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Two of the best young quarterbacks meet on the field in Week 16 when the New York Giants welcome the Minnesota Vikings to MetLife Stadium. A lot of eyes will be on the head-to-head battle between Jaxson Dart and J.J. McCarthy, with several other in-game matchups to monitor. Before the teams meet on the field, we will be making our Vikings-Giants Week 16 predictions.
While both teams have been eliminated from the playoffs, they still exist on opposite ends of the stratosphere. The Vikings have finally generated some momentum with McCarthy under center, entering Week 16 on a two-game win streak, both against NFC East teams.
The Giants, meanwhile, remain winless since Week 6. New York’s losing streak extended to eight with a Week 15 loss to the Washington Commanders in a game it was actually favored to win.
Without much to play for, both quarterbacks will be under a microscope. Fans have been much higher on Dart than McCarthy, but the latter’s recent surge has at least paused some of the hate targeted toward him.
No real stakes will be on the line, but several players have individual incentives to play for. Regardless, we will advance to our biggest Vikings-Giants Week 16 predictions.
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J.J. McCarthy has been a different player since returning from a one-game injury absence in Week 14. The pseudo-rookie has thrown for 413 passing yards, five touchdowns and one interception over the last two weeks, while leading the Vikings to a pair of wins.
After picking apart the Cowboys’ secondary for a career night, McCarthy now has another advantageous matchup in front of him against the Giants’ wailing defense. New York’s pass-rush is an element that could give him trouble, but its pass defense could be an even softer matchup than Dallas was.
Only one quarterback, Jordan Love, has failed to surpass 200 passing yards against the Giants this season. More quarterbacks, four, have topped 250 passing yards against New York than have failed to reach 220, two.
McCarthy’s accuracy will be tested against the Giants’ man-heavy defense, but only one New York cornerback, Cor’Dale Flott, has an above-average player grade on Pro Football Focus.
McCarthy has rediscovered his groove, but Justin Jefferson remains a non-factor in this offense. The four-time All-Pro has been shockingly quiet all season, even more so in the last two weeks, while McCarthy has found a rhythm.
Jefferson has just 37 receiving yards in the last three weeks and has not gone over 100 since Week 5. The targets are still there — Jefferson has received 7.7 looks in his last seven games — but he has not even been remotely on the same page as McCarthy this season.
This Giants secondary, however, will be the worst he has faced all season. New York deploys man coverage at a top-10 rate in the league, but does...
