• Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Photo Credit:  Associated Press- Andy Clayton-King

 

Following the home loss to the Redskins in week 3, that was marked by its sloppiness the Giants looked to right the ship and alter what’s been a negative trend through their first three games.  Unfortunately for them bad habits die hard.  The theme of turnovers and penalties continued for the Giants as they turned the ball over twice in the game.  The first turnover came in the first half as Dwayne Harris muffed a punt that was recovered by the Vikings who capitalized a short time later with a touchdown.  Later in the game Eli Manning threw a interception that led to a Vikings field goal.  The penalty prone Giants didn’t change their ways against Minnesota.  They tallied 8 penalties for 69 yards in the contest and seemed to continuously get in their own way.

On top of those two major issues, Odell Beckham was held to his lowest number of yards thus far in his career.   Beckham had 3 receptions for 23 yards.  He was targeted 9 times but was contained throughout the game by Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes.  Beckham also picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after making a catch by the sidelines.  It seemed as though he felt that the defender hit him out of bounds and appeared to be yelling in the direction of the official about the hit but the flag was thrown nonetheless.  Beckham’s passion is not going anywhere nor should it but he’s got to know by now that the officials are keeping a close watch on his on field antics.  For the time being, the safest bet is rein in that passion and change the default setting to his on field disposition to that of a cool customer who can’t be rattled.

Eli Manning and the Giants offense looked out of rhythm all game long due to the Vikings constant pressure.  Though Manning avoided being sacked, he was frequently getting rid of the ball so quickly that plays had very little time to develop.  He relied frequently on short yardage completions, avoiding taking risks and going deep to his core group of wide receivers.  The most electrifying play of the night came care of a short screen pass to rookie Paul Perkins, who thanks to some shifty moves and excellent blocking produced a 67 yard play.  In the second half, Manning and Beckham got their wires crossed which led to an interception.  A short time later the Vikings made the Giants pay for their mistake by kicking a field goal.   Manning was 25/45 for 261 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception.

One of the few silver linings for the Giants was the play of running backs Orleans Darkwa and Paul Perkins.  Darkwa rushed for 48 yards on 12 carries, 4 yards/carry and tallied the Giants sole touchdown.  He was frequently able to find the hole and gain positive yardage.  Perkins in his first game for the Giants showed a real ability to make tacklers miss.  His blocking was ineffective and he clearly has a ways to go but there were positive signs to be encouraged about going forward.

After the Giants scored their only touchdown and made it 17-10 Vikings, the Giants had the opportunity to change the course of the game with a defensive stop but that would not happen.  The Vikings proceeded to drive down field in just over four minutes and score their third touchdown of the game to take a 24-10 lead, effectively stamping out any hope that the Giants might have had at coming back.

The Giants defensive line was not able to get any consistent pressure on Sam Bradford all night long which led to the quarterback being able to take advantage of the depleted Giants secondary.  Bradford took advantage of backup cornerback Trevin Wade who was on tight end Kyle Rudolph when he caught his touchdown pass as well as matched up with wide receiver Charles Johnson when he caught a 40 yard pass down the left sideline.  Without Dominique Rodgers Cromartie and Eli Apple playing alongside Janoris Jenkins in the secondary, the Giants had trouble containing the Vikings receiving corps when it counted the most.

The Giants upcoming schedule does not get any easier as they head to Lambeau field to take on the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.  They are in the midst of a tough stretch of games and will need to bounce back to ensure that they stay in the divisional race.  Time will tell if the Giants have the mettle to win the tough games needed to make a push and stay in the playoff race as the season continues.

 

 

Dan Evans is a Contributing Writer for PureSportsNY   You can follow him on Twitter @DanEvansPSNY

 

 

By Vernon McKenzie

Graduate of New Institute Of Technology with a BA in Communications with a focus on Television Radio. Owner and Executive Producer of PureSportsNY

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