New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning hands the football off to Rashad Jennings. Jennings is expected to miss his second straight game with a thumb injury. Orleans Darkwa is expected to start. Manning needs one victory to reach 100 career regular-season wins. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
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KICKOFF: Monday, 8:30 p.m. ET, U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis. TV: ESPN, Sean McDonough, Jon Gruden, Lisa Salters.
SERIES HISTORY: 25th regular-season meeting. Vikings lead series, 14-10. The last four games between these two teams have resulted in a lopsided win for the victor, with the margin of victory in each being at least two touchdowns. The Vikings have won five out of the last seven meetings and the Giants have not won in Minnesota since 2010.
GAMEDATE: 9/30/16
KEYS TO THE GAME: Injuries chewed up the Giants' depth chart at running back the past two weeks, losing Rashad Jennings (thumb) and Shane Vereen (triceps) in a two-game span. Jennings could come back, but Orleans Darkwa is expected to get more time as the Giants seek balance against a nasty Vikings' defense that clobbered Cam Newton in Carolina last week.
Eli Manning felt the burden of carrying the offense in Week 3, when his pair of fourth-quarter picks by the Redskins cost the Giants a share of first place in the NFC East. New York's offensive line was effective but has shaky moments against teams that can rush from multiple angles, a specialty of Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer. Health in the secondary was a concern for the Vikings with CB Xavier Rhodes ailing, but Minnesota shut down Kelvin Benjamin with a focused, physical game plan in Week 3. The Vikings lead the NFL with 15 sacks.
How the Vikings match up against the Giants' three-receiver formation will impact the way head coach Ben McAdoo attacks, but he's likely to go conservative out of the gate in a primetime game on enemy turf.
Sam Bradford is doing just fine, thank you, minus left tackle Ryan Kalil (hip) and running back Adrian Peterson (knee) thanks to undersized WR Stefon Diggs. The Redskins were able to dent the Giants running between the tackles, and short-yardage RB Matt Asiata could take more carries from stand-in starter Jerick McKinnon this week if the Vikings want to show a power game.
Bradford has been sacked six times in two games, and Minnesota might need an extra tight end on the field to hold up against the Giants' reloaded pass rush. With CBs Eli Apple and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie hurt last week, the Giants played a lot of soft zone -- just what Diggs would prefer -- behind a four-man rush.
INJURY UPDATE:
New York Giants RB Rashad Jennings is expected to miss his second straight game with a thumb injury.
ESPN reported Monday afternoon that Jennings, officially listed as questionable, will not play on "Monday Night Football" against the Minnesota Vikings.
Jennings was limited in practice throughout the week.
Giants offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan told reporters several days ago that the team was taking a "wait and see" approach to Jennings.
The Giants had been preparing to go with Orleans Darkwa, who is expected to start, and Bobby Rainey in the backfield.
The Giants already lost leading rusher Shane Vereen, who was placed on injured reserve last week with a triceps injury suffered in the loss against the Washington Redskins.
Full INJURY REPORT:
GIANTS -- Out: RB Rashad Jennings, S Nat Behre (concussion), T Marshall Newhouse (calf), DT Robert Thomas (illness), FS Darian Thompson (knee). Doubtful: CB Eli Apple (hamstring). Questionable: CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (groin).
VIKINGS -- Out: DT Sharrif Floyd (knee), TE David Morgan (knee)
MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
-- Giants DE Olivier Vernon vs. Vikings LT T.J. Clemmings: Clemmings is a right tackle by trade and moved to the left side when Kalil went down. Vernon was able to get pressure on Kirk Cousins last week but has one sack in three games. This matchup favors Vernon, but the Vikings operate in multiple-tight end formations to protect the edge.
-- Giants WR Sterling Shepard vs. Vikings CB Captain Munnerlyn. Shepard is excelling in the slot, but at some point, defenses are going to change the way they cover him. This could be the week. Munnerlyn finished second on the Vikings last week with nine tackles and doesn't give up much after the catch.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Giants RB Orleans Darkwa -- With Shane Vereen on injured reserve (triceps) and starter Rashad Jennings (thumb) out, Darkwa is going to finally get an opportunity to see an expanded role. What better test to see if the man currently averaging 4.7 yards per carry this season is indeed for real than against a Vikings run defense that is allowing opponents an average of 84.0 yards per game, seventh in the league? If the Giants can get the running game going consistently, the hope is that they'll finally be able to deploy more play-action and take more deep shots down the field.
FAST FACTS:
Eli Manning needs one victory to reach 100 career regular-season wins.
The Giants are one win shy of 700.
The Vikings have won five of the past seven meetings.
The Giants are first in the NFL with a plus-eight turnover margin. The Giants are minus-6.
Beckham caught his 200th career pass last week, reaching the mark in an all-time record 30 games.
PREDICTION:
The Giants have to take care of the ball to avoid being stormed under at new U.S. Bank Stadium, where the Vikings return as a confident team despite a deluge of injuries to key players. If Minnesota safeguards Sam Bradford, the Vikings jump to a a surprising 4-0 start.
{b:
OUR PICK: Vikings, 24-20.}
--Jeff Reynolds
