New York Giants at Minnesota Vikings: First quarter recap and second quarter discussion

We’ve made it through the first quarter of play at U.S. Bank Stadium with our Minnesota Vikings trailing the New York Giants by a score of 14-7.

The Vikings got the football first in this one after the Giants won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. The kickoff from Graham Gano went for a touchback, giving Kirk Cousins and company the football at their own 25-yard line. The Vikings’ offense put together a great drive, with Cousins finding Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and T.J. Hockenson in addition to Dalvin Cook getting a few nice runs in.

The Vikings got it to first-and-goal from the 6, and after a play that had been ruled a touchdown pass to Jefferson was ruled short, Cousins took it in himself on a quarterback sneak to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

The Giants started from their own 25-yard line after a touchback from Greg Joseph, and it didn’t take long for them to get into Minnesota territory, even with a holding penalty on the Giants on their first play from scrimmage. They eventually got into the end zone themselves because of Saquon Barkley, who took a pitch from Daniel Jones and went 28 yards around the left side for a touchdown. Just like that, it was 7-7.

The Vikings started their next possession at their 25 after another touchback, and the offense went three-and-out after an inexplicably bad trick play call on a 3rd-and-1. Ryan Wright blasted a punt that put the Giants down at their own 19 for their second possession. It took the Giants one play to get into Minnesota territory, as Jones found Darius Slayton for a big gain into Minnesota territory. Barkley followed that up with another long run, and then Jones found Isaiah Hodgins for a 14-yard touchdown to give the Giants the lead. With just over a minute left in the first quarter, it was 14-7 in favor of the visitors.

As we move to the second quarter of play, the Vikings are looking at a 1st-and-10 from their own 40-yard line.

We’ve made it through the first quarter in Minneapolis, with the Giants leading the Vikings by a score of 14-7. Come on in and join us for the second quarter of play!