J.J. McCarthy and Jaxson Dart might be done taking exams at Michigan and Ole Miss, respectively, but the 22-year-old quarterbacks still have plenty to learn as they wrap up their first seasons as starters in the NFL.

When McCarthy's Vikings head to MetLife Stadium Sunday to face Dart's Giants, both quarterbacks will be put to the test by the opposing defenses.

McCarthy – who is making his ninth career start this weekend for Minnesota – has responded from a challenging and injury-plagued start to his career with a pair of positive performances in the past couple of games. During the Vikings current two-game win streak (their first this season), McCarthy has completed 31 of his 47 pass attempts for 413 yards. He has also scored six total touchdowns (five passing), thrown only one interception and has compiled his first two passer ratings above 100.0.

Despite ranking in the middle of the pack in the NFL in sacks (31) and near the bottom in interceptions (tied for 29th with five) and takeaways (30th with nine), the Giants possess a talented defensive front that includes rookie DE Abdul Carter. Although Carter only has 2.5 sacks this season, he's recorded a sack in each of the past two games to go along with 11 total tackles and two forced fumbles (one recovery).

Dart will be making his 10th career start for the Giants. Despite the Giants losing eight consecutive games entering Sunday – tied with the Raiders for the longest active losing skid this season – Dart has also shown signs of positivity. During New York's losing streak, Dart has completed 109 of his 179 pass attempts for 1,294 yards and has thrown nine touchdown passes and only two interceptions in six games.

Despite tying the Giants in interceptions as a defense and being tied for 21st in takeaways with 14, the Vikings own the highest blitz percentage (43.0%) in the NFL this season and are tied for 11th in sacks (35).

Let's see who the experts are picking to win the game:

Giants 24, Vikings 20 – Pete Prisco, CBS Sports

The Vikings are playing consecutive road games, but they played well at Dallas. The Giants didn't look good in the home loss to the Commanders last week. But I think they bounce back here, and the defense plays better against J.J. McCarthy. The Giants win it at home.

Vikings 24, Giants 17 – Bill Bender, Sporting News

The Vikings are improving around J.J. McCarthy, who has five TDs, one interception and a 66% completion percentage in his past two starts.

Vikings 27, Giants 20 – Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News

The Vikings got some needed positives from J.J. McCarthy the past two weeks, even though the passing results have come from unexpected receivers. Jaxson Dart will be up for a good duel, but he faces the tougher defense at home.

4 of 7 experts pick the Vikings, Bleacher Report

Bleacher Report analysis by Ian Hanford:

This is probably just a stubborn choice by me.

The Giants defense has been mostly putrid all year, and it would be in the team's best interest to keep losing and lock up the No. 1 pick in the draft. Does Jaxson Dart know that, though? The kid plays hard, almost to a fault, and I expect him to try his best to earn a win in front of the home crowd on Sunday.

J.J. McCarthy and the Vikings have had two strong weeks in a row, so I expect them to stumble a bit here. I like an ugly game in the cold here, and the Giants keep it closer than expected.

Bleacher Report analysis by Wes O'Donnell:

The Vikings may have turned some form of a corner in the last two weeks, becoming a more complete team. Maybe?

The Giants looked disinterested against a Washington team they could have beaten. It's been a long, tough season for New York, and the late bye week was no help. It's hard to trust a team whose focus is likely on the offseason and next year by now.

6 of 6 experts pick the Vikings, The MMQB

10 of 10 experts (1 of 11 total had not submitted) pick the Vikings, ESPN

5 of 5 experts pick the Vikings, The Athletic

4 of 6 experts pick the Vikings, USA Today

Rookie Sensations

The Giants are currently projected to have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft (the Vikings are currently positioned at the No. 13 slot). During the most recent draft, the Giants created a buzz in the first round by selecting Carter third overall and Dart with the 25th pick.

Since Minnesota joined the NFL in 1961, there have been 62 defensive players who were both a top-three pick in the draft and played up front or at the linebacker position. Of those 62, only 18 have played against the Vikings during their rookie seasons, with Carter set to become No. 19 in the group.

Additionally, the Giants will become just the fifth NFL team to have two first-round draft picks (one on defense that was selected inside the top three and an offensive player selected later in the round) play against the Vikings in their rookie seasons. The Giants join the 1965 Bears (LB Dick Butkus and HB Gale Sayers), the 1966 Falcons (LB Tommy Nobis and QB Randy Johnson), the 1970 Packers (DT/NT Mike McCoy and TE Rich McGeorge), the 2010 Lions (DT Ndamukong Suh and RB Jahvid Best) and the 2022 Lions (DE Aidan Hutchinson and WR Jameson Williams). The 2017 Browns did play the Vikings after drafting DE Myles Garrett and TE David Njoku, but Garrett was inactive for the game.

Series Notes

The Vikings and Giants have met 32 times in their history, with Minnesota possessing a 19-13 lead in the series. The Vikings have won five of the past six meetings against the Giants dating back to the 2015 season. The Giants lone victory in that stretch occurred during the 2022 NFC Wild Card round when New York defeated Minnesota 31-24 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The Giants have claimed three of the four postseason matchups between the two teams. In addition to the 2022 playoff victory, New York defeated Minnesota 41-0 in the 2000 NFC Championship game and 17-10 in the 1993 Wild Card round. The Vikings lone playoff victory against the Giants came in the 1997 Wild Card Round, where Minnesota edged New York 23-22 on a 24-yard game-winning field goal by Eddie Murray with 10 seconds remaining in regulation.

When playing the Giants on the road, the Vikings have won four of the past five games dating back to 2005 and six of the past eight going back to the aforementioned playoff victory in 1997. Minnesota has claimed the past two road games against the Giants in 2019 and 2024; in each game the Vikings held New York to 10 points or fewer while scoring 28 points exactly.

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