MINNEAPOLIS — It was coming down to the closing minutes. Of course it was. These are the Giants of 2022, playing into the new year as a new team.
It was coming down to the wire. Of course.
“We’ve been in these games all year,’’ Saquon Barkley said. “Only difference is if you don’t win, you go home.’’
Ending this transformative season was never on the Giants’ agenda.
Daniel Jones in the first playoff game of his career admitted “there were definitely some nerves going into it’’ and then proceeded to turn those nerves into verve. He rose to the occasion with his arm and his legs, and as a result, a Giants season that was so unexpectedly fruitful continues to grow and prosper.
Once again carried by the ascending Jones, the Giants went into hostile territory Sunday and lit up the scoreboard. This was no defensive struggle, as so many Giants playoff games of yesteryear turned out to be. The Giants needed to keep pace with the prolific Vikings and Jones was up to the challenge. He guided his team to a frantic and pulsating 31-24 victory at ear-splitting U.S. Bank Stadium.
“We’ve got a special group, a special team and that’s what it’s all about,’’ Jones said.
When safety Xavier McKinney wrapped up tight end T.J. Hockenson, far short of the yards needed for a first down with 1:44 remaining, the Giants had finished the job.
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) Saturday night 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.
“I think they’re a great team,’’ rookie outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux said. “They’ve done it all. They have the players. But it’s the playoffs, so we’re going to have to come with everything.’’
The Giants needed everything to come away with their first postseason victory since they defeated the Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI — back on Feb. 5, 2012.
“We’re a scrappy bunch,’’ Daboll said.
“We’re back,’’ co-owner John Mara said in the victorious Giants locker room.
“It’s hard to put into words. I’m just so happy for our fans and to see our quarterback play like that in that loud of an environment, you just have to feel really good about the direction we’re going right now.’’
Jones was brilliant. He was 24 of 35 for 301 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers. He ran it 17 times for a team-high 78 yards and is playing his way into a lucrative second contract.
“I know we have an elite quarterback,’’ Barkley said. “He’s shown that multiple times.’’
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, extending their lead to 24-14. The Vikings got the next 10 points to pull even with 12:34 to go.
Not for long.
Isaiah Hodgins, a revelation for the Giants, made a spectacular leaping catch on the left sideline for 19 yards and Jones on fourth-and-1 on a quarterback sneak picked up a first down, with Daboll eschewing a chip-shot field goal. He was rewarded for his boldness. Barkley scored on a 2-yard run — carrying 325-yard Dalvin Tomlinson, a former Giants defensive tackle — into the end zone. With 7:47 left the Giants led 31-24.
“It was one of those he wasn’t going to be denied, you could almost sense that from the huddle before the ball was snapped,’’ Jones said.
“DJ looked at me and said ‘LFG’ and I gave him a look back like ‘You already know,’ ’’ Barkley said. “That’s the type of relationship we have with each other.’’
The Giants got the stop they needed on defense, as Darnay Holmes dropped Dalvin Cook for a 4-yard loss and Dexter Lawrence on third down pressured Kirk Cousins. The Giants took over with 6:12 remaining, needing to chew the clock down. 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. But a costly dropped pass by Darius Slayton forced the Giants to punt the ball away with 2:56 to go.
One more defensive stop was required. The Giants got it, with rookie Cor’Dale Flott making a play on third down and McKinney wrapping up Hockenson on fourth down to end it.
This time around, the Giants did a much better job limiting all-world receiver Justin Jefferson, who caught seven passes for 43 yards but was nearly shut out (one catch for 4 yards) in the second half. Credit the return of cornerback Adoree’ Jackson for much of this. Hockenson (10-129) was a big factor, as he was in the first game between these teams, but he was contained by McKinney down the stretch.
“It was one of those games it kept on going back and forth, back and forth,’’ center Jon Feliciano said. “When Daniel’s playing like that and you have a back that’s special like Saquon it’s hard to stop.’’
The Giants haven’t stopped yet.
