Vikings Take a Giant Hit

This one really did have all the aroma of humiliation.

All the questions the Minnesota Vikings had to face this week resurfaced after a 34-13 thumping at the hands, once again, of the New York Giants. This time an answer came that was more considerable relief than eager anticipation.

“I’ve been given the only good news from today,” Viking Coach Mike Tice said. “The Giants aren’t on our schedule next season, thank God.”

An almighty way to end a day scripted for redemption, a payback for the Giants’ 29-17 victory that spoiled the Vikings’ 6-0 start in 2003 and sent Red McCombs, their owner, into a postgame tirade in which he said the Vikings had “humiliated” themselves.

So once again the Giants burst the Vikings’ hopes under the Metrodome’s bubble, and many of the 64,012 in attendance had to wonder how the Viking owner would react this time.

“It was very positive,” Tice said when asked if McCombs had anything to say after the game. “Did you see him hug me? It was very, very positive.”

“Positive” was graded on a curve Sunday, for the Vikings. The Giants brought their A-game.

The Giants controlled the game with a big-play defense. They turned Daunte Culpepper’s three turnovers into points and smothered the Vikings’ aerial act, which performed again without high-wire artist Randy Moss, who was limited to a handful of plays because of a strained right hamstring.

The Giants controlled the game with a low-risk offense. They proved they could go those longest yards, the ones inside the 20, with four touchdown runs of five yards or less, two each by Tiki Barber and Michael Cloud.

All of which was a clear response from the Giants, who had to listen about the wonders of Culpepper and the Viking offense for the last week.

“When you hear what this guy can do and what that guy can do, at a certain point you have to say, ‘They can do that to other people, but they can’t do it to us,’ ” Giant defensive end Michael Strahan said.

True to Strahan’s words, the Vikings (5-2) seem as ordinary as the Giants (5-2). Both teams are in contention to be fodder for the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC playoffs.

This was a game the Vikings wanted, having gone 3-7 to miss the playoffs after the loss to the Giants last season. So much sweeter the win for the Giants.

“It’s fun to come in here,” tight end Jeremy Shockey said. “Everyone is booing and throwing stuff at us. Then we quiet them down.”

The Giants didn’t do that with a hush-’em-up offense

Kurt Warner continued his safe and sane ways. His best connects were handoffs to Barber, who rushed for 104 yards, and Cloud, who rushed for 55. They handled the blue-collar work, getting the Giants four touchdowns in the red zone.

The Vikings had the lighted-up scoreboards and filled the airwaves with chat about their offense in the NFL. There was a loud chorus of predictions about the records Culpepper would set under the Metrodome’s big top.

“After a while, in your mind, enough is enough and the [play on the field will] talk for itself,” said defensive back Will Allen, whose third-quarter interception set up the Giants’ third touchdown and doused any comeback thoughts.

The Giants, from the first series, made it apparent they were not going to play the saps on another Culpepper highlight reel.

On the fourth play from scrimmage, Culpepper flipped a pass backward to Mewelde Moore, only to have the ball carom off his shoulder pads. Kevin Lewis returned the fumble to the Viking 22-yard line. The play led to a 50-yard field goal by Steve Christie for a 3-0 lead 3 minutes 44 seconds into the game.

Culpepper had thrown five touchdown passes in a game three times this season and led the NFL in every passing category. Sunday, he completed 24 of 42 passes for 231 yards, but threw one touchdown and two interceptions.