all, the Giants had four sacks on the day, including two from Brian Burns,one of which led to a fumble which was recovered for a touchdown as his All-Pro caliber season continues.
Offensively, we witnessed the worst start of Jaxson Dart’s career. Although many of his misgivings were a result of drops and an overall lack of pass plays called, Dart still struggled in the backfield today. The rookie quarterback finished the day 7 of 13 for a mere 33 yards and an interception. He was also sacked five times on six hits. Speaking of, the offensive line appeared to return to the form they’ve kept over the last decade as Andrew Thomas exited the contest with a hamstring injury.
If there’s one nice thing that could be said about this offense it’s that the running back combo of Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Devin Singletary played well today. The duo rushed for 118 combined yards on 27 carries and kept New York in the game offensively despite Dart’s struggles.
The General Consensus
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This team is completely checked out. Dart hasn’t looked the same since his early exit from the Bears game last month, and much of that seems to be in part due to the release of head coach Brian Daboll. Dart’s QB rating has plummeted since his return to action, and while that may be due to a potential tank attempt and/or this team’s lack of offensive firepower finally catching up with this injury-riddled squad, it can’t be said that it isn’t a concerning sign.
Defensively, Charlie Bullen seems to have grabbed his first brass ring as the interim DC for Big Blue. Particularly in the running game, the Giants finally showed progress, only allowing 3.7 yards per carry on 31 attempts by the combined efforts of Aaron Jones and a plethora of supporting RB’s.
While times have seemed to reach a whole new level of bleakness in the month of December, the hope is that this team may have finally turned a corner with their front four on defense. Offensively, this team should finally be able to reach their max potential next season with the returns of wide receiver Malik Nabers and running back Cameron Skattebo as well as some new pieces which can be found in the draft. As for right now, we strongly suggest you shift your focus to your favorite college squad still remaining in the playoffs. It’ll be easier on your mental sanity than watching this team play Las Vegas next weekend.
-Jack Barber
Works Cited
https://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore/_/gameId/401772911 https://www.bigblueview.com/new-york-giants-injuries/149246/andrew-thomas-questionable-hamstring-injury-vs-vikings-week-16
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