EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It isn’t the old Metrodome, but the New York Giants will have their hands full with a loud and rambunctious crowd on Saturday.
With a new state-of-the-art stadium and a rowdy fanbase, the Minnesota Vikings have been one of the best teams in football this season sporting an 11-3 record and an NFC North division title. Their 10-0 record in one-score games has helped bring the city of Minneapolis to new heights in 2022.
“Credit to players for making plays in crunch time. They play for 60 minutes.” Giants head coach Brian Daboll said before practice Thursday.
For the Giants, their playoff woes seem to be coming to an end as well. A win on Saturday in Minnesota, along with some extra help could send New York to their first playoff berth since 2016. While their head coach isn’t acknowledging the chances of ending a playoff drought, he is aware of the unique home-field advantage the Vikings currently play with.
“The communication aspect of it is always difficult when you play on the road, then you play indoors with a packed house. It’s hard to communicate, you know, particularly on the offensive side of it just working on silent counts all week. There’s there’s a lot of things that go into it. And you try to prepare the best you can. But it’s never the real thing until you’re out there.” Daboll explained.
New York is an impressive 4-2 on the road this season with plenty of experience in hostile crowds. Yet their two losses came in Seattle and Dallas, two stadiums that house some of the largest recorded sound decibels in NFL history.
U.S. Bank Stadium has been known to match the sound decibels of Seattle and even Arrowhead stadium. The Vikings “Skol” chant has also become famous across the league as one of the best traditions in the sport.
“It’s pretty cool. Great fan base. They got a team that’s playing well, it is loud. I mean, it’s very loud.” Daboll later added that even special teams could be different because of the “controlled environment” that Minnesota has.
Control or not, New York will need to figure out a way to communicate in a building that is deafening with the Vikings heading to the playoffs.
A Giants win would most assuredly have New York join Minnesota, but for a team that will be on the road almost the rest of the season, being prepared for anything is the first step in getting ready for playoff football.
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