A game between a 6-8 team and a 2-12 team in late December is generally expected to be a pretty ugly affair, and Sunday’s contest between the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium certainly met those expectations.
Only one offensive touchdown was scored on Sunday afternoon, and the Vikings lost a couple of key components heading into the final weeks of the regular season during an ugly 16-13 victory over the Giants in Week 16 NFL action.
The Vikings got on the scoreboard first, getting a 43-yard field goal from Will Reichard on their first possession to take a 3-0 lead. It should have been more than that, as the play before the field goal attempt saw J.J. McCarthy throw a perfect pass to Jordan Addison in the end zone that Addison just flat-out dropped. It was another in a long list of drops for Addison this season, which is something the team will have to address at some point.
The Giants turned the ball over on downs on their first possession, getting turned away on 4th-and-5 from the Minnesota 10-yard line when Jaxson Dart was sacked by Jalen Redmond to end the New York drive. On the ensuing possession, the Vikings turned it over, as a McCarthy pass intended for Jalen Nailor went off Nailor’s hands and into the hands of Paulson Adebo for an interception that set the Giants up in Minnesota territory.
New York turned the turnover into points, as rookie kicker Ben Sauls connected on his first NFL field goal attempt, a 27-yarder to tie things at 3-3 four minutes into the second quarter. The Vikings narrowly avoided a disaster as what would have been a 96-yard pick-six for Giants’ safety Jevon Holland was negated by a defensive offsides penalty. As it was, the Vikings got another field goal from Reichard, a 31-yarder to take the lead back at 6-3.
Then, the Vikings’ defense got involved, as Dart’s pass for Theo Johnson deflected off his hands and into the hands of Byron Murphy Jr. for his first interception of the season, with the return setting the Vikings up in the red zone.
The Vikings converted that turnover into the game’s first touchdown, as McCarthy couldn’t find anything open on third down and took it into the end zone himself from 12 yards out to make the score 13-3 just before the two-minute warning.
The Vikings got the ball back with about a minute left before the half, and they allowed the Giants to get a score on defense. Brian Burns leveled McCarthy on a sack, and he fumbled the ball on the hit. The ball was recovered by former Golden Gopher Tyler Nubin, who took it into the end zone from 27 yards out, making the score 13-10 just before halftime. The play resulted in McCarthy sustaining an injury to his throwing hand, with Max Brosmer taking over at quarterback for the second half of play.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Giants drew even early in the fourth on another field goal by Sauls, as he connected from 39 yards out to tie things at 13-13 with just over eleven minutes left in regulation.
Minnesota then took the lead back with just over four minutes to play, as Reichard got his third field goal of the afternoon, this one coming from 30 yards out to make it a 16-13 game. The Giants advanced the ball to midfield near the two-minute warning, but faced a 4th-and-3 that saw Dart sacked by Andrew Van Ginkel for a turnover on downs. The Vikings then handed the ball to Aaron Jones a few times to pick up a first down, and went into victory formation for their third consecutive victory.
In addition to McCarthy, the Vikings also lost running back Jordan Mason early on to an ankle injury, and center Ryan Kelly to what appears to be another concussion. It would be Kelly’s third concussion of this season and the sixth of his career, and it’s definitely starting to be time to wonder whether or not his career might be coming to an end here as well.
The Vikings move to 7-8 on the season with their third consecutive victory, and will now finish their season with consecutive games at U.S. Bank Stadium against NFC North divisional opponents. They will host the Detroit Lions on Christmas Day and finish the season against the Green Bay Packers in Week 18.
It wasn’t a work of art by any means, but the Minnesota Vikings picked up their third consecutive victory as they defeated the New York Football Giants at MetLife Stadium by a final score of 16-13 in Week 16. Thank you to everyone who got their coverage of this week’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!
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