The Giants take on the Vikings in Week 16 at MetLife Stadium.

Sunday will provide the Giants with their next opportunity to snap their current losing streak, which dates back to early October. On the other sideline, the Vikings come to town riding a two-game winning streak, with both victories coming against NFC East opponents. This comes after Minnesota dropped four straight games to take them out of the playoff race.

The Vikings went into AT&T Stadium in Week 15 and beat the Cowboys 34-26 on Sunday Night Football in a game that all but eliminated the Cowboys from playoff contention.

Here are storylines to follow in Week 16.

Jaxson vs. J.J.

It was a tale of two halves for Jaxson Dart against the Commanders this past Sunday. The rookie quarterback struggled in the first half, completing just seven of 16 pass attempts for 71 yards and an interception. But Dart showed signs of growth in the second half, as he adjusted at halftime and came out to throw for 175 yards and two touchdowns in the final two frames. He led the Giants to 14 points in the second half, although that number could have been a lot higher. The Giants missed a field goal at the start of the fourth quarter, and then turned the ball over on downs inside the Commanders 5-yard line on the next drive.

In addition to his passing production, Dart also gained 63 yards on nine carries, good for an average of 7.0 yards per carry.

"I thought he did a nice job," interim head coach Mike Kafka said Monday about Dart protecting himself in Week 15. "He slid a few times. … In terms of out in the field scrambling, it's not like he's taking guys head on anymore. He's picking an edge and at least picking a soft edge and trying to get himself down and protect the ball, which is most important, protect himself as well. I thought he did a nice job this week doing that."

Following a rough start to the season, Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has turned it on over the last two weeks. Going up against the Commanders in Week 14, McCarthy threw for 163 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He followed that up by throwing for a career-high 250 yards, along with two touchdowns and one interception, while adding another score on the ground against the Cowboys this past Sunday. McCarthy also took zero sacks in Dallas after getting sacked a total of nine times in his previous two outings.

"A really sharp kid, great kid with a cool personality," Kafka said Wednesday about McCarthy. "Obviously, he's having some production right now. He's doing a nice job of managing that game and owning how they're operating on offense and getting the ball to those playmakers. He's operating fast and aggressive."

Abdul's breakout

Now let's turn our attention to the Giants' other first-round rookie, who happens to be coming off the best performance of his young NFL career. Outside linebacker Abdul Carter broke out against the Commanders in Week 15. He racked up seven total tackles (five solo), one sack, three tackles for loss and four total pressures to go with his two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

"Abdul, he put together a good week of practice, it showed up in the game," interim head coach Mike Kafka said after the game. "I was happy for (him). Anytime a young player can step up and kind of start turning the page and improving. But now the challenge, just like it is for everybody, is can you do that again? You have a good game, can you stack another day? Can you stack another week? Can you stack another game? And so that'll be the challenge for him. That'll be the challenge for a lot of the guys who played well on offense, defense and special teams."

Carter's three tackles for loss matched the franchise's rookie record for the most in a game, joining Kayvon Thibodeaux, who also picked up three tackles for loss against Washington back in 2022. The 22-year-old's two forced fumbles were also the most in a single game by a Giants rookie since 2010 when Jason Pierre-Paul had two against the Jaguars.

This performance led to him being named Pro Football Focus' Rookie of the Week, while also earning a nomination as the Pepsi Rookie of the Week.

"It was his coming out party," outside linebacker Brian Burns added. "He had a good game. … I feel like he executed his assignments. For the most part, yeah, I feel like he executed his assignments most plays. Then he came up with some big plays that we needed, so yeah. I'm proud of him right now."

Koo waived; Sauls up next

The kicker carousel continued to turn on Tuesday as the Giants announced that they waived Younghoe Koo. The veteran missed both of his field goal attempts against the Commanders, with both misses coming from over 50 yards out. This performance came one game after the botched attempt against the Patriots that resulted in a turnover on downs. In five games, Koo went 4 for 6 on field goal attempts in addition to 11 of 12 on extra points.

Koo was already the fourth different player to attempt a kick for the Giants this season. Graham Gano began the year as the team's kicker, but injuries limited him to just five games. Jude McAtamney was next up, but three missed extra points led to the Giants moving on from him. In addition to Koo, punter Jamie Gillan also attempted an extra point in Week 3 when Gano was injured during pregame warmups.

The next man up is Ben Sauls. After going undrafted in the spring, the rookie kicker spent time with the Steelers and Falcons before signing on to the Giants' practice squad on November 11. In his final season at the University of Pittsburgh, Sauls connected on 21 of 24 field goal attempts, including 6 of 7 from 50+ yards, while making all 44 extra point attempts.

Injury updates

Outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux once again did not participate in practice as he continues to rehab the shoulder injury he suffered in Week 10. Thibodeaux has yet to take the practice field since the injury, but Kafka told the media before Wednesday's session that the fourth-year outside linebacker continues to inch closer to a return.

"Kayvon is working his tail off to get ready and whenever the strength, whenever all the inflammation and whenever he feels good and we all feel confident about it and the doctors clear him, then he'll be up," the interim head coach told the media Wednesday.

Three other Giants sat out the first practice of the week due to injury – wide receiver Beaux Collins (neck/concussion), defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñez-Roches Sr. (ankle), and linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (illness). Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence was listed as a limited participant due to a veteran rest day.

A couple of Giants did make their return to practice on Wednesday, starting with punter Jamie Gillan. The left-footed punter hurt his knee during the Week 13 matchup in Foxborough and missed last week's game against the Commanders, leading to veteran Cameron Johnston handling punting duties. Gillan was listed as a limited participant Wednesday.

Wide receiver Gunner Olszewski cleared the concussion protocol and made his return to practice on Wednesday, as well. Olszewski suffered a concussion while returning a kickoff against the Patriots in Week 13. He returned to practice last week, but was unable to clear the final stage of the protocol prior to Sunday's game.