Daniel Jones led the New York Giants to their first playoff win in 11 years as they beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-24 in Minneapolis to set up a Divisional Round clash with the Philadelphia Eagles; Saquon Barkley scores two touchdowns while Giants defense produces game-winning stop.
Monday 16 January 2023 11:18, UK
Daniel Jones passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 78 yards in his first career playoff game to guide the New York Giants to a 31-24 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in a Wild Card thriller on Sunday.
Saquon Barkley rushed for two scores, including the tiebreaker midway through the fourth quarter, while the Giants' defense finished off the franchise's first playoff win since the Super Bowl 11 years ago by swarming tight end T.J. Hockenson after a three-yard catch on a pass from Kirk Cousins at midfield on fourth-and-eight.
The Vikings consequently turned the ball over on downs with 1:44 to go and no timeouts remaining.
Jones became the first quarterback in NFL history with 300-plus passing yards, two-plus passing touchdowns and 70-plus rushing yards in a postseason game as first-year head coach Brian Daboll's Giants advanced to play No. 1 seed and NFC East rival Philadelphia in the divisional round next weekend.
"We did what we wanted to do, come out with a win," Barkley said. "Celebrate on the way back, watch film, learn from it and get ready for Philly."
Isaiah Hodgins and Daniel Bellinger each had touchdown receptions for New York.
Cousins went 31 for 39 for 273 yards and two scores and a rushing touchdown to cap the game's opening possession, with the too-short throw to Hockenson his one glaring mistake. Justin Jefferson, the NFL's leading receiver, had just one catch after halftime and finished with 47 yards.
The Vikings stayed on brand by facing 10-point deficits late in the second quarter and again early in the third quarter.
Cousins, who faced regular pressure by the blitz-fueled Giants defense, hit Irv Smith Jr. for a short touchdown pass that brought the Vikings within three at 24-21.
Danielle Hunter's sack then forced the first Giants punt of the game, from which the Vikings went the other way for the score-levelling field goal.
Three points could have been six, though, when Cousins' successful sneak on fourth-and-one at the 15 was negated by a false start on left tackle Christian Darrisaw.
Jones converted a penalty-free fourth-and-one sneak on the next drive for the Giants, paving the way for Barkley - who had 109 total yards on only 14 touches - chugged into the end zone for the lead with 7:47 to go.
The Giants and Vikings were among seven teams in the playoffs that missed out last season, a six-year absence for the Giants that ended with their 9-7-1 finish under Daboll to grab a Wild Card spot.
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell was a first-timer on the job, too, directing a 13-4 division champion team that, in an NFL season with a record number of close margins and comeback wins, set an all-time mark by going 11-0 in one-score games.
The Giants will now gear up to face the No 1-seeded Philadelphia Eagles in next weekend's Divisional Round playoff.
Before then, Super Wild Card weekend concludes on Monday night when Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers face Dak Prescott's Dallas Cowboys.
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