3 Bold Predictions for Vikings at Giants in Week 16
The Minnesota Vikings have three games left in 2025, hoping to finish the campaign on a high note and maybe even peek over .500 for the first time all season when it’s all said and done. The club hits the road for a date with the New York Giants on Sunday, and these are three bold predictions for that event.
With Minnesota facing New York, here are three aggressive predictions built around the run game, McCarthy’s trajectory, and a pivotal defensive moment.
Minnesota cannot reach the postseason, but it can provide sanguinity rolling into the 2026 offseason.
Bold Takes for NYG-MIN
Just the bold stuff for Giants-Vikings.
1. Aaron Jones Breaks Off 100+ Rushing Yards
The Giants own the NFL’s single-worst rushing defense. Full stop. It gets no worse at stopping ball-carriers after handoffs than Mike Kafka’s men.
On the other hand, no Vikings player has rushed for 100 yards or more in a single game since Week 3, when Minnesota bulldozed the hapless Cincinnati Bengals. It’s time. The Vikings are overdue.
Fully understanding that New York cannot stifle the ground game, head coach Kevin O’Connell will commit to running the ball about 30 times, and by his standards, Aaron Jones will explode. Jones will bank over 100 rushing yards and score at least once.
The Giants having the league’s worst run defense while employing Dexter Lawrence will never make much sense, but the numbers don’t lie. Jones slices and dices New York.
2. J.J. McCarthy Looks Awesome; Jaxson Dart Looks Terrible
When you go to sleep on Sunday night, McCarthy will have faced three of the NFL’s worst defenses in a row. In the first two games, against Washington and Dallas, McCarthy feasted, accounting for six total touchdowns after weeks of fans wondering if he was any good in the first place.
McCarthy may not throw exactly three touchdowns at MetLife Stadium, but he will continue his upward trajectory, so much so that fans believe he can be the sole QB1 solution in 2026.
For the Giants, Dart has never seen anything quite like Brian Flores. The Vikings’ defensive boss will toy with Dart, tempt him to run from the pocket, and smack him around all afternoon. Dart will look clueless at times because that’s what Flores does to young quarterbacks.
Giants.com‘s Matt Citak wrote Dary going up against Minnesota’s defense, “The strength of the Minnesota defense this season has been in the passing game. The Vikings rank fifth in passing yards and third in passing touchdowns allowed on the year, although their five interceptions are tied for the second-fewest in the NFL.”
“Brian Flores’ unit did a good job of limiting Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott last week, as the veteran completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 294 yards and no touchdowns. Flores is one of the top defensive coordinators in the league with his ability to disguise looks and make things tough for opposing quarterbacks, especially young signal-callers.”
3. The Vikings Win in a Rout
Here’s the deal: based on the way the Vikings have played recently — a 31-point shutout over Washington and an upset deep in the heart of Texas — Minnesota should blow out New York. That’s not a controversial take.
The Giants won’t have their top two playmakers in Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo, the coaching staff is merely transitional, and Dart is a rookie. Minnesota should smash the Giants’ door in.
And that’s exactly what they’ll do, continuing the late-season surge that will generate optimism for the offseason and “screw up the draft pick.” The Vikings will defeat the Giants by 17 points or more, stockpiling momentum for two upcoming spoiler games against the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.
SI.com‘s Jonathan Harrison predicted an eight-point dub by Minnesota: “The Giants are bad. Washington ended its 8-game losing streak last week with a win over New York. The Giants’ losing streak is now at 8 games and will reach 9 games this weekend when ‘Nine‘ shows up and guides the Vikings to a win. McCarthy had a great game last Sunday against the Cowboys, making it two solid performances in a row.”
“With another bad opponent ahead, the Vikings’ young QB will put together another confidence-building performance ahead of closing out the season with two tough tests against the Lions and Packers.”
Minnesota has won its last five regular season games over New York.
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