The New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings are both eliminated from playoff contention.
Their matchup Sunday in Week 16 has a ton of meaning for both of them, though, because of their young quarterbacks, Jaxson Dart and J.J. McCarthy.
Both QBs are set up for matchups with a tricky aspect of opposing defenses that will prove a potentially key evaluation in their future outlooks.
For Dart, it's going up against defensive coordinator Brian Flores. This week, Dart described what Minnesota does defensively as, "Just chaos. Chaos."
"Vikings have blitzed at a league-high 48.9% rate this season," ESPN's Jordan Raanan writes. "That provides quite the challenge for Dart and the Giants, who are looking for their first win since Week 6."
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Dart will have to avoid getting himself in too much trouble physically, too. He's been evaluated for a concussion in 5-of-10 games played in the NFL, counting the preseason, and he did have to miss time earlier in the season when he was diagnosed with one.
On the other side, McCarthy's matchup looks easier on paper. The Giants have been relatively easy to score on.
The problem is that the Giants also love to blitz, and McCarthy hasn't handled blitzes well at all.
"A true measure of McCarthy's progress could come if the Giants blitz as often as they usually do (41% of dropbacks, highest in the NFL)," ESPN's Kevin Seifert writes. "To date, McCarthy has the lowest QBR against the blitz (6.5)."
McCarthy is coming off what, by most measures, was his best game in the NFL. If the second-year QB manages things better against the blitz, that'll be a great sign for the Vikings.
There's also the matter of draft positioning here, but that's something that fans will worry about. The players on the field are competing for their futures and won't care whether their organization's draft pick moves up or down a few spots.
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