For two games, the Giants played with power and purpose, shedding their lazy, losing ways to become relevant again. Buoyed by rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, the G-Men were exhumed from the 0-2 graveyard and were looking to win three straight and nudge their record over .500 for the first time since 2016.
But for all the mojo and magic surging through Big Blue, fueled largely by Jones, the Giants couldn't mask one major disparity between their team and the team from Minnesota.
Talent.
The Giants were smothered by the Vikings on Sunday, losing 28-10 at MetLife Stadium in a game that was worse than the tilted score would indicate. For two weeks, "Danny Dimes" looked like Steve Young, running and throwing and winning, with awareness and maturity of a man 10 years older. His energy lifted the Giants past the Buccaneers and Redskins.
But the Vikings are a different beast. Indeed, if you list the 15 best players on the field Sunday, a dozen were wearing purple. Maybe more if you consider that all-world running back Saquon Barkley is still out with a sprained ankle.
So while baseball's Yankees have toyed with a team from the Twin Cities for days, months and years on end, the Football Giants could not keep up with a Vikings squad that was tired of losing to lesser teams. It was an odd gap in ability, especially in the NFL, where the margins are normally paper thin. But for all the fun and faerie dust sprinkled over the last two games, Big Blue (2-3) is still a team in rebuild. The Vikings (3-2) are supposed to be a Super Bowl contender despite how poorly they played during their previous game at Chicago.
The Vikings stampeded for 490 total yards, to just 211 for the Giants. Minnesota hounded Jones all day, forcing him to dance out of the pocket and make errant throws we hadn't seen from the new darling of New York City. Jones finished with just 182 yards passing, tossing one touchdown and one interception. Making things worse, Barkley's replacement, Wayne Gallman, exited the game in the first quarter with a concussion, leaving Jon Hilliman to shoulder the running game. Hilliman finished with just 20 yards on nine carries, both of which lead the team. Overall, the G-Men had 64 yards rushing on 20 carries.
Though outclassed from the jump, the Giants tried to keep up and clawed to within 18-10 at halftime, but by the time Adam Thielen grabbed a TD pass from Kirk Cousins in the third quarter, the score was 25-10, it felt a lot worse and the game was all but over before the fourth quarter. The Vikings punted the ball just once all afternoon, and it was clear from whistle to gun that the Giants just didn't have the chops to match Minnesota's muscular roster.
It was talent, more than temerity, that made the difference. The Giants don't have an Anthony Barr or an Everson Griffen on defense. They didn't have a Dalvin Cook running the ball, or slashing across the field on short routes. And they certainly have no one to compare with Thielen or Stefon Diggs, who, despite his sudden displeasure with the Vikings, is exponentially better than any wideout the Giants had Sunday.
Even Cousins looked like a Super Bowl-worthy QB, hurling darts at his receivers while his line gave him copious time in the pocket. The embattled Vikings QB, who has yet to live up to the megabucks contract he signed before the 2018 season, completed 22 of 27 passes for 306 yards with two touchdowns. His 138.6 passer rating Sunday soars over his 95.2 career mark. The Giants were just the tonic for a quarterback whose talent was being questioned by a fan base that was starting to miss Case Keenum.
The Giants didn't lose because the Vikings are smarter or more creative, but only because they are better. Perhaps it was fitting that the two train stations that shuttled fans to MetLife — Penn Station and Secaucus Junction — were stuffed with folks dressed in football garb and comic book gear. While there was a football game at the Meadowlands, there was Comic Con at the Javits Center. The Vikings played like superheroes, while the Giants looked like the tattered, battered undead we've seen shuffling around shopping malls in so many movies.
They will get better, but it will take more than a quarterback, or his fancy, new nickname, to make the Giants a playoff team.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel.
