4 under-the-radar players who must step up Sunday vs. the Vikings

1: OT Evan Neal

With Evan Neal wrapping up what was a pretty rough rookie season, it is time for him to prepare to play the Minnesota Vikings in his first playoff appearance, and boy does he need to step it up. Neal will likely be matched up against Za’Darius Smith this week, who just finished a season in which he racked up 34 tackles, 10 sacks, three forced fumbles, and 78 combined pressures, all while making his third Pro Bowl.

Considering how poorly Neal played last time against the Vikings, allowing seven pressures and a sack, he must answer the call and protect Daniel Jones by any means possible. Even outside of Smith, this Vikings front five is no joke, and the offensive line as a whole must step it up, most importantly though, the Giants need Neal to improve drastically for this matchup.

Obviously that’s a lot to ask for, but we have seen plenty of flashes of greatness out of the 22 year old this season, so there is still hope for him to prove himself as a future star. Overall, this has been a disappointing season from Neal in which he has allowed seven sacks and 39 pressures, but he has had seven games in which he has allowed two or less pressures.

It really seems like Neal is either having a great game, or a very, very bad game every time he steps onto the field. Let’s all hope for the Giants sake that this week is going to be a good game for the rookie – we all know the offense needs it.