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Nate Burleson on Odell Beckham: ‘You gotta reel it in’

The Giants (2-2) protected quarterback Eli Manning throughout, not allowing a Vikings sack, but were generally held in check otherwise and lost their second consecutive game.

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If last week’s eight-sack performance against Cam Newton was a defensive masterpiece, Monday Night’s 24-10 win over the New York Giants was an instant classic. The Vikings had a season-high 104 rushing yards, and punched in two rushing scores. Not Monday. His first punt was downed at the 1-yard line, and he ended the night with thee punts downed inside the 20 and just one touchback. With the Vikings defense having a potent secondary of its own, the one-on-one battles were expected to be something to watch.

The fourth-year man turned a screen pass into a 21-yard gain, then drew a pass interference call in the end zone after beating Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins to set up a 1-yard Asiata run to open the scoring midway through the first quarter.

Marcus Sherels fell on the ball, giving Minnesota a short field to work with. They followed that with a delay of game before Brown split the uprights to pull within 14-3 at halftime.

When Beckham caught his second pass, he got into Rhodes’ face and actually bumped into line judge Tony Symonette, and if Symonette opted to he could have caused a lot more problems than a 15-yard penalty for Beckham. It sounds like Beckham’s act is wearing thin with Manning. A 67 yard catch-and-run by rookie running back Paul Perkins was the big play on that drive. Orleans Darkwa had 12 carries for 48 yards and a touchdown, with a long run of 17 yards.

Of all the great things the Vikings defense has done this season, one glaring weakness has been third-down defense. The Vikings defeated the Giants 24-10. Tonight we played with a chip on our shoulder which I think this team does well, even when we’re winning I think we’re unselfish. This was a statement game on a national stage. Their passing game has been good with some effort by the wide receivers.

Odell Beckham is one of the most talented wide receivers in the entire league. The stock of others took a hit on Monday night.

Odell Beckham Jr. thinks the system is rigged against him.

It will be interesting to see what the Giants do from here.

Another time, Beckham wanted a pass interference call. Kyle Rudolph capped it off with a seven-yard touchdown pass by boxing out Giants cornerback Trevin Wade. “At some point, you have to remove your heart and emotions from the game and just play with passion for the game”. Beckham is a great player, but he can not continue to do these kind of things. The Vikings have the NFL’s best turnover differential plus-10 and have not committed an offensive turnover this year, their lone giveaway coming on defense after forcing an Aaron Rodgers interception in week 2.

The Vikings are loaded with talent at every level of their defense.

“I want to be a part of a team and make this team better, and this is how I can do that”.

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While Sam Bradford continues to develop in the Minnesota offense, the rest of the players on the field are constantly grinding down their opponents thanks to a healthy rotation of players, strong mindset, coaching, and determination.

Jim Mone  AP Images