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| MIA at NYJ | NE at BUF | NYG at MIN | OAK at TB | SEA at ARI | STL at ATL | TEN at IND | WAS at SF |
Week 17 Game Recap: New York Giants 19, Minnesota Vikings 20
What you need to know
| New York Giants |
Brandon Jacobs was held out of the game as a precautionary measure. There was talk that he could have played if needed.
Derrick Ward was very impressive against one of the toughest NFL rush defenses. He averaged over five yards per carry and would have done more if he played the whole game.
Eli Manning along with many offensive starters only played in the first half. The Giants seemed pretty clear they were looking toward the playoffs.
| Minnesota Vikings |
Bernard Berrian was reported to be 100% Sunday morning and he didn't disappoint anyone. He showed no signs of the injury from last week. In fact, he looked like an All-Pro.
Bobby Wade had a great day by going down the field and getting yards after the catch. It was his most impressive performance this season.
What you ought to know
| QB Eli Manning, Pass: 11 - 19 - 119 - 0 TD / 0 INT |
Eli Manning did not look in sync during the first quarter. He started to get in a groove in the second quarter but didn't come back in the second half. Eli along with his brother Peyton Manning are the only QBs to lead their teams to four current straight playoff appearances.
| QB David Carr, Pass: 8 - 11 - 110 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 15 - 0 |
David Carr played the whole second half and it was a good chance to see if he has improved since Houston. He was precise with his passes and seemed calm in the pocket. However, he fell short on the last drive that could have put the Giants up by more than a field goal. It wasn't a horrible performance but it was not worthy of a former number one draft pick either. Carr did end up with a 134.7 passer rating.
| RB Derrick Ward, Rush: 15 - 77 - 0, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (1 targets) |
Derrick Ward ran the ball very well against a tough Viking run defense. Ward was able to attain 1,000 rushing yards for the year. Brandon Jacobs and Ward became another team rushing duo to have 1,000 yards each. This was the first time since the '85 Browns. Ward did not see the field after the drive that he reached 1,000 yards. It looked like that if the Giants had needed to win the game Ward could have got the job done.
| RB Ahmad Bradshaw, Rush: 10 - 28 - 0, Rec: 1 - -2 - 0 (1 targets) |
Ahmad Bradshaw did most of his work on kick returns. He had a few nice runs but Derrick Ward was the primary back with Brandon Jacobs out.
| RB Madison Hedgecock, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (2 targets) |
Madison Hedgecock was mainly blocking for Derrick Ward but had a couple receptions on short passes.
| RB Brandon Jacobs |
Brandon Jacobs was out only to rest up for the playoffs. There were no major concerns and Jacobs could have played if the game meant anything for the Giants.
| WR Domenik Hixon, Rec: 4 - 62 - 1 (8 targets) |
Domenik Hixon was very active in the first half. He had some very nice yards after the catch. He also received the first touchdown pass of David Carr before he rested the rest of the game. Hixon did experience some problems in going up for the ball. Out of eight targets he only hauled in four. The passing game was not very active but Hixon made the most of it.
| WR Amani Toomer, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (6 targets) |
Amani Toomer continued to play like a veteran. Half of his targets were in the third quarter from David Carr. Toomer faced the better coverage most of the day.
| WR Sinorice Moss, Rec: 2 - 43 - 0 (2 targets) |
Sinorice Moss's only action was during the third quarter.
| WR Steve Smith, Rec: 2 - 20 - 0 (3 targets) |
Steve Smith was active with Eli Manning with many looks. However, he only had two targets in the first half.
| WR Mario Manningham, Rec: 2 - 21 - 0 (2 targets) |
Mario Manningham saw the field in the fourth quarter and made some nice receptions. He was not on the field until that point.
| TE Darcy Johnson, Rec: 2 - 44 - 0 (3 targets) |
Darcy Johnson is the tall WR replacement for Plaxico Burress. However, he didn't show he was ready to replace Burress in this game. He did make some nice catches but the Giants did not look his direction a lot.
| PK John Carney 4 - 5 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 13 points |
John Carney made some very hard kicks including a 51 yarder.
| NYG Rush Defense |
With the exception of one running play the Giants held Adrian Peterson in check. But, all he needs is one play. On that play the safeties were taking out on the misdirection and Peterson had only green space in front of him. The rest of the day there was not much of a running game. Tarvaris Jackson could not even scramble for his usual rushing yards.
| NYG Pass Defense |
The pass rush was not very great. It was clear that the Giants were prepared to let the Vikings throw the ball. They gave up some pass rush to keep Tarvaris Jackson in the pocket. There were only two sacks and one interception. Without an intense pass rush they could not keep Jackson from finding receivers. Jackson was able to roll out and hit receivers on releases. The only thing they were able to accomplish was no positive rushing yards for Jackson.
| QB Tarvaris Jackson, Pass: 16 - 26 - 239 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - -4 - 0 |
Tarvaris Jackson had an average day. The Giants were clearly trying to stop the running game and were making the Vikings beat them with the pass. Jackson was able to pass pretty well but did not take advantage of the opportunity. New York was also able to keep Jackson from running the ball.
| RB Adrian Peterson, Rush: 21 - 103 - 1 |
Adrian Peterson had one great run on a great play. The misdirection fooled the Giants and that was all Peterson needed. The rest of the day was different. Peterson had one fumble that could have been the game breaker. It was recovered by a lineman. There were no rushing plays for over ten yards the rest of the day.
| RB Chester Taylor, Rush: 4 - 10 - 0, Rec: 1 - 19 - 0 (1 targets) |
Chester Taylor made the most of his one target igniting the first scoring drive of the day. However, he wasn't involved in much of the game for the second week in a row.
| RB Naufahu Tahi, Rec: 2 - 4 - 0 (3 targets) |
Naufahu Tahi had three targets but nothing of note.
| WR Bernard Berrian, Rec: 4 - 81 - 1 (9 targets) |
There is absolutely no concern with his injury status. Bernard Berrian was troubled last week, but this week he looked like it was week 1. Berrian outran the Giants secondary to his touchdown. He was also able to get many yards after the catch during the game. There were many times he had to fight for the ball and he won. Berrian is back to normal and playing up to expectations again.
| WR Bobby Wade, Rec: 4 - 98 - 0 (5 targets) |
Bobby Wade had his most impressive performance of the year. He was targeted twice deep. He took a short pass for over ten yards making moves and breaking a tackle. He also fought hard for the ball and made a great catch at the sideline.
| WR Sidney Rice, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (3 targets) |
Sidney Rice had zero targets in the end zone and did not do much in this game.
| TE Visanthe Shiancoe, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (3 targets) |
Visanthe Shiancoe played very well but only had three targets on the day. He was able to get a first down on a great play that kept the game winning drive alive. He had a lot of energy and played hard but did not have many targets.
| TE Jim Kleinsasser, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) |
Jim Kleinsasser was targeted on a planned pass play but that was his only play of the day.
| PK Ryan Longwell 2 - 2 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points |
Ryan Longwell had a fifty yarder as well as the game winner.
| MIN Rush Defense |
Derrick Ward was able to have his way with the defense. Pat Williams was out but that could not explain everything that was happening to this defense. Ward averaged over five yards per carry and would have done more if he had played the whole game. Ahmad Bradshaw was also able to move the ball in his limited touches. It was not an impressive performance from this defense know for stuffing the run.
| MIN Pass Defense |
This was not the pass rush one is accustomed to seeing from the Vikings. There were only two sacks and no interceptions. Eli Manning and David Carr had all the time they wanted. It was not what Minnesota has come to be known for. It was enough to win the game but just barely.
