New York Giants studs and duds: Daniel Jones runs his way to victory

The New York Giants won a playoff game on the road against the Minnesota Vikings. Here’s a look at who stood out as studs and duds in the win.

There was already one exciting finish on Sunday when the Buffalo Bills held off the Miami Dolphins and then the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings gave us another nail-biter.

New York took a lead early and Minnesota continued to fight back but in the end, the Giants secured a 31-24 victory. Now, let’s look back at the game and identify some studs and duds for New York.

New York Giants studs and duds from Wild Card Round win

Stud: Dexter Lawrence, DT

Sometimes, the big defensive tackles don’t get the love they deserve. That’s not the case for Dexter Lawrence who was making plays all night against Minnesota.

Having said that, the most impactful play for him didn’t even register in the stat book. On third-and-12 in the fourth quarter, the Vikings were trying to convert a third-and-12 but Lawrence bullied Garrett Bradbury into the backfield and disrupted the play.

Kirk Cousins got the pass off while being tackled by Leonard Williams but it was Lawrence that forced him to hurry. And that led to the ball sailing on Cousins, who missed Dalvin Cook and had to punt it back to the Giants.

Tomlinson was called for a roughing penalty on the next drive, which was a highly questionable call and should have been another big play for Lawrence who forced an incompletion.

Dud: Nick Gates, G

Saquon Barkley started the game on the right foot offensively as he ran to the left side for a 13-yard gain. Unfortunately, the play didn’t count as Nick Gates was flagged for holding, setting them up with a first and 20. New York fought their way out of it but that was a tough way to start the game.

Stud: Isaiah Hodgins, WR

Isaiah Hodgins isn’t a household name but he had a big game for the Giants on Sunday. A former sixth-round pick out of Oregon State, Hodgins was waived by the Buffalo Bills and the Giants claimed him in November. He played in eight games for New York and had 33 receptions for 351 yards and four touchdowns.

He continued to step up when his number was called, even scoring the first receiving touchdown of the day for the Giants. New York scored on just four plays with Hodgins capping things off with a 14-yard touchdown on a dart from Daniel Jones.

Hodgins had a career day with eight receptions for 105 yards and the touchdown in the win.

In addition to his receiving, Hodgins showed off his all-around skill in this one. He was able to set the edge and block D.J. Wonnum ‚— a 6-foot-5, 258-pound pass rusher — on the Saquon Barkley touchdown run. He again made a key block on a third and short play when Daniel Jones ran a first down in the second quarter.

Dud: Evan Neal, OT

He’s a rookie and was in his first playoff game so it’s not as if the Giants should be ready to throw in the towel on Evan Neal. Even so, Neal struggled with Danielle Hunter who beat him in the third quarter to force the first punt of the evening for Minnesota.

In addition to his problems with Hunter, he was also unable to block Dalvin Tomlinson on a switch as the former Giant was able to blow up a running play for a loss.

Stud: Saquon Barkley, RB

His first run went for 13 yards but was then overturned due to a holding penalty. That didn’t phase Saquon Barkley who didn’t get the ball again until the Giants were on the Minnesota 28. That wound up being his first ‘official’ run and he took it to the house for a 28-yard touchdown.

Barkley didn’t get a ton of touches but he still had over 100 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. He went for 53 yards on nine rushes and 56 yards on five receptions. The offense ran through Daniel Jones but a lot of that came on read-option plays where the defense crashed on Barkley and had to pay for it.

Dud: Darius Slayton, WR

The New York Giants were rumored to be shopping Darius Slayton this offseason but he not only ended up staying but had a very good season. He had 724 yards on 46 receptions and was able to make a few big plays in their playoff game against Minnesota.

Slayton had 88 yards on four receptions but it was the catch he didn’t make that stood out. After forcing the Vikings to use all their time outs, Daniel Jones delivered a perfect pass on third and 15 to Slayton and he had room to run — but he let the ball fall through his hands.

Not only did this stop the clock and help Minnesota, but he could have potentially ended the game with a first down had he turned it upfield.

Stud: Daniel Jones, QB

This was easily the best game of Daniel Jones’ career.

The fourth-year quarterback made his first-ever playoff appearance and he didn’t disappoint. Jones got it done with his arm and his legs and while his ability to run was exciting, it was his accuracy that got things moving.

On the opening drive, Jones finished with 35 yards on 2-of-2 passing with another 22 yards on two runs. He then went 3-of-3 on his second drive with another 65 yards through the air. This time, he capped things off with a dart to Isaiah Hodgins, who hauled in a 14-yard pass for a touchdown.

Once he forced the Vikings to respect the pass, he started to run the ball more. Jones finished with 301 yards passing and two touchdowns with 78 yards on the ground — including some key third and fourth-down conversions.

Dud: Daniel Bellinger, TE

New York was up 14-7 and looking to really take a commanding lead. On a drive that started at their own nine, they went 85 yards and killed nearly 11 minutes but had to settle for a field goal. The kick came after it appeared they scored a touchdown as Daniel Jones ran it in from four yards out, but flags flew on the play.

Daniel Bellinger was guilty of moving early which would have been fine if Richie James wasn’t already in motion. The pre-snap penalty erased the touchdown and took four points off the board. He made up for the play with a nine-yard touchdown in the second half but costing your team points in the playoffs is never ideal.