The New York Giants fell to the Minnesota Vikings in heartbreaking fashion on Christmas Eve.
They watched on as a 61-yard field goal — the longest in Vikings history — sailed through the uprights as time expired. Not only was it another loss, but it kept them from clinching their first playoff berth since 2016.
The Giants still remain very much in control of their playoff fate and in a potential playoff preview, they went toe-to-toe with the NFC’s second-best team. But they take no solace in that — these aren’t the 2007 Giants and they aren’t interested in moral victories.
“Tough game,” head coach Brian Daboll said following the defeat. “You never feel good after a loss.”
The Giants are now 1-4-1 in their last six games and have seen their 7-2 start evaporate. They can’t afford to look ahead and they can’t afford to be satisfied with any loss, regardless of how close it was.
And they’re not. Which is a good thing for these Giants because it represents a further culture change. They want to win, they expect to win and they are disappointed when they don’t.
“We’re disappointed we lost for sure. I think in terms of the playoffs and how that positions us, I think our focus was on today and winning the game today. The fact that we didn’t do that is certainly disappointing, and we’ll regroup, see what we can do better and look forward to playing better next week,” quarterback Daniel Jones said.
This group doesn’t want to back into the playoffs, they want to punch their ticket outright. And they only have two more opportunities to do that — Week 17 against the Indianapolis Colts and Week 18 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Ideally, the Giants get the job done next Sunday afternoon.
