By Michael Stewart @TheTruthNYG
The New York Giants 2022 regular season is over and with rookie GM Joe Schoen and rookie HC Brain Daboll, the Giants doubled their win total from last season by going 9-7-1. The success and improvements in one season caught many football experts off guard and many projected them to win roughly 3-6 games this year. So now for the first time since 2016, the Giants will be in the playoffs and will go against the Minnesota Vikings who they lost to on a game ending field goal 27-24. So, what should we expect in this rematch? Can the Giants win their first playoff game since 2011? Here are my top 3 ways the Giants can win:
- Daniel Jones Shines: The success of the Giants should start with the improvement of Daniel Jones. Jones has met every expectation presented to him by HC Brian Daboll and the Giants organization with an outstanding season. During his short career, injuries and turnovers were the two main concerns and Jones has put both of those concerns to rest this season by playing injury free and only committing 7 turnovers
- Run Saquan Run: If Jones is the Giants offensive MVP this season, then Saquan Barkley is a very close second as he has stayed relatively healthy for the Giants and finished the season with a stat line of 295 carries, 1312 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns, 338 receiving yards and 1650 total yards from scrimmage. A solid performance from Barkley will go a long way for a Giants win.
- Defense, Defense: Over the final 5 regular season games, the Giants defense has reminded Giant fans of the glory days when defense and Giants football went hand in hand. One area that has shown arguably the most important has been the pass rush and if the Giants continue this against the Vikings, they will have a strong chance to win the game.
Final Thoughts: The Giants should be the healthiest they have been since opening day and many of their key players are performing at a higher level. The earlier disappointed lost to the Vikings (27-24) should be a blessing in disguise as it proved that they could compete against a top seeded team and in actuality, the Giants were a few plays removed from winning that game, I expect a see-saw affair with both team’s making big plays. In the end, the Giants will overcome any obstacle the Vikings throw out them and this time around it’s the Giants who will win it with a late field goal. Final Score: Giants-26/Vikings-23