Odell Beckham Jr. spectacularly lost his head on Sunday, while his New York Giants eventually lost (again) after a valiant comeback against the still-perfect Carolina Panthers. That loss has put the G-men in a huge hole in terms of the NFC East race with just two weeks remaining. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings can clinch the second NFC wild-card spot if they can take care of business at home against the falling Giants.
Can the Giants keep their faint playoff hopes alive or will the Vikings punch their ticket to the postseason? Read on below for this crucial all-NFC Sunday night matchup. And for more Week 16 matchups with big playoff implications, check out our previews of the Texans vs. Titans and Panthers vs. Falcons.
[sc:Football ]
New York Giants vs. Minnessota Vikings Preview
Where: TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis
When: Sunday, December 27, 8:25 PM ET
Line: New York Giants (+6) at Minnesota Vikings (-6); total: 46.0 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: NBC
Betting on the New York Giants (6-8)
The good news for the Giants: they showed a lot of spirit to come back from 28 points down against the undefeated Panthers to tie the game with less than two minutes remaining. They eventually covered as 4.5-point underdogs, and are now 5-2-1 ATS in their last eight games.
[sc:NFL240banner ]But there are two pieces of bad news: first, Tom Coughlin’s poor clock management, which has cost the Giants so many games this season, struck again as they allowed the Panthers to burn the remaining time on the clock to kick the game-winning field goal. The Giants have now dropped to 2-5 in their last seven games, with four of the five losses coming by a field goal or fewer.
And second, Odell Beckham showed his dark side during his much-anticipated matchup with Josh Norman. He was called for three unsportsmanlike penalties for his brash behavior, which has now seen him suspended for the Vikings game.
The Giants are still alive in the NFC East title race, but their fate is no longer in their own hands. And now that their best player is out, that could be it for their season.
ODB has over double the amount of receiving yards (1,396) and touchdowns (13) than the Giants’ second-best receiver, Rueben Randle (638 yards and six TDs), so his absence from the offense will be very tough to overcome.
Perhaps the Giants could get a bit of success with a ground game that has shown life in recent weeks against a mediocre Vikings run defense. Rashad Jennings is coming off his best game of the season with 107 of the team’s 161 rushing yards against the Panthers.
Teddy Bridgewater is coming up big down the stretch for the Vikings. After throwing for a season-high 335 yards in a losing effort against Arizona, Bridgewater completed 85 percent of his passes (17-of-20) and four touchdowns – both new career-highs – and ran for another score as he led the Vikings to their biggest win of the season, 38-17, over the Chicago Bears.
Bridgewater has had to step up his game with Adrian Peterson faltering for the past month. Peterson, who suffered a sprained ankle in the first half against the Bears, was limited to 63 yards on 18 carries. Peterson has been unable to break past 70 yards rushing in four of his last five games.
With the Giants’ lack of a consistent pass rush and overall spotty pass defense (No. 25 per DVOA heading into Week 15), Bridgewater has a good chance to continue his promising play.
The Vikings were without three key players on defense – Linval Joseph, Anthony Barr and Harrison Smith – but still limited Chicago to 10 points until the Bears scored a late touchdown after the Vikings had put the game out of reach. Getting even one or two of them back in time to face the dangerous Giants offense will be a big boost to a Vikings defense that’s giving up just over 19 points per game.
The win against the Bears snapped Minnesota’s two-game home losing skid. The Vikes are now 5-2 (SU and ATS) at home this season.
Writer’s Prediction
The Vikings (-6) secure their spot in the postseason with a 27-21 win over the Giants.
