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5 things that stood out in the Vikings’ win over the Giants

That Brian Asamoah punch was lights out and Kirk Cousins is the king of comebacks.

Joe Nelson

5 things that stood out in the Vikings’ win over the Giants
5 things that stood out in the Vikings’ win over the Giants /

The Vikings improved to 12-3 with a 27-24 win over the Giants on Saturday. Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson were awesome again and Greg Joseph was the hero with a 61-yard walk-off field goal, but here are five other things that stood out... 

1. Brian Asamoah’s punch

If Asamoah is a future starting linebacker for the Vikings he gave a great preview of what life could be like with him running around on the field. In the first half, Asamoah threw a tremendous right hand that landed square on the football to force a fumble. He then stayed on his feet and picked up the loose ball to change the field in favor of the Vikings. 

2. Isaiah Hodgins vs. Patrick Peterson

Hodgins wasn’t even with the Giants until November and the most he had done before Saturday was five catches for 44 yards and a touchdown a month ago against the Commanders.

He had five catches for 63 yards and a touchdown in the first half, usually with Peterson in coverage. He also drew a penalty against Peterson. But Peterson was the man in the second half as Hodgins had just two more catches for 26 yards and Peterson stole the show with a big interception to stop a Giants drive. 

3. Patrick Peterson's celebration

The interception was sweet, but the celebration might've been better as Peterson took a page out of the World Cup by mimicking a penalty kick the way Messi and Argentina did in their World Cup championship over France. 

"Nothing 'Messi' about that interception," the FOX play-by-play guy said. 

4. Kirk Cousins gets lucky twice 

The game came down to the wire but it might've gone a completely different way had Cousins not been bailed out on two off-target throws. Near the end of the first half, Cousins was intercepted by Fabian Moreau, though it was called back thanks to Moreau interfering with Justin Jefferson. 

Had that play stood, the Giants could've kicked a field goal to end the half. 

Then in the third quarter, Cousins threw a bad pass to Adam Thielen that was ruled an interception on the field only to be overturned when the replay showed the ball hit the ground before Cordale Flott had full control. 

Had that play stood, it would've erased a Vikings drive that ended with a touchdown from Cousins to T.J. Hockenson. 

5. Kirk Cousins is the comeback king

Cousins, who finished the day with 299 yards and three touchdowns, is now the king for most fourth quarter comebacks in a single season. The Vikings trailed the Giants 13-10 to start the fourth quarter, so the victory goes down as his eighth fourth quarter comeback this season, tying the record set by Matthew Stafford in 2016. 

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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen.  His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011.  Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play.  Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers.  Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17. 

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