The Vikings and Giants came into Saturday having played 21 one-score games between them, so there was little doubt about how things would play out in Minneapolis.
Justin Jefferson caught a 17-yard touchdown with three minutes left to play to give the Vikings a 24-16 lead over the Giants, but the Giants were able to move the ball into Vikings territory on a 32-yard catch and run by wide receiver Darius Slayton. They would get down to a fourth-and-two from the Vikings’ 27-yard-line and chose to give the ball to Saquon Barkley. That proved to be the right call as Barkley sprinted through the line for an easy touchdown.
Daniel Jones hit tight end Daniel Bellinger in the back of the end zone to tie the game on the ensuing two-point try. That gave the ball back to the Vikings with a chance to move to 11-0 in one-score games this season. The Giants quickly forced the Vikings into a third-and-long, but Kirk Cousins hit Jefferson for a 17-yard gain to give the team more life.
Landon Collins sacked Cousins for a seven-yard loss to force the Vikings to use their final timeout, but another completion to Jefferson gave them a first down and spiking the ball set up a Greg Joseph 61-yard field goal try at the final whistle.
Joseph hit it with room to spare and the Vikings were able to celebrate a 27-24 win.
Jefferson’s final catch was his 12th of the day and that gives him 123 on the season. That breaks Cris Carter’s franchise record for catches in a season and it came after Jefferson broke Randy Moss’ single-season receiving yards record in the first half. He’s now up to 1,756 yards on the year and heads into the final two games needing 209 yards to set a new NFL record for receiving yards.
At 12-3, the Vikings remain alive for the top seed in the NFC if the Cowboys beat the Eagles later on Saturday. They close the year with road games in Green Bay and Chicago.
The loss drops the Giants to 8-6-1, but losses by the Lions and Seahawks mean their playoff hopes have not been greatly impacted by Joseph’s kick. They get the Colts at home in Week 17 before finishing out the regular season against the Eagles and Philly may not be playing for anything at that point, so it’s a good bet that the Giants will be in the postseason.
