T.J. Hockenson, Justin Jefferson Combine For 3 TDs in Vikings' 27-24 Win Over Giants
This Vikings team is unbelievable. There's no other way to put it.
With Saturday's game against the Giants tied at 24 and just four seconds on the clock, Greg Joseph stepped up and drilled a 61-yarder for the win. It's the longest field goal in franchise history — and Joseph had plenty of room to spare. The kick capped yet another dramatic, down-to-the-wire victory for a Vikings team that's been making a living off of them all season.
Somehow, the 12-3 Vikings are now 11-0 in one-score games this season. Their 11 wins by eight points or fewer are an all-time NFL record. Seemingly every single week, the Vikings play a wild game that comes down to the final play. And unlike last season, when they frequently found themselves on the wrong side of the result, they've been perfect in thrilling finishes in 2022.
As they often do, the Vikings jumped out to an early lead. T.J. Hockenson's second touchdown catch since being traded to Minnesota got the scoring started, and a forced fumble and subsequent recovery by rookie linebacker Brian Asamoah set up a field goal that made it 10-0 early in the second quarter.
But if there's one thing the Vikings haven't been able to do this season, it's extend leads and put teams away. This was the seventh time they've taken a lead of at least nine points, and the sixth consecutive time that they've ended up winning by eight points or fewer. Daniel Jones and the Giants' offense came to life, going on a 13-0 run to take the lead. The Vikings' pass defense continued to struggle against short and intermediate routes over the middle of the field, allowing Jones to throw for 334 yards on the day.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Giants still led 13-10. That's when Kirk Cousins and the Vikings turned things on. Hockenson made an incredible contested catch for his second touchdown of the day to give Minnesota the lead back. A Giants field goal cut it to 17-16, and the Vikings responded with a blocked punt and a Cousins touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson on third down for some breathing room.
But it was still a one-score game. And the Giants quickly marched down the field, taking less than a minute to tie things at 24. Facing a 4th and 2 at the 27, Saquon Barkley took a handoff up the middle to the house, and the Giants converted the two-point try.
Once again, it was going to come down to Cousins and company. When it was needed most, the Vikings' veteran quarterback delivered. First, he stood in the pocket against a blitz and found Jefferson for 16 yards on third and long. Then, facing another third and long, Kevin O'Connell dialed up a tunnel screen to Jefferson that gained 17 yards.
That set up Joseph to make the longest field goal in franchise history, sending the Vikings' whiteout crowd into a frenzy.
Cousins finished with 299 passing yards and three touchdowns. Hockenson and Jefferson were the targets on 32 of his 48 attempts, combining for 25 catches, 242 yards, and all three TDs.
Defensively, it was the same story we've seen all season. The Vikings gave up 445 yards, but forced the game's only two takeaways — Asamoah's amazing play and Patrick Peterson's 33rd career pick — and held the Giants to 3 of 11 on third down. They also sacked Jones three times, with Danielle Hunter getting his first two-sack game of the year.
The Vikings clinched the NFC North last week, but this win guaranteed that they'll remain in the No. 2 seed in the conference regardless of the 49ers' result later on Saturday. It was also yet another confidence-building example of the Vikings' remarkable ability to close out one-score games. If they find themselves in such a scenario in the playoffs, they'll be ready.
This Vikings season has been a wild ride. After wrapping up the regular season with road games in Green Bay and Chicago, O'Connell's team will take its highly-entertaining product into a postseason where anything can happen.
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