After contending with flight delays, snowstorms, and a change of venue, the New York Giants (9–4) finally met the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night and cruised to a 21–3 win at Ford Field in Detroit.
The domed stadium—and home to the Detroit Lions—was chosen as the most convenient locale as tickets were handed out for free to locals within hours of game time.
The new location was chosen after 17 inches of snow caved in the roof of the Vikings home field, Mall of America Field Stadium (formely known as the Metrodome), last Sunday.
The unusual crowd cheered occasionally and seemed disinterested at other times. But for the Giants, the amount of applause mattered little as they took care of business and dominated their opponent.
New York’s defense limited Minnesota to only 164 total yards (61 yards rushing, 103 yards passing) while tallying four sacks and one interception. On offense, Giants running backs Brandon Jacobs (116 yards rushing) and Ahmad Bradshaw (103 yards rushing) led the way combining for 213 total rushing yards.
On www.giants.com, head coach Tom Coughlin was quoted after the game, “Our defense certainly played. I thought the running game was outstanding. We’ve had the run the last couple of weeks in terms of lots of numbers; both backs sharing in the load and both doing an outstanding job, both having long runs tonight.”
Jacobs had his best run of the game at 11:15 in the second quarter, busting out a 73-yard jaunt down the left side. Bradshaw’s longest run came at 2:46 in the third quarter as he ran for a 48-yard touchdown.
Jacobs talked about the Giants success running the ball, “Ahmad [Bradshaw] and I just go out and do what we have to do help the team win no matter what it is—pass blocking, catching the ball, running it, whatever it is. We love to run the ball, and I think that’s what our offense is made of.
“We have a line that wants to run the ball, and that’s what we do best. When we get that going, it’s going to be awfully hard to beat us.”
Defensive end Justin Tuck added, “Regardless of where we play, who we play, what time we play doesn’t matter.”
Needing help was quarterback Eli Manning who was mediocre, completing 22-of-37 passes for 187 yards and 2 interceptions (19 on the season). Manning was fortunate enough to get help from the offense and a tremendous amount of support from the defense.
Manning gave kudos to teammates after the game, saying, “[Our] defense was playing outstanding and we just played kind of smart and didn’t give them any more chances and just found a way to win the game.”
Eli’s turnover problems continued in this game and he now leads the league with 19 interceptions. He must improve, especially as the playoffs near and turnovers usually translate into disaster.
As for Minnesota, with an injured Brett Favre on the sidelines, quarterback Tarvaris Jackson struggled to get his team into any kind of rhythm and finished the game completing only 15-of-30 passes for 118 yards.
The victory on Monday night was an important one for the G-Men as it kept them on pace with the divisional rival Philadelphia Eagles (9–4) for first place in the NFC East Division.
Coach Coughlin spoke about the importance of the game, “We all know first place in the division is at stake, and what Philadelphia has done and what the Giants have done is to give themselves an opportunity to be in position right now to play for the lead.
“That’s where we are, and it is of huge significance.”
The domed stadium—and home to the Detroit Lions—was chosen as the most convenient locale as tickets were handed out for free to locals within hours of game time.
The new location was chosen after 17 inches of snow caved in the roof of the Vikings home field, Mall of America Field Stadium (formely known as the Metrodome), last Sunday.
The unusual crowd cheered occasionally and seemed disinterested at other times. But for the Giants, the amount of applause mattered little as they took care of business and dominated their opponent.
New York’s defense limited Minnesota to only 164 total yards (61 yards rushing, 103 yards passing) while tallying four sacks and one interception. On offense, Giants running backs Brandon Jacobs (116 yards rushing) and Ahmad Bradshaw (103 yards rushing) led the way combining for 213 total rushing yards.
On www.giants.com, head coach Tom Coughlin was quoted after the game, “Our defense certainly played. I thought the running game was outstanding. We’ve had the run the last couple of weeks in terms of lots of numbers; both backs sharing in the load and both doing an outstanding job, both having long runs tonight.”
Jacobs had his best run of the game at 11:15 in the second quarter, busting out a 73-yard jaunt down the left side. Bradshaw’s longest run came at 2:46 in the third quarter as he ran for a 48-yard touchdown.
Jacobs talked about the Giants success running the ball, “Ahmad [Bradshaw] and I just go out and do what we have to do help the team win no matter what it is—pass blocking, catching the ball, running it, whatever it is. We love to run the ball, and I think that’s what our offense is made of.
“We have a line that wants to run the ball, and that’s what we do best. When we get that going, it’s going to be awfully hard to beat us.”
Defensive end Justin Tuck added, “Regardless of where we play, who we play, what time we play doesn’t matter.”
Needing help was quarterback Eli Manning who was mediocre, completing 22-of-37 passes for 187 yards and 2 interceptions (19 on the season). Manning was fortunate enough to get help from the offense and a tremendous amount of support from the defense.
Manning gave kudos to teammates after the game, saying, “[Our] defense was playing outstanding and we just played kind of smart and didn’t give them any more chances and just found a way to win the game.”
Eli’s turnover problems continued in this game and he now leads the league with 19 interceptions. He must improve, especially as the playoffs near and turnovers usually translate into disaster.
As for Minnesota, with an injured Brett Favre on the sidelines, quarterback Tarvaris Jackson struggled to get his team into any kind of rhythm and finished the game completing only 15-of-30 passes for 118 yards.
The victory on Monday night was an important one for the G-Men as it kept them on pace with the divisional rival Philadelphia Eagles (9–4) for first place in the NFC East Division.
Big Battle Ahead
The Giants must now prepare for possibly their biggest challenge of the year as they get ready to face the Philadelphia Eagles at home on Sunday.Coach Coughlin spoke about the importance of the game, “We all know first place in the division is at stake, and what Philadelphia has done and what the Giants have done is to give themselves an opportunity to be in position right now to play for the lead.
“That’s where we are, and it is of huge significance.”
