While the Vikings offense has struggled in the passing game, because of their ability to rush the ball so well, the Vikes offense is rated higher than the Giants. The Vikings are 13th on offense (1st rushing, 31st passing), while the Giants are 15th (7th rushing and tied for 17th passing).
The Vikings' inability to stop the pass continues to be a problem. The team is 28th on defense – first against the rush, but last against the pass. The Giants are seventh overall on defense (7th rushing, 18th passing).
The teams are almost mirror images of one another in the giveaway/takeaway department. Both teams are a +2 with 20 takeaways and 18 giveaways.
The Vikings' 11 fumble recoveries is tied for third most in the league. But their 10 lost fumbles is tied for fifth most in the NFL this season.
The Vikings continue to struggle to get into the red zone, although the numbers have been improving in recent weeks. The Vikings are still tied for last in the league with 17 trips to the red zone (tied with the 49ers). The Giants are tied for the fourth most offensive trips in the red zone with 35.
The Vikings have allowed the opposition to get in the red zone 31 times in 10 games, but have allowed touchdowns on just 42 percent of the those chances – the fifth best total in the league. The Giants are tied for first with the least amount of opponent red zone trips with 21, but are dead last in allowing 66.7 percent of those chances to finish with touchdowns. The Vikings have allowed 13 red zone TDs, while the Giants have allowed 14 TDs.
The Vikings remain the only offense with more first downs rushing than passing (83-80) and are dead last in passing first downs in the league.
The Giants offense has picked up more first down via penalty (27) than any team in the league.
The Vikings defense has been on both ends of the spectrum. No team has allowed fewer rushing first downs (40), but only the Browns (154) have allowed more passing first downs than the Vikings (151).
The Vikings have allowed more third-down conversions (66) than any defense in the league, as well as the being tied with the 49ers with the most third-down attempts for the opponent (151).
The Vikings have made the most of their first-down opportunities. The team is second only to the Cowboys on average gain on first down (6.32 yards) and they are seventh on defense, allowing 4.89 yards.
The Vikings' special teams have allowed opponents to have an average starting position of the 24.3-yard line – good for third best in the league. On the other hand, the Giants rank 28th in the same category, with opponents average start position being the 30.3 yard line.
The Giants have had just four touchbacks on 51 kickoffs
Eli Manning has two 300-yard games. The Vikings haven’t had a 300-yard game this season. The Vikings defense has allowed five opposing QBs to throw for 300 yards, while the Giants have allowed just two.
The Giants have had two 100-yard receivers – Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey once each. The Vikings haven’t had a 100-yard receiver. Both teams have allowed four receivers to top 100 yards.
The Vikings have had six games with a 100-yard rusher, while the Giants' Brandon Jacobs has topped 100 yards twice. Each team has allowed just one opposing rusher to top 100 yards.
Manning has been far from dominant this season. He has the 21st-rated completion percentage among starting QBs and is tied for 24th in interception percentage.
Adrian Peterson remains the only 1,000-yard rusher in the league. With 75 yards, Willie Parker will join that group, while Willis McGahee and Brian Westbrook will need 150 yards to join the fraternity.
The Giants have three receivers in the top 50 in the league for receptions – Shockey (25), Burress (29-T) and Amani Toomer (49-T). Bobby Wade is the highest Viking in receptions in a tie for 65th place with 31 catches. In terms of yardage, Wade is 75th in the league, but leads the Vikings.
Among running backs, only Joseph Addai and LaDainian Tomlinson have scored more points than A.P.
In a non-related scoring note, with a touchdown tonight, Randy Moss will become the first NFL player – kicker or not – to score 100 points.
Neither kicker has been lighting up the league. Lawrence Tynes of the Giants is tied for 13th in scoring with 74 points, while Ryan Longwell has 61 points – tying him for 22nd place.
By missing last week’s game, A.P. fell from the ranks of the total yardage leader. He has 1,301 total rushing/receiving yards, which is now 66 yards behind that of Westbrook.
Chrs Kluwe is the eighth-rated punter in the NFL with a 44.8 yard average. Jeff Feagles of the Giants is 25th with a 41.7 yard average.
Kluwe is tied for the lead with punts pinning opponents inside the 20-yard line with 24 of them.
Despite being able to run the ball effectively, the Vikings have about a four-minute disparity in time of possession, averaging having the ball 28:03 per game, while the opponent has it 31:57. The Giants have more than a five-minute possession advantage (32:42-27:18) – a huge disparity between the teams.
The Vikings are averaging more than 100 yards a game more rushing than their opponents (177.9-74.4)>
The only quarter in which the Vikings have been badly outscored is the second, where opponents have a scoring edge of 66-43. That coincides with the best quarter for the Giants. New York has outscored its opponents in all four quarters, but their most dominant quarter is the second – outscoring opponents 81-58.
The Vikings still have just one more TD passing (five) than scored by the defense (four).
The Vikings have attempted just 16 field goals this year, while allowing their opponents to try 25 field goal attempts. Giants opponents have attempted just 15 field goals and made only eight.
For the season, Vikings opponents have scored 21 touchdowns and kicked 21 field goals. Giants opponents have 24 touchdowns and eight field goals.
The Vikings lead the league in rushing average per carry at 5.9 yards. The Broncos are a distant second, averaging 4.7 yards. Defensively, only the Ravens (2.8 yards) have a better rushing average per carry than the Vikings (2.9 yards).
On 31 punt returns attempts, the Vikings have called a fair catch on 12 of them. The opponents have had 34 punt return chances and called just six fair catches.
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