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Early Look: Vikings at Giants

Look back at photos over the course of time featuring games between the Vikings and the Giants.

EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings are 2-2 after the first quarter of the 2019 season, a stretch that has been split evenly with dominating home wins and frustrating road losses.

Minnesota sits at the bottom of the NFC North heading into Week 4, as the Packers and Bears are 3-1 while the Lions are 2-1-1. Both of the Vikings losses are to division opponents.

The Vikings now have another road trip on tap, as Minnesota will head to the East Coast for Sunday's game against the Giants. Kickoff is at noon (CT).

The Giants are also 2-2, having won two straight games after making a change at quarterback. Former Vikings Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur is in his second season in charge of Big Blue.

Here's a look at the Vikings Week 5 matchup against the Giants:

Passing: Kirk Cousins had a rough outing against the Bears, as he was sacked six times and fumbled twice, losing one of them.

The Vikings quarterback completed 27 of 36 passes for 233 yards (75 percent) with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a passer rating of 91.6.

Although Cousins completed three out of every four passes, nearly all of them were under 10 yards. According to Next Gen Stats, Cousins only attempted four passes of 20-plus yards and completed two of them.

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Cousins has completed 64 of 99 passes (64.2 percent) for 735 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions through the first three games in 2019. He has a passer rating of 88.6.

Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones — the No. 6 overall pick in April's draft — won his second start in as many tries Sunday with a 24-3 win over Washington.

Jones completed 23 of 31 passes for 225 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. His passer rating was 78.0.

Jones became the first Giants quarterback to win his first two starts since Danny Kanell in 1997. Jones has completed 49 of 71 passes (69.0 percent) for 578 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He has a passer rating of 95.9.

Rushing: Dalvin Cook was bottled up by the Bears on Sunday, as the Vikings running back had 14 attempts for 35 yards. He did have a 2-yard touchdown run.

Minnesota ran for just 40 yards, by far its lowest output of the season. The Vikings entered Week 4 averaging more than 190 rushing yards per game.

Cook currently ranks second in the NFL with 410 rushing yards, one behind Carolina's Christian McCaffery. He is tied for the league lead with five rushing touchdowns.

The Giants used a team effort to rush for 164 yards against Washington. Wayne Gallman led the way with 18 attempts for 63 yards, including a touchdown, as he fills in for the injured Saquon Barkley.

Jon Hilliman added 33 yards on 10 carries, and Jones had 33 yards on five rushes (includes two kneel-downs).

Minnesota ranks third in the NFL with 155.3 rushing yards per game, and the Giants are eighth at 129.0 yards per game.

Receiving: Stefon Diggs eclipsed the 100-yard mark Sunday for the first time this season, as he had seven receptions for 108 yards.

Cook and Bisi Johnson each had 35 receiving yards, and Adam Thielen had two catches for six yards in the loss.

Diggs (209 yards, one touchdown) and Thielen (179 yards, two touchdowns) each have 13 receptions in 2019. Cook leads the team with 15 catches, and he has 114 yards.

Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard had seven catches for 76 yards, while Gallman had six receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown Sunday. Tight end Evan Engram added four catches for 54 yards.

Engram leads the team with 27 catches for 331 yards and two scores. Shepard has 20 receptions for 218 yards and a touchdown.

Defense: The Vikings allowed 269 total yards in Chicago, but came away frustrated due to penalties and missed opportunities.

It appeared the Vikings had a takeaway on the sixth play of the game, but the turnover was nullified by a defensive holding call.

The Vikings allowed 10 points in the first half, with Chicago's two scoring drives combining for 147 yards on 30 plays chewing up nearly 14 minutes of the clock.

Minnesota did not force a turnover against the Bears. Shamar Stephen had the defense's only sack.

New York allowed a season-low three points after giving up at least 28 points in its first three games of the season. The Giants had a season-high with four takeaways, including three interceptions off rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins, Jr.

Giants safety Jabrill Peppers had a 32-yard pick-six off Haskins in the third quarter.

The Giants only gave up 176 yards to Washington, including 55 yards on the ground.

Markus Golden leads New York with 3.5 sacks, and former Eden Prairie High School standout Ryan Connelly and Janoris Jenkins each have a pair of interceptions.

The Giants announced Monday that Connelly tore his ACL and is out for the season.

The Vikings rank fifth overall by allowing 290.8 yards per game, and are tied for fifth by giving up just 15.8 points per game.

The Giants rank 23rd in yards allowed per game (389.3) and are 20th in points allowed (24.3).

Special teams: Vikings kicker Dan Bailey did not attempt a kick Sunday. He has made three of four field goals and is 9-for-10 on extra points in 2019.

Punter Britton Colquitt averaged 47.0 yards on five punts, and is averaging 46.7 yards per punt in 2019.

Marcus Sherels had four punt returns for 12 yards Sunday after being signed last week.

Giants kicker Aldrick Rosas made his lone field goal try Sunday (30 yards) and added three extra points. He has made three of four field goals and all 10 extra points.

Punter Riley Dixon is averaging 48.1 yards per punt in 2019 after he had three punts for 155 yards (55.0 average) on Sunday.

Recent success

The Vikings are 16-12 all-time against the Giants, which includes a 1-2 mark in the playoffs. Minnesota has had the upper hand of late by winning six of the past eight meetings.

Minnesota is 2-0 under Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer, getting home wins in 2015 and 2016.

The Vikings last road game against the Giants was a 23-7 loss back in 2013. However, Minnesota won its most recent game at MetLife Stadium, a 37-17 win over the Jets in Week 7 of the 2018 season. The Giants and Jets share the stadium, which is located in New Jersey.

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