PHILADELPHIA — Saquon Barkley said after the first meeting with the Minnesota Vikings, when the New York Giants lost 27-24 on a 61-yard field goal as time expired, he wanted a rematch.
Request granted.
The sixth-seeded Giants get the third-seeded Vikings in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs on Sunday.
“Actually, I talked to some of the guys after the game against Minnesota and said, ‘We’ll see you guys again,'” Barkley said after not playing Sunday as the Giants rested their starters in a 22-16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. “It was a great matchup [in Minnesota]. It was a great game.
“Obviously they came out with the win. But we’re excited because this is the stuff you dream about as a kid in the National Football League. Not a many people on this team had an opportunity to play in the playoffs. It has been a tough couple years here and we finally have our shot. We feel we have a balanced team that complements each other really well. It’s a one-week season now.”
The Giants (9-7-1) believe they could have won in Minnesota the first time around. Offensive lineman Nick Gates said if they had played a clean game “it would have been a different story.” New York had a punt blocked and an interception, and it dropped an interception and some key passes — all in the fourth quarter alone.
Gates also wasn’t blown away by the atmosphere at U.S. Bank Stadium.
“Surprised. Actually, I thought it would be a lot louder,” Gates said. “I thought especially when our offense is out there they would be a lot louder out there. But you know, they’re Midwest people. They’re too nice. I can say it because I went to Nebraska. I went to Nebraska. I include myself in that one.”
The Vikings (13-4) went 8-1 at home this season. The only blemish was a 40-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in late November.
The Giants’ only win on the road against a winning team came when they beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in late October. They were likely going to face either Minnesota or the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round. But the 49ers took care of business and beat the Arizona Cardinals 38-13 to clinch the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
That set up the rematch with the Vikings.
“It’s the playoffs. Whatever the seeds are, the seeds are,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said. “We’ll prepare as hard as we can to play a really good football team in a hostile environment.”
The Giants said after learning of their playoff opponent that they didn’t have a preference (they did not face San Francisco this season).
There is familiarity with Minnesota. And a feeling they can make a run.
“I think we’re a confident team regardless of who we are playing,” said quarterback Daniel Jones, who was also held out of Sunday’s game. “Like I said, we’ll study the film, see what we can do better, but we’re looking forward to the opportunity.”
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