The Minnesota Vikings have been an entertaining team this year, to say the least. The men in purple have a league-best 10-0 record in one-score games this season, which is just absolutely divine madness. While there are questions about the overall legitimacy of this team, the record speaks for itself, and the 11-3 Vikes find themselves in control of the NFC’s #2 seed heading into week 16.
However, 10-4 San Fransisco is breathing right down their backs, and the Vikings must pick up a crucial win at US Bank stadium Saturday against the Giants if they are to keep their seeding for the foreseeable future. Here are four Vikings that need to step up Christmas Eve against the Giants
4 Minnesota Vikings players who need to come up big vs. Giants
1. Eric Kendricks – Linebacker
After multiple seasons of excellence at the position, Kendricks has taken a significant back this season, with only 77 solo tackles and one sack to date. Unfortunately, Kendricks is not getting any younger at age 30 but has shown flashes of his former self during some games this year.
Against the Giants, he will be crucial in slowing down pro-bowl running back Saquon Barkley, as the run game is the biggest weapon of the Brian Daboll-led offense this season, with the back compiling 1,170 rushing yards and 294 receiving yards to go along with 9 touchdowns. Kendricks will have to bring his A-game Saturday as the quarterback of the defense, making timely tackles and filling the appropriate gaps to stuff the run, and try to get the Giants to lean on their passing game, which ranks 28th in passing yards per game.
2. Ed Ingram – Guard
Vikings fans rejoiced when the second-round rookie out of LSU was named a week 1 starter, as years of horrible offensive line have scarred many Vikings fans, but now have promise with a young, highly drafted line with its oldest member being a tie between Brian O’Neil and Garrett Bradbury at 27. However, while there have been flashes, Ingram has gotten worked by opposing defensive linemen a fair amount this season.
The rookie has a PFF grade of 55.4 for the season and has given up a league-high 9 sacks at the guard position.
Facing a ferocious Giants defensive front that includes former first-round picks Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams, Ingram must show out and prevent mistakes, as the Giants are surely looking to target the newcomer and his relative inexperience. If Ingram can hold his own Saturday, the passing game will have that much more time to operate and give players like all-world receiver Justin Jefferson time to get open and make the G-Men pay.
3. Cameron Dantzler – Cornerback
After a rookie year that saw him graded as PFF’s top-graded rookie cornerback, Cameron Dantzler has been up and down in his third season in the NFL. He will make great plays like the game-sealing forced fumble on Ihmir-Smith Marsette in the Vikings game against the Bears, but he will also get burnt by opposing receivers more often than you would like to see out of a potential #1 corner. His injury history has been concerning as well, only starting 9 games his rookie season, 7 his sophomore season, and 9 so far this season.
Coming back from injury this week against the Giants, Dantzler must prove he is worthy of a CB1 type of role moving forward, and that starts with locking up a ho-hum New York receiving corps whose #1 receiver on the season is Darius Slayton( 631 yards in 13 games). If Dantzler can have a lockdown game against one of the worse passing teams in the NFL, it could boost his confidence and carry over into the rest of the season.
Get torched, however, and the Vikings are certainly going to have questions about the third-year corner moving forward…
4. T.J Hockenson- Tight End
After spending the first half of the season on the then-slumping Detroit Lions, Hockenson was traded to Minnesota in exchange for draft capital. Since coming to Minnesota, he has provided a nice security option for Kirk Cousins in the mid-field, piling up 335 yards in 7 games en route to pro bowl honors as well.
The Giants are not the greatest team against opposing tight ends this season(13th in yards allowed to tight ends) and this could be an opportunity for Hockenson to have a statement game in purple and go over the century mark in yards for the second time this season, and first in a Vikings jersey.