Vikings defense has no answer for Giants quarterback Daniel Jones in playoff loss

As his players whooped it up in a jubilant visitors locker room at U.S. Bank Stadium, New York Giants coach Brian Daboll succinctly and calmly assessed the performance of quarterback Daniel Jones.

"Good," Daboll said, stopping without elaboration. He didn't say "great," nor did he utter "outstanding." "Good," the coach repeated.

The Vikings might beg to differ after Jones passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns and kept Minnesota's defense off-balance all night by rushing for 78 yards. It all led to a 31-24 Giants victory Sunday in an NFC first-round playoff game. Instead of the Vikings going to San Francisco next week, their season is over. The Giants will travel to Philadelphia for a divisional playoff game against their NFC East rival.

"We've had some of our better games recently and found some stuff that works for us," said Jones, who carried the ball 17 times and completed 24 of his 35 passes. "So, we'll keep doing it."

Jones was especially effective in the first half as the Giants answered the Vikings' opening-drive touchdown by putting together TD drives of 75 and 81 yards to take a 14-7 lead. On those marches, New York averaged 17.3 yards per play, with Saquon Barkley rushing 28 yards for a score and Jones following with a 14-yard TD pass to Isaiah Hodgins. Jones completed his first six passes for 103 yards.

When they weren't hitting big plays, the Giants followed Jones' lead on a 20-play, 85-yard drive that produced a field goal while draining 10:52 off the clock in the second quarter, keeping Kirk Cousins and the Vikings offense on the sideline.

"We thought that was something maybe we didn't do at all last time," Daboll said, referring to the four carries that Jones had in the Vikings' 27-24 victory over New York on Dec. 24. "We talked that this would be a little new wrinkle. … We just thought this would be a good time."

Perfect time, actually, because five of Jones' seven first-half carries — excluding a late kneel-down — resulted in first downs.

"Every time we got a first down or a touchdown, you could hear that silence," Hodgins said of the crowd of 66,721.

Jones' ability to run helped set up the pass, too. He hooked up with Hodgins eight times for 105 yards, found Darius Slayton four times for 88 yards, including a 47-yarder that led to New York's second touchdown, and used Barkley as a relief valve for five receptions for 56 yards.

"I've been just trying to focus on what I've got to do and focus on executing and keeping it simple," said Jones, the No. 6 pick in the 2019 draft who was playing his first NFL postseason game. "Not being bigger than that or not getting outside that moment."

The Giants stretched a 17-14 halftime lead to 24-14 on their first possession of the third quarter as Jones went 4-for-4 for 75 yards, capped by a 9-yard TD pass to tight end Daniel Bellinger. And after the Vikings tied the score 24-24 early in the fourth quarter, Jones engineered the winning drive by going 6-for-9 for 58 yards and converting a QB sneak on fourth-and-1 from the Minnesota 7. Barkley's 2-yard TD run — on which he bulled through former teammate Dalvin Tomlinson and into the end zone — provided the difference.

"I'm trying to play as well as I can," Jones said. "We've got a special team and a special group. … It means a lot. It's a big win for us."