Vikings rematch like playing divisional opponent twice for Giants
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) is pushed out of bounds by Vikings safety Josh Metellus during the second half of an NFL game on Dec. 24, 2022, in Minneapolis. Credit: AP/Abbie Parr
Asked about playing the Vikings again so quickly – the teams met on Christmas Eve – Brian Daboll compared the preparation to playing a divisional opponent for the second time in a season. “I think any time you play a team for a second time – Washington, Philadelphia, Dallas – you always watch the previous game. That’s part of the preparation process. But we are full steam ahead on preparing, watching the games that they have played after us. We’ve already watched all the games before that.”
Winners are in demand
With the Giants' success this season – and the development of QB Daniel Jones – the Panthers and Texans reportedly have asked for permission to interview offensive coordinator Mike Kafka for their head coach openings. Daboll is quite familiar with that process, having done so himself over the past three years when he was Buffalo’s offensive coordinator.
“First of all, I’d say it’s an honor. But the biggest thing is focusing on what you have to focus on, which I know Mike will. There will be a time and place, after the season, to talk about that. But that’s really a team [recognition]. Usually when you win, people get credit. And I’m happy for the guys that would get that opportunity. But I know where their focus is right now.”
Inside practice
Returning to play in Minnesota means playing at U.S. Bank Stadium, which is a dome. So, during practices this week, Daboll said the Giants will practice in their fieldhouse.
Not just happy to be here
Safety Julian Love was one of several players who doesn’t subscribe to the idea that the Giants are playing with “house money” in the playoffs. “That’s an outside-of-the-building type of phrase or topic,” he said. “I feel like early on we had so much confidence in who we were. Dabs [Daboll] said it from day one – we’re going to be humble about it and we’re going to go about our work while everybody sleeps on us. We take it one week at a time. We know it’s never going to be perfect. We’re going to continue to be who we are.”
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
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