The Giants.com crew members give their takeaways from Sunday's 16-13 loss to the Vikings.

John Schmeelk: There isn't much positive to say about what the Giants offense did on Sunday against the Vikings. If not for two roughing the passer penalties on third down that extended two drives, the two field goals in the game would never have occurred. The Giants finished with only 141 yards of offense and 13 net passing yards.

The run game, however, was effective throughout the game. The Giants continued to lean into multiple tight end packages with 35 of their 56 snaps coming with two or three tight ends on the field. Daniel Bellinger blocked well while playing a lot of fullback, with Chris Manhertz and Theo Johnson doing a job on the edges of the offensive line. Giants running backs combined to run the ball 27 times for 118 yards and were able to gain positive yardage on a consistent basis.

The Giants used inside or outside zone on 24 of their running plays, often times including a fullback lead on those plays. Tyrone Tracy Jr. started the game with two runs for 31 yards as the offensive line and tight ends created huge holes to run through. The offensive line did well to get consistent push the rest of the game, creating positive runs.

The offensive line did get banged up as the game continued, though. Left tackle Andrew Thomas left with a hamstring injury and center John Michael Schmitz injured his hand. Austin Schlottman did well stepping in for Schmitz, and Marcus Mbow was not a liability at left tackle. With Jon Runyan missing the game due to his wife entering labor, 60 percent of the offensive line was new at the end of the game. There were times when Brian Flores' blitz schemes did seem to mess a bit with the Giants' communication up front. We'll see what the group will look like the final two games of the season to give Jaxson Dart a chance to end the season strong.

Dan Salomone: Between the heavy run game and a few sacks, Jaxson Dart did not have an official pass attempt until 11:58 remaining in the second quarter. He didn't complete one until the other side of the two-minute warning in the first half, at which point the Giants already had 16 carries.

When it was all said and done, the Giants netted 13 passing yards, their fifth-fewest in a game since 1950. Everyone has a hand in a performance like that, including the interception that went through the hands of tight end Theo Johnson and the drop by Darius Slayton that would have been a big gain at a pivotal spot.

This game was a reminder that Dart had only single-digit starts under his belt until Sunday. He made some history in the first nine and certainly has a chance for more.

With 20 touchdowns (13 passing and seven rushing), he trails only Charlie Conerly (27 in 1948) and Daniel Jones (26 in 2019) for the most in Giants history by a rookie quarterback.

But Dart is just looking for the team's first win since that Thursday night matchup against Philadelphia, when it seemed like they would be bountiful.

"It's just a new experience I've never been through before, and it doesn't make it any easier than what it is," Dart said in his postgame press conference. "You just try to do your best to stay positive as much as you can. There's just a quick turnaround each week, so I feel like the times where you hang on to a loss for too long, it goes into your next game and prep. That's just the mentality and process that I try to have."

Matt Citak: It's tough to come out of Sunday's game and focus on any positives considering where the Giants are in the season. But considering how the defense has looked for most of the season, the unit's performance against the Vikings does deserve a bit of praise, starting with the play of outside linebacker Brian Burns. The veteran put together another strong outing, coming up with two sacks and the big forced fumble, which led to Tyler Nubin's scoop-and-score. Despite the Giants playing from behind in most of their games this season, Burns has managed to set a new career-high with 15 sacks, which has him tied for the seventh-most in a single season in franchise history. He also has 20 tackles for loss, the most by a Giant since Jason Pierre-Paul produced 23 in 2011. Burns' 15 sacks are second in the NFL while his 20 TFL are the third-most, while both marks lead the NFC. The veteran is still playing at a high level, regardless of what the team's record is.

"Man, his motor, he don't stop," defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence said of Burns after the game. "And you saw it early in camp. He's been consistent in bringing it to the season. I praise him the most. We talk a lot, and we understand the importance of being consistent and attacking every play."

Speaking of Lawrence, the defensive lineman is enduring a bit of a down season, as his half-sack would set a new career-low for the three-time Pro Bowler. But the 28-year-old had perhaps his best game of the season against the Vikings, coming up with a season-high six total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, as he was able to affect both J.J. McCarthy and Max Brosmer despite not coming away with a sack.

Additionally, Abdul Carter has strung together three consecutive strong performances now as the rookie registered a sack for the third straight game. Not only that, but Next Gen Stats had Carter down for six quick pressures, which was tied for the third-most by any edge defender in a game this season. NGS has the No. 3 overall pick down for 37 quick pressures on the season, which is the most by any rookie in a season since at least 2018.

Defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen displayed some aggressive playcalling at times Sunday, which did lead to some positive results. The defense blitzed the two Vikings quarterbacks 11 times, which generated nine pressures and two of the team's sacks. The unit's 81.8 percent pressure rate on blitzes was the second-highest by any team that blitzed at least 10 times in a game this season. Of course, the Giants still wound up losing the game, so there's only so much to take away from the overall performance. But the 16 points allowed were the lowest the Giants surrendered in a game all season, which does deserve some credit.