Giants-Vikings final score: Minnesota wins, 24-10, as Giants self-destruct

The New York Giants fell to 2-2 on Monday night, dropping a 24-10 game to the Minnesota Vikings at US Bank Stadium. After a 2-0 start, the Giants reach the quarter pole of the NFL season tied for last in the NFC East and facing a Sunday night trip to Wisconsin to face the Green Bay Packers.

The Giants committed two turnovers, a Dwayne Harris punt muff and an Eli Manning interception, that led to 10 Minnesota points.

The Giants committed eight penalties for 69 yards, many of those early in the game when the Vikings were building a 14-0 lead.

Odell Beckham had another emotional outburst that led to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting.

For a fourth straight game, the Giants’ defense was unable to generate a takeaway.

Manning completed 25-of-45 passes for 261 yards, one interception and a passer rating of 63.3. Orleans Darkwa ran 12 times for 48 yards. Bobby Rainey had four carries for 22 yards and seven receptions for 43 yards. Victor Cruz caught five passes for 50 yards. Beckham had a string of 28 games catching at least four passes snapped as he caught just three passes for 23 yards.

Moments that mattered

Dwayne Harris’s muffed punt — After the Giants pinned Minnesota at their 1-yard line in the first quarter and forced a three-and-out, Harris muffed a punt that the Vikings recovered at the Giants’ 41-yard line. Six plays later Minnesota led, 7-0.

Jonathan Casillas missed tackle — With Minnesota facing second-and-18 at their own 27 midway through the second quarter Sam Bradford hit Adam Thielen with a short pass. Defensive captain Jonathan Casillas missed the tackle, Thielen went 18 yards for a first down and the Vikings then went on a nine-play, 65-yard drive for a 14-0 lead. With all the injuries the Giants have, can’t have your best players making mistakes.

Odell’s outburst — It wouldn’t be a Giants game without some sort of Odell Beckham sideshow, would it? Beckham complied by picking up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second quarter for taunting Minnesota cornerback Xavier Rhodes. (Read full story)

Giants’ final drive of first half — The Giants got three points to pull within 14-3 at the half. They caught a huge break when Minnesota’s Everson Griffen jumped offsides on fourth-and-4 at the Vikings’ 42 to give the Giants a first down. The Giants, though, didn’t take full advantage. After Eli Manning completed a pass to Victor Cruz at the Minnesota 17 they chose not to call timeout. Instead of two or three shots at a touchdown the Giants got only one more play before settling for a Josh Brown field goal.

Eli’s first interception — For the first time in the entire game, Manning took a deep shot on third-and-7 from the Giants’ 39-yard line with 10:09 left in the third quarter. Manning and Beckham weren’t on the same page, and Beckham was nowhere near Rhodes when the Minnesota corner picked the ball off.

Welcome to the NFL, Paul Perkins — For all of you who have been calling for, or at least hoping for, the rookie fifth-round pick to get a chance, here you go. Perkins injected life into a second half that seemed like it was just meandering to the end of a fairly easy Minnesota victory with an electric catch-and-run on a 67-yard screen pass, setting up a fourth-quarter score that got the Giants within 17-10 with 13:42 to play.

Vikings answer — Just when you thought maybe, just maybe, the Giants could come back after closing to within seven, the Vikings wasted no time regaining control. They quickly went 76 yards in eight plays to push their lead back to 24-10 with 9:23 left.

Injuries

The Giants lost tight end Larry Donnell in the second quarter with a concussion. Donnell was quickly diagnosed after being hit hard by Minensota linebacker Anthony Barr.

Quotable

"I just gotta know that it's all against me. It's going to be that way. I have to assume that I'm always in the wrong, no matter what. That's a tough pill to swallow."

— Odell Beckham after his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty

What’s next?

The Giants have a short week. They travel to Lambeau Field to face the 2-1 Green Bay Packers on Sunday. The Packers are coming off their bye week. Game time is 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS.