Giants Disappoint on Monday Night - Drop to 2-2
After handing the Redskins their first of the year last week, I expected Ben McAdoo to have some semblance of a gameplan to break down Minnesota's vaunted defense, but I was wrong as the Giants fell in Minneapolis 24-10. The gameplan seemed to focus more on avoiding sacks than actually gaining yardage. Whenever Eli felt any sort of pressure he was more than willing to throw the ball into the ground, rather than try to extend the play, or even find his check down. Statistically, the Vikings have the best defensive line in the NFL, coming into the game with 13 sacks in their first 3 games, so if you were to tell me that Eli wouldn't be sacked all game I would have thought the Giants would have probably won, but again I was wrong. The inexperienced Giants offensive line struggled all night to keep Everson Griffen and Co. at bay, and Eli had little time to look downfield and failed to consistently get the ball to his play-making receivers. The experience of Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen was sorely missed in pass blocking and 3rd down situations. Orleans Darkwa was solid in his first career start, and rookie Paul Perkins also played decently well, but their lack of first team reps was apparent on several plays and they had difficulty in pass protection. Eli's refusal to open up the offense and take chances down the field played right into the Vikings' defensive gameplan as Mike Zimmer stacked the box and Minnesota's underrated secondary kept everything in front of them. Eli finished just 25-45 for 261 yards with an interception and no touchdowns. Odell Beckham also had the worst game of his career, reeling in just 3 passes on 9 targets for 23 yards.
The defense again failed to generate any turnovers and allowed Minnesota to have their most productive rushing game of the season. Jerick McKinnon finished with 85 yards rushing and a touchdown after rushing for just 53 yards in his first 3 games combined. The Giants secondary, depleted due to injuries to rookies Eli Apple and Darian Thompson, in addition to Nate Berhe, looked vulnerable. Undrafted rookies Andrew Adams and Michael Hunter were called upon to play and important roles in the secondary and backup defensive back Trevin Wade was picked on all night by Sam Bradford. Minnesota capitalized on the Giants' lack of secondary depth by utilizing the services of former first round pick Cordarrelle Patterson and Charles Johnson, who had combined for just 34 receiving yards through their first three games, but exploded for 38 and 70 yards, respectively, on Monday. The Giants also had a tremendous amount of trouble stopping Minnesota on 3rd downs. The Vikings finished 8-16 on third down conversions and their 50% rate led to long, tiring, drives that wore down the already thin Giants defense. The most devastating conversions transpired in the 4th quarter right after New York had cut the lead to 17-10. The Giants looked get the ball back after forcing 3rd and 4 at the Minnesota 30 yard line when the defense inexplicably lost track of big target Kyle Rudolph over the middle for a 16 yard reception and the first down. Later on that same drive, Minnesota faced a 3rd and 5 from midfield, but Matt Asiata was able to pick up 5 yards to again keep Bradford on the field, which eventually led to a Jerick McKinnon touchdown to put the game out of reach.
The turning point in the game occurred in the first quarter when, after a promising opening drive by the Giants, McAdoo elected to punt from the Vikings 37 yard line instead of allowing Josh Brown to attempt the long, but manageable, field goal. The ball was downed on the 1 yard line and the Giants forced Minnesota into a three and out. New York had all the momentum and was poised for good field position after the Vikings punt, but Dwayne Harris muffed it, the 11th of his career - which is insane, and Minnesota took over at the Giants 41 yard line. Bradford drove Minnesota down the short field and the Vikings opened the scoring with a 1 yard Matt Asiata touchdown plunge. Minnesota fed off of their loud crowd and early lead and didn't relinquish control for the rest of the game.
Penalties were also a major contributor to the Giants loss as they recorded a season-high 8 flags for 69 yards. The Giants were statistically the most disciplined team in the league entering week 4, but had several critical holding and false start penalties that stalled drives and killed any kind of offensive momentum they had.
Big Blue's offense has failed to live up to expectations so far this season and Eli will need to start making plays if the Giants are going to end their current skid. The road doesn't get any easier this week, however, as the G-Men travel to Lambeau to face the Packers on Sunday night.
