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Giants Hold 17-14 Halftime Lead Over Vikings

New York scores on three of their four first-half drives.

Patricia Traina

Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
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The New York Giants have a 17-14 halftime lead against the Minnesota Vikings in their quest to become the lowest-seeded team in the playoff tournament to win in the Wild Card round.

The Vikings made it look all too easy on their opening drive when quarterback Kirk Cousins checked into the end zone on the 1-yard keeper to cap a 12-play, 75-yard drive that saw four receptions by receiver Justin Jefferson, who was single-guarded by cornerback Adoree' Jackson, for 31 yards. 

The Giants answered with a scoring drive of their own, this one 75 yards and five plays. They overcame a holding penalty against left guard Nick Gates on the drive's first play, which wiped out a 10-yard rush by Saquon Barkley. 

The Giants, riding the legs of Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones, got rushes of 15 yards by Jones and the 28-yard score by Barkley to make it a 7-7 game.

After the Giants defense shut down the Vikings on their second possession--Minnesota tried a little razzle-dazzle which the Giants diagnosed and stopped--New York added to their lead on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jones to receiver Isaiah Hodgins to cap a 4-play, 81-yard drive. The score was Hodgins' fifth in his last six games.

This scoring drive, as was the case with their opening drive, saw another couple of big plays, a 47-yard reception by Darius Slayton and a 16-yard run by Barkley.

The Giants kept pouring it on with their longest drive of the game, a 20-play, 85-yard drive that spanned 10:52, their longest drive of the year.

New York had a touchdown, but it was taken off the board on an illegal shift penalty, forcing the Giants to settle for a 25-yard field goal by kicker Graham Gano to make it a 17-7 game.

The Vikings offense finally snapped out of its funk just before the half on a drive in which New York head coach Brian Daboll declined a holding penalty called against Vikings center Garrett Bradbury on 2nd-and-9. 

The strategy backfired as Cousins connected with tight end T.J. Hockenson for a 27-yard, third-down conversion to keep the drive alive. 

Five plays later, receiver K.J. Osborn caught a 9-yard touchdown pass to make it a 17-14 game with 45 seconds left in the half.

Jones finished 12 of 16 for 143 yards and one touchdown in the first half. He also was the team's leading rusher, with 71 yards on ten carries. Slayton was the Giants' leading receiver, with 74 yards on three catches. 

The Giants recorded 266 yards of offense in the first half, averaging 8.3 yards per play. They were five of six on third-down conversions and dominated the time of possession, 16:52 to 13:08.

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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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