The New York Giants’ offense struggled to do anything against a ferocious Brian Flores defense. New York had 141 total yards with just 33 passing yards. Disaster befell the Giants’ passing attack, as Jaxson Dart looked confused and battered against a defense that sent several unblocked free rushers into the pocket. Dart’s neophyte nature, combined with butter-fingered receivers and a hurt offensive line, led to an inept offensive performance.
The Giants’ defense scored a touchdown and forced multiple turnovers — another pick-six (Jevon Holland)that was negated by an Abdul Carter offside penalty. The defense was solid against a struggling offense, but similar issues persisted under Charlie Bullen; the defensive personnel couldn’t consistently tackle, and they surrendered long third-down conversions. New York’s defense did score points, though, and sacked the Vikings’ quarterbacks four times. Here are the grades from the game:
Quarterback
The Giants averaged -6 yards per pass play until the two-minute warning – that is atrocious! Mike Kafka leaned on the rushing attack for a few reasons; for starters, it was successful. New York had 76 rushing yards on 16 attempts in the first half. Secondly, the Giants were without Jon Runyan Jr. and, eventually and unfortunately, Andrew Thomas (starting in the second quarter).
Dart was getting hit by unblocked blitzers from Brian Flores. It wasn’t until the two-minute warning in the first half that Jaxson Dart completed a pass; he was sacked three times up until that point and was 0/3. Dart nearly threw his second interception on the first play of the two-minute drive, with the Giants down 13-3; Tyron Tracy Jr. was called for a hold. Dart nearly threw a pick two plays later as well.
Dart finished 7/13 for 33 passing yards with an interception. He was sacked five times and looked very uncomfortable all game. His receivers provided little help, with several dropped passes throughout the game, but it’s hard not to give Dart an F, even though his circumstances were abysmal.
Grade: F
Running Back
The Giants leaned on the rushing attack. The Giants averaged 4.8 yards per carry in a first half where their passing attack was non-existent; they finished with 4.1 yards per carry. Tyrone Tracy Jr. had 71 yards on 16 carries, but 33 of them came on the first two carries of the game. Devin Singletary had 47 yards on 11 carries. Mike Kafka understandably wanted to run the football against the Vikings’ aggressive approach, which makes sense after watching the Giants’ attempts to throw the football. Still, it wasn’t nearly enough.
Grade: B-
Wide Receiver
The Giants’ passing attack was essentially non-existent for much of the game. Darius Slayton dropped a dime of an in-breaker with less than four minutes in the game, down three points on a second-and-nine. Unfortunately, this isn’t surprising for Slayton. Wan’Dale Robinson allowed a throw to hit him in the helmet up the seam; even though the throw was a bit late, it was catchable. The tight ends are grouped here, specifically Theo Johnson, but these receivers need to do a better job of hanging onto the football.
Grade: F
Tight End
Theo Johnson was frustrating again, after having a few solid games over the last five weeks. Johnson had two costly drops, one that fell into the arms of Byron Murphy Jr. The Giants were able to generate some push at the point of attack, initially, and their 12 and 13-personnel packages were effective when blocking. Still, their impact on the passing game was negative, with Johnson’s two drops on his only two targets. Daniel Bellinger had a catch that was negated by a penalty.
Grade: D+
Offensive Line
The Giants were without Jon Runyan Jr., and Andrew Thomas left the game early in the second quarter with a hamstring injury. Aaron Stinnie and Marcus Mbow, respectively, replaced the two starters and Jaxson Dart seemed uncomfortable attempting to figure out Brian Flores’ defense. There were several unblocked defenders and a lot of pressure on Dart. John Michael Schmitz left the game in the second half as well, putting Austin Schlottmann in the game. There was a lot of pressure on Dart, who was sacked five times in the game.
Grade: D
Defensive Line
Dexter Lawrence created interior pressure, and Roy Robertson-Harris had a few plays around the line of scrimmage. However, the defense became butter to the Vikings’ warm knife when it mattered most at the end of the game. Aaron Jones Sr. rushed for a first down on third-and-eight that would have allowed the Giants’ inept offense to either tie or win the game. I appreciate that Lawrence pressured the Vikings’ quarterbacks, but it’s still not enough to overcome the many issues on this team.
Grade: C-
EDGE
Brian Burns resuscitated the cadaver of the New York Giants – give him a defibrillator! With less than 30 seconds left in the first half – after a run play – the Vikings call a screen, and J.J. McCarthy held onto the football way too long and got annihilated by Burns. Tyler Nubin scooped up the free football and scored, limiting the Vikings’ lead to just three points, with New York set to receive out of halftime. One of the most consistently positive parts of the Giants’ terrible 2025 season is the impact of Brian Burns.
Abdul Carter had a costly offside that negated another pick six, that one by Jevon Holland, but Carter did assist Chauncy Golston with a sack on the subsequent play. Carter then recorded an impressive spin move sack in the A-Gap.
Grade: A
Linebacker
Bobby Okereke had a few high-level linebacker plays; a few STOPs near the line of scrimmage that showcased his vision and an excellent red zone PBU against Justin Jefferson in the first half. Okereke also matched Jones to the flat and made an important third-and-three stop that held the Vikings to a field goal with 4:18 left in the game. I did not notice much else from other linebackers.
Grade: B-
Cornerback
Paulson Adebo recorded his first interception as a Giant, after Jalen Nailor failed to hold onto a poorly placed football; the pick ended the Vikings’ second drive, after Minnesota just picked up their second third-and-twelve on an underneath throw – the secondary could have done a better job preventing those two conversions.
Cor’Dale Flott was fine in the first half but injured his knee. This put Tae Banks on the field, and he immediately surrendered the edge to Aaron Jones Sr. on an outside run. It’s comical how bad Banks performs in run defense and his aversion to contact. Korie Black earned second-half snaps as well and replaced Banks after several mistakes.
Grade: C
Safety
Jevon Holland had a first-half pick-six negated by an Abdul Carter neutral zone infraction, which is frustrating but fitting. Holland had a few questionable tackle attempts (not effort-wise) on some of the early third-and-long Viking conversions. Tyler Nubin was used around the line of scrimmage and in blitz packages that were countered by Kevin O’Connell’s screen passes. Nubin kicked off the defense with a PBU at the line of scrimmage. Nubin scooped up the forced fumble before half-time, which led to the Giants’ first touchdown of the game. Unfortunately, Nubin left the game with an injury.
Grade: B
Special Teams
Fittingly, rookie kicker Ben Sauls sent the opening kickoff out of bounds, giving the Vikings elite field position to start the game. Still, Minnesota was held to a field goal on the drive because of a Jordan Addison drop. The Giants opted to forgo a field goal opportunity on their first drive; they ran the football on third-and-eight and Dart was sacked on fourth-and-five. Like much of the last two years, the Giants likely lacked confidence in their kicking situation.
Sauls did, however, hit two field goals in the windy conditions: 27 and 39-yard field goals. Jamie Gillan did have two quality punts, and Tae Banks was solid returning the football on kickoffs.
Grade: C+
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