MINNEAPOLIS — Daniel Jones passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 78 yards in his first career playoff game for the New York Giants, a 31-24 victory over Minnesota in the wild-card round that gave the Vikings their first loss in 12 one-score games this season.
Saquon Barkley rushed for two scores, including the tiebreaker midway through the fourth quarter. The Giants defense finished off the franchise’s first playoff win since the Super Bowl 11 years ago by swarming tight end T.J. Hockenson after a 3-yard catch on a pass from Kirk Cousins at midfield on fourth-and-8. The Vikings turned the ball over on downs with 1 minute, 44 secods to go and no timeouts left.
Jones became the first quarterback in NFL history with 300-plus passing yards, two-plus passing touchdowns and 70-plus rushing yards in a postseason game as first-year coach Brian Daboll’s Giants advanced to play No. 1 seed and NFC East rival Philadelphia in the divisional round next weekend.
“We did what we wanted to do, come out with a win,” Barkley said. “Celebrate on the way back, watch film, learn from it and get ready for Philly.”
Isaiah Hodgins and Daniel Bellinger had touchdown receptions for New York.
Cousins went 31 for 39 for 273 yards and two scores and a rushing touchdown to cap the game’s opening possession, the too-short throw to Hockenson his one glaring mistake. Justin Jefferson, the NFL’s leading receiver, had only one catch after halftime and finished with 47 yards.
The Vikings stayed on brand by facing 10-point deficits late in the second quarter and again early in the third quarter.
Cousins, who delivered all kinds of on-target throws as he was knocked to the turf by the blitz-fueled Giants defense, hit Irv Smith Jr. for a short touchdown pass that brought the Vikings within three at 24-21.
Then a funny thing happened: The defense got a stop.
Danielle Hunter’s sack forced the first Giants punt, and the Vikings went the other way for the tying field goal. They left behind some crucial points, though, when Cousins ran successful sneak on fourth-and-1 at the 15 that was negated by a false start on left tackle Christian Darrisaw.
Jones converted a penalty-free fourth-and-1 sneak on the next drive for the Giants. Barkley, who had 109 total yards on only 14 touches, chugged into the end zone for the lead with 7:47 to go.
The Giants and Vikings were among seven teams in the playoffs that missed out last season, a six-year absence for the Giants that ended with their 9-7-1 finish under Daboll to grab a wild-card spot.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell was a first-timer on the job, too, directing a 13-4 division champion team that — in an NFL season with a record number of close margins and comeback wins — set an all-time mark by going 11-0 in one-score games.
