:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/21554693/20131021_ajl_aa9_224.0.jpg)
It took seven games, but the New York Giants finally found a winning formula Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings, earning a 23-7 victory.
It was anything but pretty as the Giants had their share of drops, fumbles and missed opportunities. They finally found an opponent who was even more inept, however. Thus, it will, however, be a beautiful Tuesday morning for the Giants, who are no longer winless. New York is 1-6, while Minnesota is 1-5.
The Giants got a 24-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Rueben Randle, a 1-yard scoring run by Peyton Hillis and three field goals from Josh Brown.
Hillis carried 18 times for 36 yards and a touchdown, and caught five passes for 45 yards. Manning completed 23-of-39 for 200 yards and a touchdown. He was not intercepted.
Josh Freeman was awful in his debut as Vikings' quarterback, completing just 20-of-52 passes for 190 yards and one interception. The Giants held Adrian Peterson to 28 yards on 13 carries.
The Giants' 10-7 halftime lead was their first of the season at the half.
Jared Allen's incredible sack of Eli Manning.
The Giants opened the game with a 17-play, 68-yard drive that resulted in a 35-yard field goal from Josh Brown. That was easily the Giants' longest sustained drive of the season.
Marcus Sherels got Minnesota on the scoreboard with an 86-yard punt return for a touchdown with 23 seconds left in the first quarter. This was the third punt returned for a touchdown against the Giants this season, and it gave Minnesota a 7-3 lead.
The Giants regained the lead 10-7 with 9:33 left in the half when Eli Manning hit Rueben Randle for a 24-yard score. Randle simply outfought cornerback Chris Cook for a ball that looked like it might be intercepted. That completed a seven-play, 82-yard drive that took 3:34.
The Giants extended their lead to 17-7 with 8:37 left in the third quarter on a 1-yard run by Hillis. That was set up when Zak DeOssie recovered a fumbled punt by Sherels on the Minnesota 3-yard line.
The Giants stretched the lead to 20-7 with 12:13 left in the game on a 23-yard field goal by Josh Brown. That capped a 16-play, 75-yard drive.
Minnesota's Sharrif Floyd fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Jacquian Williams recovered, leading to a 36-yard field goal by Brown to make the score 23-7 with 11:03 remaining.