Big Blue View
The New York Giants lost their ninth straight game on Sunday as the Minnesota Vikings came into MetLife Stadium and secured a 16–13 vicitory. The Vikings’ defense limited rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart to just 33 passing yards (13 net passing yards). Dart dropped back 19 times, completing only seven passes for a 53.8% completion rate and a season-low 2.5 yards per attempt.
New York employed a run-heavy approach against the Vikings, rushing the football on 15 of the first 17 plays with no play-action usage. The Giants were sacked on their first two passing attempts: a third-and-six and fourth-and-five, although the Giants were bailed out of the former with a roughing the passer penalty.
The Athletic’s Dan Duggan had a very interesting note in his pregame thoughts X Post:
Talking to some offensive players this week, it’s clear the Giants were totally out-coached by Brian Flores in last season’s 28-6 loss to the Vikings in the opener. Flores unexpectedly ran a lot of Cover-2 and the Giants didn’t have many C-2 beaters in their game plan. They feel confident they’ll have a better plan for this matchup.
Brian Flores is known for his uber-aggressive approach, and he blitzed the Giants on 43% of snaps in Week 15, with a 48% middle-of-the-field-open rate (Cover-4/2). The Vikings had six defenders in the box on 55% of snaps, with the Giants employing 12 personnel at a 41% rate and 13 personnel at a 22% rate.
The Giants leaned on the run game against Minnesota’s two-high defensive looks and consistently stayed ahead of the sticks, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. However, the passing game was an abject disaster against Brian Flores’ defense. The rookie quarterback looked like a rookie — dropping his eyes early, missing open reads, and struggling under pressure. Injuries along the offensive line compounded the issue, as protection broke down repeatedly, and Giants receivers dropped four passes.
Flores consistently dialed up pressure, sending free rushers at Dart. It appeared that offensive coordinator Mike Kafka did not trust the Giants’ protection or the rookie quarterback to diagnose Minnesota’s rotating coverages post-snap, particularly off play-action. Instead, New York leaned into favorable box counts, running the ball to avoid third-and-five-plus situations.
While a run-heavy approach made sense, the lack of complementary elements was puzzling. Screen passes and other easy, rhythm throws for Dart were largely absent, leaving the rookie without reliable answers when the Giants were forced to throw.
Jaxson Dart described Flores’ defense as “chaotic” before the game, and chaos is what transpired for the Giants’ passing attack:
Technically, the Giants’ second-passing attempt against an incomplete pass on the previous play was cancelled by offsetting penalties. Flores puts seven guys on the line of scrimmage in a Cover-0 look versus 11 personnel with Theo Johnson (84) as the boundary side lone receiver in the 3×1 set; Devin Singletary (26) was to Johnson’s side and stayed in to protect.
Right at the snap, Jermaine Eluemunor (72) points at safety...
