New York Giants vs. Minnesota Vikings: Full Report Card Grades for New York
Going into Week 4’s matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, you knew it was going to be a tough game for the New York Giants. Not only were they ravished by injuries at key positions, but they were going against a football club clicking on all cylinders.
Tough? Yes. But fans just wanted to see the Giants put up a fight. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case in the Monday night showdown, as Big Blue dropped the game 24-10.
For the second straight week, the offense couldn't live up to its high-powered expectations. Eli Manning had another subpar performance as he failed to make important throws in key situations. With both Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen out, the rushing workload was distributed between three backups, all of whom had both highs and lows on the night. The most disappointing part of the offense came in the wide receiving corps, as the Giants' three-headed monster failed to make an impact against the potent Vikings D.
The defense, on the other hand, did a decent job against the Vikings offense. New York's biggest problem was in the defensive backfield; with four regulars out for the game, Sam Bradford and his receivers exploited the Giants backups. While both the defensive line and linebackers played admirably, missed tackles in key situations and poor pressure on the quarterback did hurt their effort.
In addition to their struggles on both sides of the ball, the Giants' lack of discipline continued. They racked up seven penalties on Monday, with special teams gaffes also affecting the team's momentum.
After starting the season with an impressive 2-0 record, the Giants now enter Week 5 sitting at .500. With their latest game at its conclusion, let’s break down each position and see how they graded out against the Vikings.
Quarterback
1 of 8
There’s just something about Eli Manning playing against the Minnesota Vikings. In his seven career starts against Minnesota prior to Monday night, the quarterback compiled a 2-5 record with five touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 1,445 passing yards and a 54.8 passer rating.
If you thought Manning would break that streak of weak performances, you were let down in a big way.
Despite strong pass protection and a bevy of receiving weapons, Manning had a poor game for the second straight week. In 45 attempts, the signal-caller completed just 25 passes, good for 261 yards and an interception. If it wasn’t for a drop by Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks, Manning could’ve easily had two picks on his stat sheet.
In addition to his struggles in the passing game, Manning also looked uncomfortable during most of his time on the field. He uncharacteristically gave up on plays after two to three seconds, opting to throw the ball into the turf instead of extending the play. He also seemed to have a hard time when calling audibles at the line of scrimmage, failing to catch the Vikings defense off guard.
The Giants are only going as far as Manning can take them. For the second straight week, he failed to elevate his team.
Grade: C-
Running Backs
2 of 8
With starter Rashad Jennings out for the second straight week and third-down back Shane Vereen sidelined for the year, head coach Ben McAdoo enlisted a running back committee—Orleans Darkwa, Bobby Rainey and Paul Perkins—to get the job done against the Vikings. Although none of them had terrible outings, the trio didn't do much to stand out either.
Used primarily in Vereen's pass-catching role, Rainey saw a good chunk of playing time on Monday night. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneer collected 22 yards (four carries) on the ground while hauling in seven catches for 43 yards.
Rookie Paul Perkins saw his first game action out of the backfield; and like most rookies, there was some good and some bad. Perkins had the best offensive play of the night when he took a screen pass for 67 yards, leading to the Giants' only touchdown of the game. But the UCLA product had a tough time in pass protection, as his whiffed fourth-down block on Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr led to a crucial turnover.
As for Orleans Darkwa, it's still unclear why he doesn't receive more playing time. Even with the Giants' top-two backs on the shelf, Darkwa carried the ball just 12 times, good for 48 yards and a touchdown. The 24-year-old is far and away the hardest runner on the roster and constantly makes something out of nothing. It would've been nice to see what he could do with more opportunities, but that looks like it'll have to wait for another week.
All in all, the three backs filled the shoes of Jennings and Vereen as well as they could. And that's all you can really ask for.
Grade: B
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
3 of 8
From the start of the regular season up until Week 3, the Giants wide receiver corps of Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz and Sterling Shepard were lauded as arguably the best trio of wideouts in all of football. With the Vikings defense having a potent secondary of its own, the one-on-one battles were expected to be something to watch.
At this point, it's safe to say that Xavier Rhodes, Harrison Smith and company got the best of the Big Blue pass-catchers.
After a week of criticism and ridicule, many Giants fans wanted to see how Beckham would respond to the conversations surrounding his attitude. His answer? Three catches (eight targets) for 23 yards, the lowest output of his career. The polarizing receiver also had a target on his back in the eyes of the officials—Beckham received a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct following a brief encounter with Rhodes.
With Beckham struggling, all eyes were on Cruz and Shepard to step up and force the defense to lay off No. 13. Unfortunately, neither Cruz (five catches, 80 yards) nor Shepard (four catches, 30 yards) could eclipse the 100-yard mark. The duo also had trouble holding onto balls, as both players dropped passes.
As for the tight ends, it was a quiet evening for Larry Donnell and Will Tye. Donnell, who was often lined up in the backfield as a blocker, suffered a concussion after a big hit from Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr. On the other hand, Will Tye caught four passes for 43 yards, but he struggled to do much with the ball in his hands.
If the Giants are going to beat teams, it'll be because their pass-catchers are playing at a high level. They didn't on Monday, and that's exactly why the Giants lost.
Grade: D
Offensive Line
4 of 8
Despite a ton of negative talk surrounding the state of the Giants offensive line, the unit has put together some decent performances in 2016. Monday night was no different.
The interior portion of the O-Line continues to be a strong point, as center Weston Richburg and guards Justin Pugh and John Jerry open holes up the gut. The team's running backs have had their most success running the ball up the middle, largely due to the trio of linemen.
Right tackle Bobby Hart started for the second consecutive week, and for the second consecutive week, he had a strong showing. After holding his own against Trent Murphy of the Washington Redskins, Hart did the same against Brian Robison.
Once again, the weak link came in the form of 2015 first-round pick Ereck Flowers. Sure, the Miami product was going against Everson Griffen, one of the most ferocious defense ends in the NFL. But his holding penalty killed an offensive drive, and he later added another yellow flag to his resume.
As a whole, however, the unit performed admirably. Pro Football Focus tends to agree, as Pugh, Richburg, Jerry and Hart graded out as four of the top five offensive performers.
Grade: B
Defensive Line
5 of 8
Like the wide receivers for the offense, the defensive line has been a constant bright spot for the Giants D in 2016. And just like the receivers let down the offense against the Vikings, the D-Line did the same on their side of the ball.
For the first time this season, defensive tackles Johnathan Hankins and Damon Harrison put together uneventful performances. Despite being ranked as the worst rushing offense in football, the Vikings' Jerick McKinnon compiled 85 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, and Matt Asiata added a score of his own. Harrison and Hankins combined for four solo tackles and two assisted tackles.
As far as the defensive ends, it was a tale of two players. Jason Pierre-Paul was unnoticeable on Monday night as he compiled just three combined tackles. On the other hand, Olivier Vernon was once again a menace, recording three solo tackles to go along with four quarterback hurries and a quarterback hit. The $85 million man was the highest graded Giant, per Pro Football Focus.
The biggest problem with the line was its pass rush. The Giants front four has been considered one of the best in the NFL, yet it only earned two sacks this season while generating little pressure against the injury-riddled offensive line of the Vikings.
Grade: C+
Linebackers
6 of 8
After Keenan Robinson received most of the playing time in the middle during Week 3, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo went with a more balanced approach against the Vikings.
Seeing the most playing time since Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys, Kelvin Sheppard manned the middle on a good portion of run downs, collecting two solo tackles along with two assisted tackles. Robinson saw a lot of time in passing situations, resulting in six combined tackles on Monday night.
Once again, Jonathan Casillas and Devon Kennard saw the majority of snaps at outside linebacker. For the second consecutive week, Casillas had an inconsistent outing—making plays at the line of scrimmage but also missing multiple tackles. Kennard, on the other hand, had his best game of the young season. The third-year linebacker made four combined tackles while receiving a grade of 82.4 by Pro Football Focus, which put him as the third best Giants defender.
As the carousel continues at the linebacker position, it appears as though Spagnuolo is starting to find the right combinations for the right situations.
Grade: B
Defensive Backs
7 of 8
With Eli Apple, Darian Thompson and Nat Berhe out and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie limited to emergency situations, many knew this game was going to be a tough test for the banged up secondary of the Giants.
The Vikings and offensive coordinator Norv Turner game planned around exploiting Big Blue's backups, and that plan worked to perfection.
Despite finishing second on his squad with six solo tackles, backup cornerback Trevin Wade was targeted early and often by Sam Bradford. The Vikings receivers got the better of the matchups, as Wade allowed a touchdown to Kyle Rudolph and a long gain to Charles Johnson, amongst other catches. Janoris Jenkins had the worst game of his young Giants career, as he allowed Stefon Diggs to catch five balls for 47 yards. Jenkins was also on the wrong end of a costly pass interference penalty in the first quarter.
The safeties, however, had a better night against the opposition. Landon Collins slowly continues to grow into one of the top young safeties in the league, as he led the way with 10 total tackles while being a force at the line of scrimmage. Andrew Adams received his first start of the season, and the rookie was able to chip in two solo tackles and four assisted tackles of his own.
Leon Hall split time at both cornerback and safety, but his mental error allowing Kyle Rudolph to gain a first down in the fourth quarter all but sealed the Giants loss.
Sure, injuries can be to blame. But in the NFL, everybody must be ready. That wasn't the case on Monday.
Grade: C+
Special Teams
8 of 8
In what has become a theme in 2016, the Giants special teams unit was inconsistent at best.
Leading the way was Dwayne Harris, who opened the game with a 44-yard return—but his muffed punt after the Giants forced an early three and out swung the momentum in the Vikings favor.
Brad Wing got a ton of playing time and nailed one punt inside the 10-yard line, while Josh Brown cashed in on his only field goal attempt.
If it wasn't for Harris' drop, the special teams unit would've graded out favorably. But because it affected the game so much, it trumped all the other positives.
Grade: C
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