The Divisional round of the National Football League is upon us. The wild card round definitely did not let us down with plenty of action throughout the weekend. The biggest surprise of the weekend had to be the comeback of the Jag’s win over the Chargers. The most impressive victory had to be the Giants beating the Vikings. The podcast last week definitely did not disappoint as we correctly forecasted both the Giants and the Cowboys blowout. The Ravens also had a surprisingly close loss without Lamar Jackson. While I want to break down the Jags’ game and wonder how the Chargers collapsed. Daniel Jones has the sports world buzzing, so let’s rewind that tape to the Giants.
The Giants are continuing into the next round of the playoffs breaking the boat curse. They are going to have their hands full against the Eagles, but that is for later. How did they beat the Vikings? Is Minnesota a fraud team? Or is Kirk Cousins just incapable of making a playoff run? Let’s start on the offensive side.
Daniel Jones. Jones was truly special in the game vs the Vikings. He stepped up when they needed him to and he did not back down from the challenge. He was amazing in this game and was the number one reason why the Giants were able to win. The most important thing that he did was being able to run and extend plays. His rushing for 80 yards per game will definitely give the Giants a chance in their next game. His rushing threat was able to open the passing game wide open against Minnesota. Now that defense isn’t great, but it is certainly good enough to stop mediocre offenses. Having to worry about Jones running was able to let him have 300 yards against the Vikings.
It can not be reiterated enough that Jones made the right plays at the right times. He wasn’t forcing throws or making huge mistakes which once again kept the Giants ahead. Jones can’t be his normal regular-season self in the game vs the Eagles. He has to be special and be able to move around in order to give them a chance. Rushing the ball with Jones is going to be key number one to give the Giants a chance. It also opens up Saquan Barkley as another rusher. Worrying about two ground threats is a headache for defenses and the Eagles know plenty about that with their offense.
The Giant’s defense was also big on multiple occasions vs the Vikings. They were able to stop a dangerous offense and make them basically useless late in the game. There wasn’t a lot of credit given to the defense, but they showed up when New York needed them. It is amazing how little credit the media actually gave them after limiting the Vikings to three points in their last three drives. Even though they have been good all year, they were huge in this game. They have failed to be good in the first meeting against Philly which is a concern heading into this game. The second game had Philly warming up to Jalen Hurts again, so I am not taking that into consideration. The Giant’s defense will have to be special to limit Hurts and co, but it is certainly possible for them to keep the offense in it.
The bottom line for New York is the Eagles have only lost one game with Jalen Hurts at the head, a sloppy game against the Commanders. While that Monday Night miracle gave hope to the NFC, it was quickly shut down in the following games. The thing that the Giants should be focused on is the fact that they are a new team. Daniel Jones will be the most important piece of this new team. If they continue to win it will be because of him. I don’t think this game is out of reach. The Giants are more than capable of shutting down Jalen Hurts. They just need offensive firepower. Daniel Jones will be the biggest question mark heading into this matchup. Barkley and the defense will be ready, will Jones?
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