Vikings vs. Giants 2013 final score: New York wins, 23-7

It may not have been the prettiest game, but New York came away with a 23-7 victory against Minnesota for their first win of 2013.

by Mark Sandritter

Oct 22, 2013, 3:51 AM UTC

Al Bello

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Vikings vs. Giants 2013, Week 7: New York gets 1st win over awful Josh Freeman, Minnesota offense

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The New York Giants picked up their first win of the season with a 23-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football.

Neither team was able to do much on the offensive side of the ball in a game which may go down as one of the uglier contests of the season. New York led 10-7 at halftime with Minnesota's only points coming on an 86-yard punt return touchdown by Marcus Sherels.

The teams traded punts early in the second half and Sherels had a chance to put Minnesota up 14-10, but dropped a potential pix-six interception. Instead, the Giants were forced to punt, but Sherels fumbled the punt, giving New York the ball back at the Minnesota 3-yardline. The Giants scored two plays later and the Vikings were unable to do anything offensively to challenge New York.

Josh Freeman made his Minnesota debut, but his performance left many questioning Minnesota's decision to start Freeman less than two weeks after signing him. The Vikings were very limited on offense and Freeman appeared out of sync with his receivers for most of the contest. With Minnesota running a condensed playbook, New York often appeared to know what was coming. Freeman completed 20-of-53 passes for just 190 yards and an interception.

The Giants improved to 1-6 on the season due in large part to a strong defensive effort. New York wasn't great offensively and committed a turnover on special teams, but won the turnover battle 3-1 and did an excellent job of forcing Freeman to beat them. New York shut down Adrian Peterson, limiting the reigning MVP to 28 yards on 13 carries.

The teams combined for 463 total yards with ESPN play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico saying the contest resembled a preseason game.

Fantasy studs and duds

There weren't many fantasy stars in what was an ugly game. Rueben Randle finished with three catches for 40 yards and a touchdown.

Peterson didn’t do much for his fantasy owners, finishing with 13 carries for 28 yards and no touchdowns.

Injury report

New York center David Baas left the game with a knee injury and did not return. Baas left after the first offensive series in his first game since Week 3.