Giants were determined to slow down Vikings star Justin Jefferson, and they did
The New York Giants weren’t about to let Justin Jefferson pile up yards on them again. And he didn’t.
In a 27-24 Vikings home win over the Giants on Dec. 24, the Minnesota star receiver caught 12 passes for 133 yards. But in New York’s 31-24 playoff win on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, the unanimous All-Pro selection had just seven catches for 47 yards.
“Pretty good team defense,’’ Giants coach Brian Daboll said. “That’s what’s required when you play a really good player. (Defensive coordinator) Wink (Martindale) and the staff did a good job.’’
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said the Giants didn’t bring as much pressure as they did in the previous meeting and relied more on “coverage, double teams.” The Giants, who usually blitz a lot, didn’t have any sacks of quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Cousins was able to find tight end T.J. Hockenson plenty, and he had 10 catches for 129 yards. But he didn’t connect much to Jefferson, who had just three targets and one catch for four yards in the second half.
“They did what everybody else does,’’ Jefferson said of teams blanketing him. “It was not a shocker or something that was surprising. … My job is to find more ways to beat the double teams or triple teams.’’
Jefferson won’t be able to show that possibility off until next season. For now, he was very disappointed to be going home early from the playoffs after he had talked plenty about wanting to go to the Super Bowl.
“It is devastating to lose this type of way,’’ he said. “To lose by seven is a tough situation. I mean, we were all leaning on each other.”
Jones runs to daylight
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones caused the Vikings plenty of problems with his legs, especially in the first half.
Jones finished with 17 carries for 78 yards, including 10 attempts for 71 yards in the first half. Many of his yards came on designed runs.
“We wanted to try to keep him in the pocket,” O’Connell said. “We wanted to try to get a rush, change the game with some of our playmakers up there, but not let him get out and have an impact. He had an impact on some designed runs.”
Dantzler inactive
Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler, who missed the entire week of practice while dealing with a family matter, was inactive Sunday.
O’Connell said Friday that Dantzler was dealing with a “pretty serious” matter and he was listed as questionable. Dantzler, bothered by ankle issues, missed seven of the final nine regular-season games.
Safety Harrison Smith (knee) and running back Kene Nwangwu (illness) both played after being listed as questionable.
Also inactive for the Vikings were running back Ty Chandler, edge rusher Luiji Vilain, and defensive linemen Esezi Otomewo and Ross Blacklock.
Tough loss for two veterans
It was a tough loss for Minnesota’s two longest-tenured players, Smith and wide receiver Adam Thielen.
Smith joined the Vikings in 2012 and just completed his 11th season. He was displeased to see the Vikings’ defense break down Sunday.
“The yards and the points were the issues,” Smith said. “They did a good job on their end. so that’s it.”
Thielen joined the Vikings practice squad in 2013 and made the 53-man roster in 2014. He just completed his ninth season.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed,” Thielen said. “You just feel like there was so much out there for us, so much in front of us, so for us to lose that way there’s obviously disappointment. Still so proud and thankful and blessed to be a part of this organization and the team and the people that have been around me for the last 10 years and this year.”
‘Lil Kirk back
The Vikings brought back to Sunday’s game Lincoln Gustafson, 8, who is known as ‘Lil Kirk in Chains and who had captivated fans at previous games by dancing shirtless while wearing chains.
That was a play on Cousins having done that during the season on a team flight. Gustafson, his parents and his two sisters were given tickets, and they drove up from their Denver, Iowa, home.
Briefly
Former Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell were among those in attendance. Goodell invited former Vikings and Giants star quarterback Fran Tarkenton to attend the game, but he elected instead to watch on television at his home in Georgia. … O’Connell wouldn’t say before the game whether Oli Udoh or Blake Brandel would start at right tackle, and Udoh ended up getting the nod. … Brian O’Neill, the starting right tackle until suffering a season-ending injury Jan. 1 at Green Bay, blew the Gjallarhorn.
