Sunday’s Wild Card game between the Vikings and Giants will mark the fourth time the two teams have met in the playoffs. It’ll be the first time Minnesota has hosted New York in the postseason.
Vikings-Giants I: Jan. 9, 1994 – Wild Card
The Giants (11-5) and Vikings (9-7) were both in the postseason as wild cards and this first round game saw the Vikings take a 10-3 lead into the half thanks to a Fuad Reveiz field goal and a 40-yard touchdown pass from Jim McMahon to Cris Carter, but Rodney Hampton’s two third quarter touchdown runs fueled New York to a 17-10 victory. The Giants then got obliterated 44-3 by the 49ers in the Division Round.
Giants 17, Vikings 10
Vikings-Giants II: Dec. 27, 1997 – Wild Card
The Giants (10-5-1) led the Vikings (10-6) 19-3 at the half before Minnesota rallied for an improbable victory by outscoring the G-Men 20-3 in the second half. The comeback started when Tiki Barber fumbled inside his own 10-yard line and on the next play Leroy Hoard scored from four yards.
They traded field goals and the Giants were leading 22-13 until Randall Cunningham connected with Jake Reed for a 30-yard touchdown with 1:30 left in the game. Chris Walsh then recovered Eddie Murray’s onside kick and Cunningham drove the Vikings down the field to set Murray up for the game-winning field goal with 10 seconds remaining.
Cunningham was starting his fourth game after taking over for an injured Brad Johnson. That playoff win set the stage for the electrifying 1998 season with rookie Randy Moss, but not before the Vikings got blasted 38-22 by the 49ers in the Divisional Round.
Vikings 23, Giants 22
Vikings-Giants III: Jan. 14, 2001 – NFC Championship
This is the infamous 41-donut game when Kerry Collins and the Giants handed Minnesota the worst loss in franchise history. Collins’ fourth touchdown pass of the first half put the Giants up 34-0 and his TD toss to Amani Toomer less than three minutes into the third quarter was the final touch of the 41-0 destruction.
The Giants had 518 yards of total offense compared to 114 for the Vikings. It turns out that it’s hard to gain yards when the opponent has control of the ball for more than 42 minutes of a 60-minute game.
Giants 41, Vikings 0
Vikings-Giants IV kicks off at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in Minneapolis.
