QUARTERBACK
-Jaxson Dart: 7/13 – 33 yards / 0 TD – 1 INT / 27.4 RAT
Woof. I’m not quite sure where to start. There was nothing attractive about this game and evaluating a 13-pass performance (on 19 drop backs) feels like scouting a quarterback from one of the academies. There just wasn’t much to really break down. The game plan from Mike Kafka was clearly outmatched against Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores, who interviewed for the NYG head coaching job in 2022. Even with that David vs. Goliath variable, it was even worse. Dart barely had anything to work with in terms of open receivers and/or opportunities a proper scheme can open up. The pass protection was shaky as well and he simply never looked comfortable. Dart’s interception was the result of a Theo Johnson drop that went right through his hands and Darius Slayton soon-after dropped Dart’s best pass of the day. There was very little support for the rookie passer and that doesn’t even mention the fact he lost Andrew Thomas to an injury in the second quarter.
So how hard are we allowed to be on Dart? He is a rookie who has lost his number one receiver, best running back, and Head Coach in addition to missing time with a concussion. The thing about playing quarterback in the NFL, especially as a first rounder, is the desire to see improvement over the course of a season. No, not week to week. But you want to see a quarterback doing things (not everything) better at the end of the year compared to the beginning. The ugly truth is, Dart does not look better. His footwork is a mess when looking at true pass sets. He is lofting the ball instead of driving it through questionable weather (he had Robinson wide open but decided to touch-throw it for no reason). His pocket awareness has gone backwards. Perhaps losing Brian Daboll hurt him more than we thought but at the end of the day, Dart will eventually be counted on to make the best of any situation, period. We have not seen him do that. He could have easily thrown two more picks in this one and he seems to have trouble diagnosing some things pre-snap. Again, a 19-dropback, 13-pass attempt performance simply cannot be weighed heavily, but he has lost some rhythm and I want to see him fight back in these next two games.
RUNNING BACK
-Tyrone Tracy: 16 att – 71 yards / 2 rec – 7 yards
My biggest negative on Tracy to this point has been a lack of vision and feel. For whatever reason, Kafka wanted to pound the run time and time again and I thought Tracy responded well. There were barely any explosives (his longest run was 18 yards) but he worked well with the lack of space the Minnesota defense was supplying. The NYG offensive line mightily struggled in the run game but he still ended with some solid per-touch production. His pass protection was worse than usual. He allowed a pressure and was flagged for a holding penalty on what ended up being a demanding day for him in that role.
-Devin Singletary added 11 carries for 47 yards as he continues to prove he can be a reliable rotational piece for the backfield. There is a world in which this franchise does not touch the running back position this upcoming offseason and I wouldn’t think anything of it. It is a solid crew that may lack a true number one, and that is just fine. Over 246 rush attempts, neither has fumbled once.
WIDE RECEIVER
-Just as it is difficult to judge a quarterback in a game with such few attempts, the same goes for the receivers. One thing that was not hard to evaluate, however, was Darius Slayton’s drop (his 6th of the year). Slayton, once again, is approaching the league lead in drop rate. He did catch one pass for eight yards so for my moral victory-types who still believe in him, at least he caught one and didn’t drop it. Really nice guy, though. NYG needs to kick that contract to the curb this offseason.
-Wan’Dale Robinson led the team with 3 catches and 19 yards (yes, led the team). An explosive play was left off the board because a pass that simply lacked enough zip. It was not Robinson’s fault at all but it does show an example of why a guy so small can be tough to plan around. The margin for error is so low when you throw in his direction because he does not have the size to make up for poorly placed balls. Not the worst thing in the world and not a deal-breaker unless you are a true number one or two option. Which in this offense, he is.
TIGHT END
-It is one thing to have inconsistent hands. But when drops occur on third down and/or lead to turnovers, it can make patience wear thin. Theo Johnson was targeted twice. One was a drop near the end zone (yes, it was a tough play) and the second was a pass right through his hands into the hands of a MIN defender. It was in the second quarter of a three-point game and he was not thrown to for the rest of the game. His blocking was good enough but even there his coordination just gets ugly when he needs to react fast. Johnson is an unknown to me and after two years in the league, that means this team needs to operate as if they do not have a starting tight end. Add it to the list.
-Daniel Bellinger has grown on me this season. His pass-catching is solid even though he won’t ever be a game-breaker. He is what he is. But he has been improving as a blocker when they put him in motion and in the backfield as a fullback. He lined up 12 times there and came up with a few key blocks on the move, something he has struggled with in the past.
OFFENSIVE LINE
-A nightmare scenario for NYG would be is a serious injury to a key player who is a part of the 2026 core. Andrew Thomas limped off in the second quarter and for a moment I thought it was yet another recurring foot injury which is the biggest liability to his long-term future. It ended up being a hamstring and even though he is likely out for the rest of the year, it should not be an issue at all for the 2026 season.
-This opened the door for rookie Marcus Mbow, who has effectively been the team’s swing tackle (a largely important role for a team). He was flagged for an illegal formation right away and ended up allowing three pressures. He also got tossed around by the power-defenders MIN has up front. Something seemed off with his initial step. Both the confidence and pure strength were below average but let’s see how he does in games where he gets to prep as the starter all week. Mbow is quietly one of the most important players on this team over the next two weeks because of the looming decision they will need to make with Jermaine Eluemunor’s contract status.
-Right Tackle Jermaine Eluemunor allowed two pressures and was flagged for the fourth game in his last five games. The 11 flags are a career high and he still has two games left to play. He has the toughest test of his season coming up next week against Maxx Crosby. For those still on the fence with Eluemunor, this will be a great gauge to measure him on.
-I was really disappointed by the interior offensive line. Jon Runyan’s wife gave birth late Saturday night, thus was inactive. Aaron Stinnie stepped in for the first substantial snaps of the season. He looked rusty, as he missed assignments multiple times and was penalized twice. He allowed a pressure and was unable to reach a couple guys laterally. He and fellow guard Greg Van Roten were on the ground too often and played in recovery several times. Van Roten allowed a sack as well.
-Center John Michael Schmitz has been a roller coaster this season. He has regressed a bit and the MIN front did him no favors. He had a few ugly losses and was on the ground too often. He allowed two sacks and a pressure in addition to a TFL. The problem I have with Schmitz (in addition to his inconsistent play) is the fact he does not seem to step up when Andrew Thomas goes down. The inside needs to be extra stable if the All-Pro caliber left tackle comes out of the game. While it’s not just on him, I wish he could elevate and stabilize his play. He did anything but in this game.
EDGE
-Addul Carter seems to have hit a groove. He had a team-high 6 pressures in addition to a sack and a tackle for loss. Other than his Week 3 game where he was lined up at linebacker, the 9 snaps in this game playing inside were a season a high. They usually only put him there a third of that. And after a near-full season of watching him, it is important to know his best pass rush tape comes as a blitzing linebacker over the center. The movement he shows is downright special. The new coaching staff needs to get that kind of approach to his outside rush arsenal and if they do – Carter will be one of the top defensive players in the game. His ceiling remains that high.
-Brian Burns added two more sacks as he continues to add to his career high on QB takedowns. He is now one sack away from being fifth all time on the NYG single-season sack list. He forced a fumble (with help from Carter reading the screen) that Tyler Nubin picked up and ran with for the lone NYG touchdown. Burns also added a pressure and two tackles. He will be in the running for a spot on the All-Pro team if he can have another strong game or two. I respect him and his efforts even more considering he’s never been on a .500 team.
-Chauncey Gholston, a guy many may have forgotten about, had by far his most impactful game of the season. He’s been quiet in his limited opportunities this year but he finished this game with 1.5 TFL and a sack. That sack was really a result of Carter creating a pressure that pushed McCarthy right into Gholston’s lap, but nonetheless he made the play and closed it out.
DEFENSIVE LINE
-This was a disappointing group when looking at the big picture. Led by Dexter Lawrence, they simply did not make enough impact plays when NYG needed someone to step up. He did have 3 pressures and a TFL, but I hated his effort on that final MIN offensive play (a nine yard run up the gut). He has shown a lot of that this year; get stood up, lean on his man, and watch the action go by him.
-Roy Robertson-Harris was his normal active self with four tackles and a pressure on 38 snaps. But the young guys Darius Alexander and Elijah Chatman struggled to make any impact. Chatman was completely blown out of the way on that final play. He started outside the right guard and ended up over by the left guard, opening up a lane a bus could drive through. It’s pretty clear by now that he can’t hang in NFL trenches. Alexander can at least play big and wide, but he failed to make a couple take-downs that were right in front of him. He is still learning and adapting to the speed of the NFL and that will inevitably lead to some ugly losses.
LINEBACKER
-Bobby Okereke had an impactful game with 13 tackles (a team-high) and a nice pass break up on a crosser to Justin Jefferson. I’ve been hard on him pretty much all year but I’ll give credit where it is due. While Minnesota’s running game got what they wanted when they really needed it, Okereke did a nice job keeping them in check.
-Darius Muasau made two really physical tackles and was stout inside. He did get out-angled outside a couple times and struggled to move his hips well in coverage.
CORNERBACK
-The vulnerable cornerback room is always an injury away from being exposed. Cor’Dale Flott went down after 30 snaps and in came former first rounder Deonte Banks. He made an atrocious attempt on an outside run where he, once again, showed a significant lack of awareness and toughness wrapped up into one. Flott, by the way, also had a bad missed tackle on a third down that resulted in a conversion.
-Andru Phillips was ineffective. All four passes thrown his way were completed and while he did make 2 tackles, he had an absolute bonehead mistake that resulted in a personal foul after the play was over. It gave MIN 15 yards and put them into field goal position in the second quarter of a three-point game. Remember, if this has been a late-season game for a contending team trying to make the postseason, it would have been a killer-mistake.
-Paulson Adebo intercepted his first pass in an NYG uniform. It was off a dropped pass, but a big part of good defensive football consists of guys being in the right place at the right time. He added one tackle on the afternoon.
SAFETY
-Jevon Holland had arguably his best game in a Giants uniform. He looked different than every game tape I have seen this year when it came to how aggressive and physical he was playing. He finished with 7 tackles without any misses for the first time in four weeks. He had a long pick-six negated by an offsides penalty by Abdul Carter which had zero impact on the play. Again, a right place, right time kind of situation but that is one of the bigger roles a safety must have.
-Speaking of being where the turnovers are there for the taking, Tyler Nubin scooped up a fumble and scored the lone touchdown of the day for the Giants. He also had an untouched pressure and broke up a pass behind the line of scrimmage. He finished with 6 tackles and zero misses as well. The glaring negative was something we would be talking about more had NYG nation cared about the game. On the final play where MIN converted a 3rd-and-8 run up the middle, Nubin was way too late to come downhill. Whether it was a lack of recognition or he was afraid of play-action, game situations must come better to him if he can stick around. It showed a lack of feel and instincts and it prevented NYG from getting the ball again.
-Dane Belton played solid rotational football and made an excellent special teams tackle. He finished with 6 total tackles without any misses as well. He did allow one explosive play in coverage, but there is no denying he has developed into a solid safety who can wear a few hats. He is one guy I would actually try to extend to a multi-year deal.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
-K Ben Sauls: 3/3 (made 27, 39) 1/1 XP
-P Jamie Gillan: 2 punts / 45.5 avg / 39.5 net
3 STUDS
-ED Brian Burns, ED Abdul Carter, S Jevon Holannd
3 DUDS
-OC John Michael Schmitz, TE Theo Johnson, DT Elijah Chatman
3 THOUGHTS ON MIN
(1) The quarterback situation in Minnesota will be the most interesting in the league to follow. Sam Darnold turned his career around under Kevin O’Connell, but they let him walk in favor of 2024 first rounder JJ McCarthy, who has struggled this season. While his play has improved over the last month, he has suffered multiple injuries with the most recent being one to his throwing hand. He has missed 23-of-32 games so far in his young career. Whether you give him some grace or not (MIN also leads the league in drops) for having only 9 starts in his career, there is no disputing his lack durability can erase his future if this keeps up. Depending on what they think of rookie backup Max Brosmer (an undrafted free agent who I had a sixth-round grade on), this is a team that may pursue a veteran to actually compete with McCarthy for the starting job. Keep your eyes on Mac Jones, who just had a bit of a revival in San Francisco under a similar offensive system and could be had in a trade. He or any cusp-starter also provides a capable Plan B if McCarthy were to get injured again. Don’t sleep on Brosmer though, he can play the position.
(2) Beyond the injury to McCarthy, what went wrong in Minnesota? Their defense is a scary unit when things are clicking, they have an elite wide receiver in Justin Jefferson, and they have a solid 1-2 punch in the backfield. First thing of order, they lead the league in turnovers. Nobody has thrown more interceptions than the Minnesota trio of quarterbacks and their skill players rank bottom half in fumbles lost. Add in the league-lead in drops as noted above and an offensive line that has struggled with injuries, it is a team that just kept shooting themselves in the foot. This game still largely comes down to avoiding mistakes. Strip everything down to the core and you gotta protect the football, avoid penalties and drops, and play physical.
(3) The top asset available to NYG from MIN may not even be a player. Head Coach Brian Flores is a guy I think got a raw deal in Miami as a Head Coach. The problem is there is a pending lawsuit against the league that the Giants are included in. The odds of this logically making sense in a business heavy on egos likely diminishes any potential of him becoming the guy. For the record, he would have been on my short list. Besides him, there is not much on the Vikings roster I am attracted to in regard to free agents. Linebacker Ivan Pace lost his starting linebacker job because of how big of a liability he was against the pass. He is simply too small and not fluid enough but I do like him as a guy you bring in to be a number three guy at the position. Fellow linebacker Eric Wilson is having a career-year but he will be 32 next season. This may not sound sexy but punter Ryan Wright is one of the best in the game and will be available (at age 25) in a couple months. I still think this team should lean hard into special teams this offseason.
3 CLOSING THOUGHTS
(1) There isn’t a person I know and respect when it comes to coaching and scheming that supported what NYG was doing offensively on Sunday. The only reasons why Jaxson Dart should have one completion for two yards in the first half of any game are weather, lack of possession, or injuries. None of the above were the case Sunday. Every single one of Dart’s snaps in every one of Dart’s games need to have the future in mind. Part of that is on him, part of that is on the coaching staff. This was a game plan that limited his progression and if there was any question about Kafka’s future with the Giants coaching staff, it has been erased. I want him nowhere near this team in 2026.
(2) Keeping the discussion on coaching, where do you stand with what the organization should do in what seems to be a pivotal offseason (again)? We can talk about specific names (I will be sharing my piece on available candidates in the coming weeks), but I think we should first discuss this desire for offensive vs. defensive vs. generalist. I believe it is a mistake to go into the process and pursue one side of the ball. It can limit choices and it can prevent the franchise from finding the right guy. Similar to the NFL Draft, I don’t believe in pursuing specific positions only. I am not a big supporter of the notion you can only draft specific positions in the top ten, either. The game is too big and too complex to limit the search to such a narrow scope, notably early in the process. The right coach is out there and they must cast a wide net. Preferably, yes it is an offensive guy that won’t leave after two strong years. But no, I am not taking a B-offensive coach over an A-defensive guy. NYG has tried that three times since Coughlin and all three were failures.
(3) Arguably the biggest game of the season comes Sunday in Las Vegas. Go figure. The two worst teams in football face off to pretty much decide who is going to pick number one next April. The Raiders want it so they can take a quarterback without having to trade up. The Giants want it so they can likely sell the pick to the highest bidder and leave with a load of future draft picks. I have zero interest in getting into a conversation about “trying to lose” especially on a team with a quarterback that needs to develop, the Giants need to use this game especially to let banged up veterans sit and young guys play more. Whether it is limiting the snaps of Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns and/or letting the likes of a practice squad player or two step in for more snaps, the coaching staff needs to view this game as an opportunity to open the door to young guys while protecting the assets they need for the future.