Giants lose finale to Vikings as title defense nears
MINNEAPOLIS – The fact that kicker Ryan Longwell needed to nail a 50 yard game winning field goal in order to win the game probably should have more about the Vikings than it did about the Giants.
With nothing to play for besides pride and good health, the world champions took the field Sunday with home-field advantage already sewn up. This they did. It was a game that they played on their terms despite coming out of it with a last second 20-19 loss at The Metrodome.
In many ways, this is the only time where success can come out of losing.
Coach Tom Coughlin was given praise for “going all out” in their final regular season game last year against the Patriots. The team once again played to win this year, but on their terms. It was up to Minnesota to capitalize on this good fortune.
The Giants (12-4) played with caution, resting running back Brandon Jacobs and tight end Kevin Boss, but the rest of their regular offense starters in the first half.
Longwell got the scoring started with a 48-yard field goal to open give the Vikings a 3-0 lead in the second quarter. The lead grew to 10-0 when on third down, running back sensation Adrian Peterson (21 carries – 103 yards) found a hole over the right side of the line and sprinted 67 yards for a touchdown to make it 10-0.
Eli Manning (11 for 19, 119 yards) and his offense rallied to close out the half with nine points and three John Carney field goals of 51, 30 and 42 yards. The final field goal came on a gift possession where the Giants declined a Vikings penalty to set up a fourth-and-1 play where quarterback Tavaris Jackson would wind up being sacked by Justin Tuck to turn the ball over on downs.
Backup David Carr (8 for 11, 110 yards,1 TD) came out of the bullpen to play the second half and drove the Giants down the field and threw a 23 yard touchdown pass to Domenik Hixon (four receptions – 62 yards) to take a 16-10 lead.
On the drive, running back Derrick Ward was able to join Jacobs as members of the 1,000 yard rushing club. The Giants became the fourth team in NFL history to have two running backs gain over 1,000 yards. Ward (1,025 yards for the season) was finding holes in the Vikings vaunted run defense amassing 77 yards on 15 carries. As a whole, the team gained 135 on 30 carries.
Minnesota was poised to take the lead when they moved the ball down to the Giants 6. However, Jackson’s pass on second-and-goal was intercepted in the end zone by James Butler and returned it 47 yards to the Giants 45 yard line, and gained an additional 15 yards when Jackson was called for a late hit out of bounds.
The short field allowed the Giants to build the lead to 19-10 on Carney’s fourth field goal early in the final period. It took three plays for the Vikings to respond as Jackson hit receiver Bernard Berrian in stride as backup cornerback Terrell Thomas fell on the play and safety Kenny Phillips missed a tackle to make it 19-17.
By this point, outside of linebackers Danny Clark and Chase Blackburn, the entire starting defensive unit was on the sideline resting up for the playoffs. From Dave Tollefson to Bryan Kehl, each player went out there and showed that the high level of play is not restricted to just the first team. The only casualty was veteran Sam Madison went down with a broken ankle and left the game.
The Giants could have added to their lead with 3:22 left when Carney missed his first non-blocked field goal of the season from 48 yards. Jackson (16 for 26, 239 yards, 1 TD) and the Vikings proceeded to move the ball down to the Giants 32 yard line with 0:36 seconds remaining.
Poor clock management (or the unknowing that the Houston Texans had clinched the NFC North title for the Vikings by defeating the Chicago Bears moments prior) brought the clock down to 0:09 left before calling timeout.
After exchanging timeouts, the Vikings set up a 50-yard game winning field goal with 0:04 left and he drilled it to give them the 20-19 final.
It was their third loss and the last four games, but even in defeat, the team can take positives out of the fact they came out of the game relatively healthy and competed throughout even with the second team on the road against a squad that desperately needed the game for their own playoff future.
The Giants will play their NFC Divisional Playoff game on Sunday January 11 at 1:00 PM at Giants Stadium against the lowest seeded NFC team. The team can be Philadelphia, Atlanta or Arizona.
The official time to defend their world championship starts in 13 days.
MINNEAPOLIS – The fact that kicker Ryan Longwell needed to nail a 50 yard game winning field goal in order to win the game probably should have more about the Vikings than it did about the Giants.
With nothing to play for besides pride and good health, the world champions took the field Sunday with home-field advantage already sewn up. This they did. It was a game that they played on their terms despite coming out of it with a last second 20-19 loss at The Metrodome.
In many ways, this is the only time where success can come out of losing.
Coach Tom Coughlin was given praise for “going all out” in their final regular season game last year against the Patriots. The team once again played to win this year, but on their terms. It was up to Minnesota to capitalize on this good fortune.
The Giants (12-4) played with caution, resting running back Brandon Jacobs and tight end Kevin Boss, but the rest of their regular offense starters in the first half.
Longwell got the scoring started with a 48-yard field goal to open give the Vikings a 3-0 lead in the second quarter. The lead grew to 10-0 when on third down, running back sensation Adrian Peterson (21 carries – 103 yards) found a hole over the right side of the line and sprinted 67 yards for a touchdown to make it 10-0.
Eli Manning (11 for 19, 119 yards) and his offense rallied to close out the half with nine points and three John Carney field goals of 51, 30 and 42 yards. The final field goal came on a gift possession where the Giants declined a Vikings penalty to set up a fourth-and-1 play where quarterback Tavaris Jackson would wind up being sacked by Justin Tuck to turn the ball over on downs.
Backup David Carr (8 for 11, 110 yards,1 TD) came out of the bullpen to play the second half and drove the Giants down the field and threw a 23 yard touchdown pass to Domenik Hixon (four receptions – 62 yards) to take a 16-10 lead.
On the drive, running back Derrick Ward was able to join Jacobs as members of the 1,000 yard rushing club. The Giants became the fourth team in NFL history to have two running backs gain over 1,000 yards. Ward (1,025 yards for the season) was finding holes in the Vikings vaunted run defense amassing 77 yards on 15 carries. As a whole, the team gained 135 on 30 carries.
Minnesota was poised to take the lead when they moved the ball down to the Giants 6. However, Jackson’s pass on second-and-goal was intercepted in the end zone by James Butler and returned it 47 yards to the Giants 45 yard line, and gained an additional 15 yards when Jackson was called for a late hit out of bounds.
The short field allowed the Giants to build the lead to 19-10 on Carney’s fourth field goal early in the final period. It took three plays for the Vikings to respond as Jackson hit receiver Bernard Berrian in stride as backup cornerback Terrell Thomas fell on the play and safety Kenny Phillips missed a tackle to make it 19-17.
By this point, outside of linebackers Danny Clark and Chase Blackburn, the entire starting defensive unit was on the sideline resting up for the playoffs. From Dave Tollefson to Bryan Kehl, each player went out there and showed that the high level of play is not restricted to just the first team. The only casualty was veteran Sam Madison went down with a broken ankle and left the game.
The Giants could have added to their lead with 3:22 left when Carney missed his first non-blocked field goal of the season from 48 yards. Jackson (16 for 26, 239 yards, 1 TD) and the Vikings proceeded to move the ball down to the Giants 32 yard line with 0:36 seconds remaining.
Poor clock management (or the unknowing that the Houston Texans had clinched the NFC North title for the Vikings by defeating the Chicago Bears moments prior) brought the clock down to 0:09 left before calling timeout.
After exchanging timeouts, the Vikings set up a 50-yard game winning field goal with 0:04 left and he drilled it to give them the 20-19 final.
It was their third loss and the last four games, but even in defeat, the team can take positives out of the fact they came out of the game relatively healthy and competed throughout even with the second team on the road against a squad that desperately needed the game for their own playoff future.
The Giants will play their NFC Divisional Playoff game on Sunday January 11 at 1:00 PM at Giants Stadium against the lowest seeded NFC team. The team can be Philadelphia, Atlanta or Arizona.
The official time to defend their world championship starts in 13 days.
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