EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Vikings won for the third consecutive time this season, beating the New York Giants 16-13 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. They finished the day with their starting quarterback, center and one of their top two running backs watching from the locker room after injuries that will overshadow their win in a game between two last-place teams.
J.J. McCarthy left with a right hand injury just before halftime, when Brian Burns came unblocked on a screen pass and leveled the quarterback for a strip sack that produced a Tyler Nubin touchdown on the fumble recovery. Fox’s broadcast showed McCarthy recoiling in pain as the medical staff examined his right hand, and he quickly went to the locker room.
Before the injury, McCarthy was 9-for-14 for 108 yards and an interception to go with a rushing touchdown. Jordan Addison had dropped a would-be touchdown pass from McCarthy as the quarterback threw deep in the first quarter while absorbing a hit from Dexter Lawrence. Justin Jefferson also dropped a pass, and McCarthy’s interception was bobbled by Jalen Nailor before Paulson Adebo picked it off.
The Vikings (7-8) also lost Ryan Kelly to his third concussion of the season, and the sixth documented concussion of his career, which could put the veteran center’s career at risk. Jordan Mason was ruled out with an ankle injury in the first half, while Aaron Jones Sr. played through an ankle injury into the fourth quarter.
Why it happened
Jaxson Dart and the depleted Giants (2-13) could do little against the Vikings’ defense, needing turnovers to help generate all but three of their points. Dart completed seven of his 13 passes for 33 yards while being sacked five times (not including Harrison Smith and Eric Wilson sacks that were wiped out by roughing-the-passer penalties), and the Vikings held the Giants to 141 yards in the game. It was enough for the Vikings to overcome their turnovers and a raft of concerning injuries. Vikings backup QB Max Brosmer led a 14-play, 57-yard drive in the fourth quarter, capped by Will Reichard’s winning 30-yard field goal with 4:15 left.
What it means
The game has little effect on the Vikings’ 2025 season, given the fact they had already been eliminated from the playoffs. But the fact McCarthy’s first year as a starter might be over after 8½ games means the Vikings will head into the offseason with big questions about the quarterback position. Respectable performances for McCarthy the last two weeks had created reasons for hope, and the quarterback had some strong moments in the first half (despite Vikings receivers dropping several fastballs from McCarthy). But his hand injury, which followed his high ankle sprain and concussion earlier this season, could end his season without a chance for the 22-year-old to build on that momentum.
Play of the game
Dart hadn’t completed a pass to one of his receivers by 3:45 left in the first half, when his pass went off Theo Johnson’s hands and Byron Murphy Jr. hauled it in for his first interception of the season. Murphy returned it to the Giants 15-yard line, setting up McCarthy’s 12-yard touchdown run that made the score 13-3.
Turning point
Up 13-3 the Vikings were set up to run a quick screen to Justin Jefferson on third and 4 with 25 seconds left in the first half. Abdul Carter leaped to take away McCarthy’s throwing lane to his left, leading the quarterback to hesitate, and Brian Burns came unblocked off the right side to sack McCarthy, as Brian O’Neill first dealt with a blitzing linebacker. The strip sack led to a Nubin touchdown that pulled the Giants within three, and McCarthy put his right hand down to catch his fall. The quarterback had hit his hand on Roy Robertson-Harris’ helmet earlier in the quarter, and that play might have caused the injury. In any case, McCarthy went to the locker room after the play, and the Giants pulled within three.
