The pregame hype for the Vikings and Giants centered around watching first-year starting quarterbacks J.J. McCarthy and Jaxson Dart going head-to-head.

The situations of the game, however, provided difficult days for the former first-round picks in an eventual 16-13 Minnesota win.

McCarthy overcame an interception off a tipped pass (and dodged a pick six that was erased by a Giants penalty) and rushed for a 12-yard touchdown before leaving the game near the end of the second quarter.

The 2024 first-round pick suffered an injury to his right hand after taking a hard but clean hit from Brian Burns, who screamed unblocked around the right side of Minnesota's offensive line and forced a fumble during the sack.

Tyler Nubin scooped the football and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown to make it 13-10 with 17 seconds remaining in the first half.

McCarthy finished 9-for-14 with 108 yards, an interception and a passer rating of 58.0. His numbers could have been much higher if not for a drop by Jordan Addison on a 25-yard pass to the end zone on third-and-4 that was followed by a Will Reichard field goal.

Undrafted rookie Max Brosmer entered the game for one kneel-down before intermission and continued in the third quarter. Brosmer kept possession of the football, going 7-for-9 with 52 yards and a passer rating of 90.7, avoiding turnovers. He garnered his first career game-winning drive, leading a 14-play, 57-yard effort that lasted 6:51 of the fourth quarter and answered New York tying the game at 13.

Dart, on the other hand, experienced struggles that often accompany a young player facing a defense led by Brian Flores.

The 2025 first-rounder made his 10^th career start and was quite sluggish out of the gate. In fact, he didn't record his first completion until inside the 2-minute warning of the first half.

Dart finished the opening half 1-for-5 with 2 yards through the air. Three sacks by the Vikings for combined losses of 6 meant New York had minus-4 net passing yards in the first half.

The minus-4 net passing yards were the fewest allowed in a first half by the Vikings since 2000.

Minnesota allowed fewer in 2018 (vs. Miami, -9) and in 2009 (vs. Chicago, -15), but both of those totals were in second halves.

Dart finished 7-for-13 with 33 yards an interception and passer rating of 27.4.

Byron Murphy, Jr., picked off Dart deep in Giants territory. His 15^th career pick, 10^th as a Viking and first of 2025 gave Minnesota the ball at the New York 16-yard line, setting up McCarthy's rushing TD.

Here are four more observations.

1. Aaron Jones, Sr., guts it out & closes it out

There's tough, and there's what Aaron Jones, Sr., accomplished.

The veteran left the game early with an ankle injury but returned to action to help on a day when the Vikings lost Jordan Mason to an ankle injury on his third touch of the game, a short reception that gained 6.

With 1:58 remaining, the Vikings handed off to Jones three consecutive plays.

The first carry lost 1, ad the second gained 3. New York used timeouts after each play.

With 1:49 to go, Jones lobbied to stay in the game and rushed for 9 on third-and-8, sending Brosmer and company into victory formation.

Jones finished with 85 hard-fought yards on 21 carries and added two catches for 8. He also delivered a key block to help spring McCarthy's TD run.

The Vikings improved to 7-8 on the season with two games remaining.

2. Van Ginkel finishes sacks spree

Last year, Andrew Van Ginkel dazzled in his Vikings debut at the Giants with an electric pick six.

On Sunday, the outside linebacker dashed the final hopes for New York when he sacked Dart for a loss of 8 on a fourth-and-3 from the New York 47.

Van Ginkel's sack was the fifth of the day for the Vikings.

Jonathan Allen, Levi Drake Rodriguez, Eric Wilson and Jalen Redmond also sacked Dart.

Wilson would have had another, but the young QB dipped down just before contact from Wilson, leading to helmet-to-helmet contact that resulted in a penalty.

Minnesota's defense allowed just 141 yards and has not allowed a passing touchdown for six consecutive games.

The Giants averaged 2.9 yards per play and finished with 13 net passing yards.

3. 'Jets' takes off

The Vikings team charter plane had struggles reaching the New York/New Jersey market on Saturday. The initial plane turned around near Milwaukee to return to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

An extended delay followed before everyone departed and loaded onto another plane.

Justin "Jets" Jefferson had no such issues getting going, breaking free from a recent slump.

Jefferson built momentum after converting a third-and-11 with a 13-yard catch-and-run and finished with 85 yards on six catches (eight targets). Jefferson moved past Jarvis Landry for the most catches in a player's first six NFL seasons and only trails Randy Moss by 30 for the most receiving yards in a player's first six seasons.

The most impressive catch of the day by Jefferson involved a nifty sideline toe tap on a pass by Brosmer that gained 21 to convert third-and-17 early during the game winning drive.

4. Flag-a-palooza

The "all 22" is going to have a lot of laundry.

The Vikings and Giants each were flagged a whopping 11 times on Sunday.

Minnesota's infractions resulted in the awarding of four of the 12 first downs by New York and totaled 90 yards of mark-offs.

New York's 11 infractions led to 74 yards of mark-offs and the awarding of two of Minnesota's 17 first downs. The biggest, however, was against Abdul Carter because the pre-snap penalty negated a 96-yard pick six.

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