Instant takeaways from the NY Giants heartbreaking walk-off loss to the Vikings
1. Late mistakes haunted the Giants in Saturday’s loss
Once again, there was a victory to be had for the Giants, but they totally blew it late in the action. First, Jones had been so good protecting the ball and not throwing picks. With the Giants driving in the final session, he tried going to Hodgins, but was picked by Peterson. That was some sweet revenge for Peterson, which broke our hearts.
Then later on in the quarter, the Giants were facing third down and Jones put the ball right on the money for Richie James. James had it for a split second, then shockingly he didn’t. This is one of the worst drops you’ll see, and not one an NFL receiver should be making. I mean, come on, Richie, you’ve got to hang on.
Richie James, bro.... You CANNOT drop this. pic.twitter.com/6PpXuBhemO
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) December 24, 2022
That’s unacceptable from James, who has driven people crazy more than once this season. The Giants settled for a field goal to make things 17-16. They then got the ball back looking to take the lead, but had to send out Jamie Gillan to punt. His punt was blocked, and Cousins hit Justin Jefferson for a huge score on the ensuing drive to put the Vikings up 24-16.
The Giants were able to tie things up at 24-24 thanks to a tremendous scoring drive, capped by a Saquon Barkley touchdown run and two-point conversion from Jones to Daniel Bellinger. However, the Vikings got the ball back with just enough time to set up a game-winning field goal with only a few seconds left on the clock. Joseph from 61…. it’s good.
This loss is tough to swallow, as others from earlier this campaign, as NY truly had a chance to record a statement win on the road. Now, it’s back to the drawing board vs. the Colts in Week 17, where the Giants will hope to lock in their postseason berth at MetLife Stadium. With the Seahawks and Lions losing, they could have done so in Minnesota. They’ll have to think about that on the flight home.
