Giants scouting report: Run-heavy offense, blitz-heavy defense fuels Brian Daboll's team

NFC wild-card playoffs, 3:30 p.m. Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium (Ch. 9, 100.3-FM)

The Giants (9-7-1), in the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 season, finished third in the NFC East after going 0-4 against the Eagles and Cowboys. At one point, first-year head coach Brian Daboll looked like the NFL's darling after guiding New York to a 6-1 start — all one-score games. The Giants narrowly won by dominating the turnover margin with solid-enough defense.

Running back Saquon Barkley's resurgence has been the story of New York's season. He burst out of the gate with 194 yards from scrimmage in Week 1 against the Titans.

But Daboll, the ex-Bills offensive coordinator, has yet to find consistency on offense. Quarterback Daniel Jones and Daboll have struggled to keep the Giants in games. Since their hot start, the Giants are 0-6-1 when their opponents score 20 points or more. All six losses came against NFC foes: the Seahawks, Lions, Cowboys, Eagles (twice) and Vikings.

They're stumbling into the playoffs with a 3-6-1 finish to the regular season, ultimately middling on both sides of the ball with the 15th-ranked scoring offense and 17th-ranked scoring defense.

Jones rode big plays to keep the Giants within reach during the Vikings' 27-24 win on Dec. 24, ended by kicker Greg Joseph's franchise-best 61-yard field goal in the closing seconds. Jones' 334 passing yards against Minnesota was his second-highest total of the season. He attacked the perimeter of the Vikings defense with throws gaining at least 29 yards to receivers Darius Slayton, Richie James and Isaiah Hodgins.

Barkley finished strong with a 27-yard touchdown run up the middle on fourth down, which tied the game at 24-24 in the fourth quarter.

But Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was also efficient. He led three scoring drives in the fourth quarter while finishing with 299 yards and three touchdowns, relying on receiver Justin Jefferson (12 catches, 133 yards, a touchdown) and tight end T.J. Hockenson (13 catches, 109 yards, two touchdowns).

The Vikings and Giants haven't met in the postseason since the worst playoff defeat in Vikings history — 41-0 or "41-doughnut" — in the NFC Championship game during the 2000 season. The Vikings' fifth-ranked offense — with quarterback Daunte Culpepper and receivers Randy Moss and Cris Carter — had the ball for only 17½ of 60 minutes.

That year's 28th-ranked defense couldn't get off the field. The Vikings gave up 518 yards, led by Giants quarterback Kerry Collins to receiver Ike Hilliard, who had 10 grabs for 155 yards and two scores.

That was the third postseason meeting in eight years between the 1993-2000 seasons; the Vikings are 1-2 in the playoff series. The Giants are seeking their franchise's first playoff win since the 2011 Super Bowl run.

The Giants offense runs — and it runs through Barkley, whose 1,650 yards from scrimmage are his most since the standout rookie year. Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka have designed a versatile rushing attack between Barkley and Jones, whose 120 rushing attempts nearly doubled his previous high in 2020.

The Giants have leaned into Jones' mobility with zone-read option runs and run-pass options (RPOs), stressing a Vikings front that traded blows with Jones last month.

"We got to keep contain," edge rusher Za'Darius Smith said. "That quarterback can run."

Smith and edge rusher Danielle Hunter tied a season high with seven combined hits on Jones, who also escaped for three successful runs that gained two first downs and set up Barkley's fourth-down touchdown run.

Whether through quick RPOs or longer play-action bootlegs, Jones often fakes a handoff before he throws. He attacked the middle of the Vikings defense last month, completing 9 of 12 play-action throws for 109 yards and a score. Jones completed so many play-action throws over the middle that Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson said he'd jump the next one, predicting his fourth-quarter interception.

Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell cranked up the heat on Jones, who took 11 hits (three sacks) and had four passes deflected. Linebacker Eric Kendricks batted away Jones' initial third-down throw while blitzing. Daboll uncharacteristically called more Giants passes than runs against a porous Vikings defense that ended the year allowing the most explosive passing plays — 61 for at least 20 yards — outside of the Tennessee Titans' 63.

"I think we've made improvements there, I really do," Donatell said. "The numbers have come down, the third downs look good."

"Putting it all together is what we intend to do this week," he added.

There are few certainties in matchups between NFL coaches spending all week trying to catch the other off guard. But the Vikings can safely expect veteran Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale to blitz, blitz and blitz some more.

No NFL defense blitzed more than the Giants (39.7%) during the regular season, according to Pro Football Reference. During the Vikings' Dec. 24 win over the Giants, coordinator Wes Phillips figured that pressure got to Cousins about half the time as he took 11 hits (four sacks). But Cousins often carved up the Giants with underneath throws and a 71% completion rate, which required quick decisions and a lot of studying Martindale's deep catalogue of blitz designs. Even more could fall on Cousins' shoulders if No. 3 center Chris Reed remains in the starting lineup.

"I feel like [Martindale] has a book about this big," said Phillips, holding his hands apart, "and he just pulls out sheets and decides which ones."

The Giants defense is healthier this time around after resting most starters in the regular season finale. Safety Xavier McKinney is back from a two-month absence and Adoree' Jackson — New York's top cornerback — could return from a knee injury for the first time since Nov. 20. Interior defenders Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence also form a tough duo who can defeat solo blocks.

New York holds steady in the red zone, where they allow the fifth-stingiest touchdown rate, according to Football Outsiders. But the Giants have surrendered many big plays. The blitz-heavy approach makes them susceptible to leaks, allowing 64 plays to gain at least 20 yards — nearly four per game.

The Giants also go for the knockout. They pressure quarterbacks at a top-five rate and try to physically restrain receivers (11 defensive holding flags trail only New Orleans). And only the Cowboys have forced more fumbles than the Giants. Edge rushers Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux have combined for five strip-sacks while passers worry about pressure that can come from anywhere.

"It's a good defense," Cousins said, "and will require a lot of preparation."

Daboll, 47, is in his first year as an NFL head coach after a winding path as offensive coordinator for Miami, Cleveland and Buffalo. He put together a veteran coaching staff, including Martindale, the 59-year-old defensive play caller, and 49-year-old special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, who has been with the Giants since 2018. Daboll hasn't been an overly aggressive game manager on fourth down.

The Giants are one of the more penalized teams in the league, particularly with pre-snap infractions on offense; only the Cardinals had more in the regular season. Former Vikings defensive coordinator Andre Patterson is the Giants defensive line coach.