The Giants don't seem too afraid of the Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings will host the New York Giants on Sunday in another battle of the Midwest and the East Coast. Vikings fans are holding their breath hoping that a 13-4 record isn't as "fraudulent" as everyone believes but if you ask Giants Nation, it's the matchup they've wanted all along.
The first shots in the weekly trash talk (unsurprisingly) came from the New York Post. Mike Vaccaro's Monday morning column carried the type of confidence you would expect from someone rooted in New York and declared that the Giants "will not be patsies for anyone in the playoffs."
"The Giants essentially had a vacation week and still managed to bring some feel-good vibes home with them up the Turnpike," Vaccaro wrote. "That's been the theme all year. They've lost seven games but almost always managed to sow seeds of hope, even if the scoreboard disagreed. It has bred a team that must be brimming with confidence as the NFL's marquee season begins."
The bravado only got stronger as the column went on.
"You can be sure the Vikings, given truth serum, would have preferred to see someone else on the other side of the field at U.S. Bank Stadium given the way last week shook out," Vaccaro wrote, noting the Week 16 nail-biter between the Vikings and Giants.
In reality, the Giants might be walking into a buzzsaw.
Before we get into that, let's acknowledge some of the things going against the Vikings.
Minnesota's offensive line is in shambles and they will face a Giants defense that ranks fifth in pressure rate (23.2%) and No. 1 in blitz rate (36.4%). Just two weeks ago, the Vikings were scooped up off the Lambeau Field turf in a nationally-televised 41-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers. They have a head coach approaching his first career playoff game and a team that is just as likely to get blown out by 40 points as they are to win a tight game.
When it comes to the Giants, however, this may be the team Minnesota wanted to see.
Like the Vikings, the Giants have been one of the NFL's biggest surprises. Their 7-2 start had them alongside the Vikings as one of the best teams in the NFC and with a fresh, offensive-minded coach, many expected the Giants to be a contender in a wide-open conference.
That's where things started to go south. The Giants went 2-5-1 over their final eight games and slid down the standings. The losses included a white-knuckle ride in Minneapolis but also a 48-22 beating at MetLife Stadium to the Philadelphia Eagles. Mix in home losses to non-playoff teams Detroit and Washington and this doesn't look like a team headed in the right direction.
That is unless you ask fellow New York Post columnist Steve Serby, who declared the Giants a peaking team after a 38-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17.
"Daniel Jones is playing the best quarterback of his career, they stood toe-to-toe with the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on Christmas Eve and they will be fueled with the self-belief that they can beat them in a rematch – especially with a secondary that this time will include Xavier McKinney and Adoree' Jackson to better contain all-world wide receiver Justin Jefferson and tight end T.J. Hockenson."
Serby went on to cite that O'Connell has never coached a playoff game and has less experience than Brian Daboll – who has been on five Super Bowl-winning staffs and a national championship staff at Alabama. But he too will have his first go as a head coach in the playoffs.
Serby also took a page out of the Packer fan playbook by noting the Vikings have never won a Super Bowl but failed to mention that the Giants haven't been to the playoffs since 2016 – or as Vaccaro put it – 2,100 days.
In fact, the last time the Giants were in the playoffs, Peyton Manning was the quarterback of the Denver Broncos, Barack Obama was still in office, Kobe Bryant was in the final months of his legendary career and Odell Beckham Jr. had two good knees.
Since then, the Vikings have played in four playoff games with several players who will take the field on Sunday including Harrison Smith, Danielle Hunter, Eric Kendricks and Adam Thielen.
Apparently, none of that matters as Daboll downplayed the importance of experience during Monday's press conference.
"Really the experience is probably overrated, to be honest with you," Daboll said. "It's how you prepare, how you practice, and, ultimately, how you play the game and coach the game on whatever day it is. ... I've been on a lot of different teams that had varying levels of experience," he said. "Some a lot, some a little. I know someone mentioned Malcolm Butler. I think really what matters is taking advantage of your opportunities when they come. And playing a good football game. Coaching a good football game."
Coaching a good football game is something that O'Connell is familiar with considering the Vikings went 11-0 in games decided by one possession this season. That's something the Giants can't say after dropping three one-score games in the past eight weeks.
Even if Daboll is saying the right things and bringing the right vibes, the Giants aren't as big of a nightmare as the Lions, who won eight of their last 10 to close the season and defeated the Giants 31-18 on Nov. 20, or the Packers, who had won four straight games before losing to Detroit on Sunday night.
Still, the Giants faithful believe it's their right to be in this position even in the first year of Daboll's partnership with general manager Joe Schoen.
"It's even wrong to say they're playing with house money," Vaccaro wrote. "When you clinch your spot with room to spare, it means you're good enough to expect more than merely a participation trophy."
The Vikings have had the NFC North wrapped up for weeks and on Sunday they'll have the chance to show teams like the Giants that they are a team to fear in the playoffs.
