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| On 8 years ago

Vikings Stay Unbeaten in 2016 After Holding Off the Giants

By Adam Patrick

Image courtesy of Vikings.com

It seemed like it was going to be an easy night for the Minnesota Vikings in their matchup with the New York Giants as they lead 17-3 at the end of three quarters. The Giants made the game a little closer with a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but the Vikings answered with their own touchdown in the fourth and held on for the 24-10 win.

With the win, Minnesota improves to 4-0 and and are one of three remaining unbeaten teams in the NFL this season.

To really break it down, the Vikings got the victory by playing smart, mistake free football against the Giants. For the third game this year, Minnesota finished the game with no turnovers and they have only one for the entire season.

On the other side, the Vikings defense forced New York to turn the ball over twice and Minnesota scored 10 of their 24 points Monday on the drives following a Giants’ turnover.

Speaking of turnovers, Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford has yet to commit one in his three starts for the team this season. Bradford had another solid game, completing 26 of 36 passes for 262 yards and one touchdown.

Minnesota running back Jerick McKinnon had a much better game on Monday than he did last week against the Carolina Panthers. McKinnon gained 95 total yards and scored a touchdown on 21 touches.

Tight end Kyle Rudolph continued his impressive 2016 campaign for the Vikings and ended up in the end zone for the third straight game. In addition to his touchdown reception, Rudolph finished Monday night with five catches for 55 yards.

The surprise of the night on Minnesota’s offense for the night may have been the inclusion of wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. He did not see many snaps in the team’s first three games of the season, but on Monday night Patterson was targeted six times and finished with 40 total yards on six touches.

For someone who just looked at the stat sheet from Monday’s game, it may seem like the Vikings’ defense had an off night by allowing 339 total yards to the New York offense. But for anyone who watched the game, they would know that Minnesota’s defense had absolutely no trouble in stopping the Giants.

New York’s offense struggled all night against the Vikings’ defense on third and fourth down, converting on only 2 of 14 attempts. Minnesota also held the Giants’ talented trio of wide receivers in Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz, and Sterling Shepard to just 103 yards on 12 catches.

The Vikings host the Houston Texans next week at U.S. Bank Stadium in their last game before their bye in Week 6. Minnesota will be looking to improve to 5-0 for the first time since the 2009 season.

Adam Patrick

Adam has been rooting for the Vikings ever since he saw Randall Cunningham win NFC Special Teams Player of the week in 1997. Since his career sports highlights include 3rd place at 5th Grade Golf Camp and catching a ball during a soccer game (he was not playing goalie), Adam turned to writing. He considers himself a 'Vikings Realist' as he does not shy away from criticizing the purple and gold if necessary. He will not always write about the popular topics, but his goal is to provide readers with content they cannot find anywhere else. Follow him on Twitter @Str8_Cash_Homey

Tags: cordarrelle patterson houston texans jerick mckinnon kyle rudolph New York Giants sam bradford U.S. Bank Stadium

View Comments

  • Did we just see the Vikings try to showcase #84?/// Nice to see Bradford developing longball touch with CharlesJohnson/// finally a 100+ rushing yds///Giants short passes game plan eliminated sacks but compromised downfield opportunities///Does Blair Walsh need a fresh start?/// Should we go after after ex-Bear Gould before somebody else does?///Sirles and Clemmons held their own///Xavier Rhodes' knee got a workout/// Trae looks better each week

  • It was very satisfying to see Zach Line finally getting his grubby hands on the ball.
    Let's not lose sight of the fact that he very nearly, single handedly, not in any way, won this game for the Vikings.

  • Favorite play of the game - Terrance Newman defending the spoiled brat, Odell Beckham

    • OTH, it was nice to see Beckham and Cruz give Rhodes a hand up after an incomplete pass down near the goal line, and Rohdes approach Beckham at the end of the game. Sportsmanship. It's a good thing.

  • great to see our two guards and center have very good games and our O do their share. man, our D has improved so much over the last three years and surpassed a lot of people's expectations, but if you follow this team closely and know what zimmer is about, you're not surprised. we're really shuttin down some good QBs and WRs. gruden said we're the purple reign defense, also seen zim's reapers. this defense might deserve a nickname, but it's still early and they've gotta sustain this for a while first

    if they don't score, we can't lose

  • Solid game in all phases tonight. The O-Line is looking better each week and the guys that have come in have done a great job. Bradford continues to impress, although I wish they would go for the throat when they are up by 14 rather than run, run, short pass. I know they are trying to run down the clock, but Bradford looks great running an up tempo game. Hopefully as he learns more of the offense they will open it up for him.

    The defense was great again, maybe not on the stat sheet but Eli was pretty happy to dump the ball into the turf as soon as he felt pressure. Rhodes did a great job on OBJ, but on that intercept his pace looked well off his best, hopefully the knock wasn't anything serious.

  • OTH, it was nice seeing Cruz and Beckham give Rhodes a hand up after an incomplete pass down near the goal line, and Rhodes approaching Beckham after the game. Sportsmanship: it's a good thing, for players and fans alike.