Kirk Cousins, quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, appeared to be laughing at New York Giants trainer, who fell down while treating outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux. The two sides locked horns in the wild-card game at the US Bank Stadium on Sunday.
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If the Giants, who are seeded at no. 6, win the game, they will be up against the Philadelphia Eagles for the divisional round. The No. 2 seeded San Francisco 49ers, who scripted a win against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, will be facing the Vikings if the latter manages to win tonight.
Under their rookie coaches, both teams have flourished in tense moments, with Kevin O’Connell intelligently keeping the ball close to Justin Jefferson and Brian Daboll’s strength seeping into the Giants’ ball-control offence.
And as was to be expected, the first half of Sunday’s rematch has been close, with New York holding a 17-14 lead. On the ground, Jones has been crisp and active, and Cousins has relied on T.J. Hockenson to lead two touchdown drives.
Despite his amusement at the Giants’ trainer falling, Cousins and his team could not manage to beat the New York side at home. The game ended 31-24 in the Giants’ favor.
Daniel Jones passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns and ran 15 times for 79 yards in his first career playoff game for the New York Giants, a 31-24 victory over Minnesota in the wild-card round that gave the Vikings their first loss in 12 one-score games this season.
Saquon Barkley rushed for two scores, including the tiebreaker midway through the fourth quarter. 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 3-yard catch on a pass from Kirk Cousins at midfield on fourth-and-8, and the Vikings turned the ball over on downs with 1:44 to go and no timeouts left.
