Giants Country

Three Takeaways from Giants' 31-24 Win Over Minnesota

The Giants are playing their best ball at the right time, and it's paying off.

Patricia Traina

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By now, the recurring theme among the critics is that the "rebuilding" New York Giants just aren't good enough to be in the playoffs, win games, or do much of anything, for that matter.

The Giants obviously think otherwise and have shown in their first season under general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll that this team is a little beyond the "rebuild" phase. Instead, where it's been is more of a renovation of a roster that had some solid core pieces to work with but which needed a little more in terms of a plan (see coordinators Mike Kafka and Wink Martindale) and some upgrades to modernize the team.

The result has been a season that has been the toast of the town. The 9-7-1 Giants snapped a five-year streak of double-digit losses that featured football that was more of the slapstick variety than of the championship caliber.

Oh, and by the way, no one told these gritty Giants that they had no business being in the playoffs, let alone winning against a team like the Minnesota Vikings, who finished as the third-highest-seeded team.

Yet that has been the story of this Giants team. Grit, perseverance, and a strong belief in itself and the preachings and teachings of its coaching staff have combined to make this Giants team a surprise and suddenly dangerous contender who, if the numbers in their 31-24 Wild Card win over the Vikings are to be believed, might be a little more dangerous than anyone imagined they'd be at this point.

Let's look back at some of the more under-the-radar moments from this game which, if you've been paying attention all season long, really shouldn't have come as much of a surprise.

The Chameleon Defense

Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale has long been known as a blitz-happy coordinator who dreams up new and innovative blitz packages every week.

Martindale has done just that during his first season with the Giants, but he's also been patient and disciplined in his calling for blitzes rather than going all out like a madman.

Each week, Martindale has tailored his defensive game plan to best expose the opponent's weaknesses--often with success. And that approach has included, at times, scaling down the blitz, as he did in the Wild Card victory.

A problem with some coaching staffs is their unwillingness to change what they know. We saw it in Houston with former head coach Lovie Smith's defense running the same concepts. We saw it a few years ago with the Giants' offense under then-head coach Ben McAdoo.

The problem with sticking with what you know is eventually, the opponents catch up to you and figure out ways to counterpunch you. Martindale hasn't had this problem in his first season with the Giants, and in fact, it's probably fair to say he's outsmarted a few of his offensive-minded coaching colleagues this year.

The Vikings, for example, likely anticipated that Martindale would try to exploit its banged-up offensive line by bringing the pressure. Instead, Martindale rushed the normal four, and although the Giants didn't register a sack, they did record 11 quarterback hits, six of which were by defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence (4) and Leonard Williams (2).

That ability to affect the quarterback with the minimal number of rushers left more guys to double up on the always-dangerous Justin Jefferson, who, after catching four passes for 31 yards (and the score) on the Vikings opening drive, caught three more balls for 16 yards the rest of the way.

Da-Balls

One of the many things head coach Brian Daboll did back at the start of the season that endeared him to the Giants fan base was showing some moxie in his coaching decision.

Whether it was going for it on fourth down, attempting a high-risk, high-reward play, or trying a 2-point conversion when a PAT would be the safer route, Daboll has not been afraid to be aggressive when the time has called for it.

He did so again in the win over the Vikings, twice rubber-stamping a fourth-down play, both being run successfully by none other than quarterback Daniel Jones, who recorded a career-high 17 rushing attempts for 78 yards.

Both plays came in the fourth quarter, the first on a 4th-and-1 from the Vikings' 7-yard line that Jones converted to keep what ended up being a touchdown drive alive, and the second coming on the ensuing drive (following a Vikings' three-and-out) which came when Jones forced his way up the middle with 3:28 left, forcing the Vikings to start burning timeouts.

"We were going after it," Daboll said after the game. "We were going to go try to win a game. We have confidence in Daniel moving the pile."

That confidence, which was no surprise to his players, has paid off.

"We're not shocked about that," said running back Saquon Barkley. "We know the type of coach that he; we rally off that and feed off that. We know he’s got the trust and confidence in us, and we executed."

Danny Dollars

Speaking of Jones, how many more times does he need to show he's been money to silence what remains of his critics?

To recap, not only has he shown a vast improvement in the pocket while also cutting down on his mistakes, his legs have become a bonafide weapon for this team. He converted two big fourth-down runs and two third-down attempts on rushes by using his legs.

"I would say the game plan that we put together on offense was the game plan for the game," Daboll said when asked about having Jones run so much. "What we did is what we wanted to do. There are always adjustments, but I thought (Mike) Kafka and all the assistant coaches had the guys ready to play and thought they called a really good game."

Jones might not be a top-10 quarterback in terms of passing at this point in his career, but certainly, the arrow is pointing up.

"Daniel--I've said it all year. He's been good for us. Continues to be good for us," Daboll said. "He played a good game. I think a lot of other people played good games to help him play a good game, and he’ll be the first to admit it. But as a leader on our football team, I'm proud of him."

"I'm not shocked. He has been doing it all year," added Barkley. "He's a special player. You know what a way to start it off. I'm happy for and proud of him, and we're going to need him and keep leaning on him."

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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