Mickey Togs

In one of the ugliest games of the 2025 NFL season, the (7-8) Minnesota Vikings defeated the (2-13) New York Giants 16-13. The loss was New York’s ninth straight and enhanced their chances of getting the number one overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The two teams had a combined 22 accepted penalties, and the lone offensive touchdown scored all afternoon was a J.J. McCarthy 12-yard run in the second quarter.

To put in perspective how bad this season has been for the Giants, they’ve fired more coaches this year (Brian Daboll, Shane Bowen, and Brian Cox) than they have wins.

The offense was disastrous on Sunday as they were only able to muster 141 yards. But they still could have come away with a victory if Abdul Carter hadn’t lined up offside on a Jevon Holland 96-yard interception return for a touchdown. But as they say, bad teams will find ways to lose.

The Jets (3-11) struggled to contain QB Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars (10-4) in a 48-20 loss at EverBank Stadium on Sunday. The Jaguars capitalized on several short field opportunities as Lawrence threw for 330 yards and 5 TDs.

“Very disappointing on a number of levels,” Head Coach Aaron Glenn said of the game. 

“When you give up that many points, that’s tough. It doesn’t allow our QB to actually get in the groove. It doesn’t allow our offense to get in the groove. … Our offense didn’t play up to par, either. So, there were issues across the board.”

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jacory Croskey-Merritt ran for a touchdown, fellow rookie Jaylin Lane returned a punt 63 yards to the end zone and the Washington Commanders ended their season-derailing skid at eight games by beating the similarly woeful New York Giants 29-21 on Sunday.

The only NFL game this week with no playoff implications has a far bigger bearing on draft positioning. The Giants (2-12) lost their eighth in a row, moving a step closer to the top pick, a last-place finish in the NFC East and potentially front-office changes, with a coaching search already coming.

Jayden Daniels’ didn’t play Sunday after aggravating a left elbow injury, so it was Marcus Mariota who quarterbacked the Commanders to their first victory since Oct. 5.

Mariota connected with top receiver Terry McLaurin on a 51-yard catch-and-run TD early in the fourth quarter. That was one of only 10 passes Mariota completed on 19 attempts for 211 yards, with a fumble.

Giants QB Jaxson Dart had TD passes to Tyrone Tracy and Wan’Dale Robinson but also threw a costly interception and was incomplete on a fourth-and-goal attempt with 10 minutes left.

Tracy ran for the Giants’ first touchdown after falling behind 13-0, and his TD catch happened when they were down 22-7.