Daniel Jones leads Giants to upset win over Vikings to advance in playoffs

MINNEAPOLIS — A Giants season that was so unexpectedly fruitful continues to grow and prosper. 

Once again carried by the ascending Daniel Jones, the Giants went into hostile territory and lit up the scoreboard. This was no defensive struggle, as so many Giants playoff games of yesteryear were. The Giants needed to keep pace with the prolific Vikings, and Jones was up to the challenge. He used his arms and his legs and guided his team to a frantic and pulsating 31-24 victory at ear-splitting U.S. Bank Stadium. 

It is onward and upward for a Giants team that has already exceeded even the most optimistic expectations in the first year for general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll. The Giants (10-7-1) advance to face a familiar foe in a familiar venue, set for yet another tangle with the Eagles (14-3) on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field. As the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the Eagles enjoyed a bye in the first round. The Giants were 0-2 against the Eagles this season, hammered at home (48-22) on Dec. 11 and losing 22-16 a month later in the regular-season finale at the Linc, with the Giants resting their starters and the Eagles going all out to lock up the top seed in the division. 

This was the first playoff victory for the Giants since they defeated the Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI — back on Feb. 5, 2012. 

Jones was brilliant. He was 24 of 35 for 301 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers. He ran 17 times for a team-high 78 yards. He became the first player ever with at least 300 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and at least 70 yards rushing in a playoff game. Isaiah Hodgins caught eight passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. 

These teams specialized in close games all season and when they met back on Christmas Eve, it could not have been closer — the Vikings won 27-24 on a 61-yard field goal as time expired. It was hardly a surprise that the playoff encounter was equally taut and tight. 

It was back and forth, with momentum changing from one series to the next. The Giants trailed 7-0 early but scored 17 consecutive points to soar ahead 17-7. It was 17-14 at halftime. The Giants tried to take control with a drive to start the third quarter to extend their lead to 24-14. The Vikings got the next 10 points to pull even with 12:34 to go. 

Not for long. 

Fans hold up a “Danny Dimes” cutout for Daniel Jones. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

Hodgins, a revelation for the Giants, made a spectacular leaping catch on the left sideline for 19 yards and Jones picked up a first down on fourth-and-1 on a quarterback sneak, with Daboll eschewing a chip-shot field goal. He was rewarded for his boldness. Saquon Barkley scored on a 2-yard run and with 7:47 left the Giants led 31-24. 

The Giants got the stop they needed on defense, as Darnay Holmes dropped Dalvin Cook for a 4-yard loss and Dexter Lawrece on third down pressured Minnesota quarerback Kirk Cousins. The Giants took over with 6:12 remaining, needing to chew the clock down. They did it. Daboll gambled from his own 45-yard line, waving off a punt and Jones on fourth-and-1 ran a sneak for the first down. A costly dropped pass by Darius Slayton forced the Giants to punt the ball away with 2:56 to go. 

One defensive stop was required. The Giants got it, with rookie Cor’Dale Flott making a play on third down and Xavier McKinney wrapping up T.J. Hockenson on fourth down to end it with 1:44 to go. 

Jones passed for 100 yards in the first quarter alone — he had never done that before — and used his legs to thwart the Vikings time and again. The Giants got the ball out of the break and had no trouble easing down the field, with Jones finding Barkley (24 yards) and Hodgins (32 yards) on back-to-back plays. Jones finished the job by tossing 9 yards to rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger for a 24-14 lead. 

Defense was in short supply, though. The Vikings exploited gaping holes in the Giants’ pass coverage and Cousins hit tight end Irv Smith from 3 yards out to trim the Giants lead to 24-21. The Vikings pulled even at 24 on Greg Joseph’s 38-yard field goal with 12:34 to go. 

The Giants won the coin toss and deferred, giving the ball first to the Vikings. What followed was a textbook 12-play, 75-yard drive that caught the Giants’ defense off-balance every which way. Cousins was 7 for 7 for 54 yards, Jefferson caught four passes and Cousins scored on a 1-yard sneak to make it 7-0, to the delight of the roaring crowd. 

Daniel Jones runs during the Giants’ win over the Vikings on Jan. 15. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

The response by the Giants was swift and decisive. Jones connected with Slayton for 22 yards and scrambled twice for 22 yards. A pitchout left to Barkley, with the Giants using a fake to get the flow of the defense going the right, busted open for 28 yards and a touchdown and it was 7-7. 

The Vikings on their next offensive series got too cute when on third-and-1 they tried some trickery, having Jefferson attempt a throwback pass to Cousins. The Giants were not fooled. Adoree’ Jackson, playing in his first game in nearly two months, stopped Cousins with a leg tackle for a 2-yard loss. 

Back to work for Jones and Co. He found Slayton, wide open on the right side, for 47-yards. Barkley made a spin-move past safety Harrison Smith and all that remained was for Jones to locate Hodgins, easily running free of cornerback Patrick Peterson, for an easy 14-yard scoring hookup to make it 14-7. 

The next time the Giants got the ball they played an impressive game of keep-away. They took over on their 9-yard line and made it all the way to the Vikings 4-yard line but had to settle for Graham Gano’s 25-yard field goal to go ahead 17-7. Still, the Giants established something, hogging the ball for 20 plays and an incredible 10:52, chewing off most of the second quarter.