Eli Manning and the New York “Football” Giants came into this game 0-6. Manning has thrown 15 interceptions already in the young season (most in the NFL). He came into the weekend dead last in the league with a quarterback rating of 64.0 for QB’s with a minimum of 100 attempts. There is no denying the two-time Super Bowl MVP is having the worst season of his career and is in the process of having one of the worst seasons any quarterback has had in the history of the league. Hosting a Monday night game against the incompetent 1-4 Vikings might just be the break these Giants need to finally get a “W” in the win column. It wasn’t pretty, but Manning did enough to win.

Meanwhile in Minnesota the quarterback situation has been quickly steering in the direction of newly acquired Josh Freeman – who is a castoff from the winless Buccaneers. He got the start on Monday night, and essentially showed why he was cut from his former team.

The Giants started off the night on a respectable drive that pushed for 9:36 in time of possession with New York establishing the running game early with rookie tailback Michael Cox, handing him the ball six times. But it was halted on a third down pass thrown by Manning to the right side of the end zone, in which the ball just missed the outstretched hands of Hakeem Nicks. Josh Brown came out and kicked a chip shot field goal from 35 yards to give the Giants the early lead.

Minnesota answered with a sloppy first drive, creating just one first down, punting the ball back to the Giants, after just taking a mere 2:11 off the clock. Freeman threw some inaccurate throws and seemed to have those first game jitters that many players have when playing for the first time with a new team.

After a short-lived drive by the Giants, Steve Weatherford punted the ball to Minnesota’s return specialist Marcus Sherels and the third-year cornerback took it to the house for an 86 yard touchdown, immediately throwing the momentum in the Vikings favour.

In the second quarter Manning led the Giants down the field for a 7 play – 82 yard drive finished off by a 24 yard touchdown pass to Rueben Randle. The drive was kept alive when rookie Xavier Rhodes was called for pass interference which resulted in a first down and 23 penalty yards. Randle’s score took the momentum back and gave his Giants a 10 – 7 lead.

Josh Freeman’s struggles continued through the first half, as he was constantly uneasy in the pocket and missing his receivers on routine throws going just 7-for-16 on his passes. Lacking to establish a running game, the Vikings only compiled a total 85 yards of offense in the first half, which was their lowest amount in their last 49 games. But lucky for them, they went into the half only down by a field goal.

The third quarter began with a comedy of errors with three consecutive turnovers. Both teams fumbled away punts. The only difference between the offenses getting short fields to work with was Freeman threw a horrible pass into double coverage, getting intercepted by Pro Bowl cornerback Antrel Rolle. On the other hand, the Giants wasted no time and pounded the ball up the middle with Peyton Hillis to score a TD from one yard out.

Fourth quarter came around and the Giants were able to open up their lead to 13, after a 16 play – 75 yard drive capped off by a 23 yard field goal by Brown. Peyton Hillis led the way with hard fought yardage and big plays on third and longs. From then on, Minnesota began to self-destruct.

Offensively for the Vikings, their night of misery only continued. Freeman looked completely out of sync with his receivers, missing them left, right and center. Abandoning the running game, they were forced into many third and longs. And with Freeman’s accuracy off the whole night, he never gave his players a chance to make plays.

Manning ended the game with a kneel. He walked off the field for the first time with a smile on his face, knowing he played a decent game throwing for 200 yards and one touchdown.

New York picked up the win and for now they can use the positives to build off the victory. Manning played his first turnover costless game of season, while Jason Pierre-Paul and the struggling defense held the Vikings offense to only 206 yards, while creating three turnovers. New acquisition Hillis carried the ball 18 times and scored a touchdown.

For the Vikings, it seemed that they didn’t even show up to play. They lacked effort and execution. MVP running back Adrian Peterson was held to a dismal 28 yards on the ground. Freeman’s awful performance ended with a completion percentage of only 38 per cent going 20-for-53. The only points they scored on the night came from a punt return.

If you were buying into Freeman being the answer for the Vikings, you might want to think again. If he continues to play like this, he might be shown the door for the second time this year.

Minnesota fall to 1-5 while the Giants improve to 1-6.

The Giants have given themselves something to look forward to, and in a division that is not being dominated by any team, they can stay competitive by putting wins together.

Never count out the boys in blue, but they have a long way to go. 

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About the author
Constantine Tzemis
True Toronto kid who loves sports, and loves arguing over it.