In the end, it seems Ivan Pace Jr.'s comments about the Giants offense weren't strong enough.
The Vikings linebacker got plenty of praise and then some.
He made waves this week when he said the Minnesota defense was going to “go crazy” against the Giants' offense and that it “won't be a contest.”
But after the Giants' brutal 28-6 loss to the Vikings in their season opener on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, Pace kept his mouth shut, stopped boasting and instead let the Vikings' performance speak for itself.
“We went out there and played a good game,” Pace told The Post. “They played a good game, too. They went out there and we went out there and played a good game. It was a good game. … They had their plans and we had ours. It was a good time.”
However, one of his teammates chose a different approach.
With the lead finally teetering late in the third quarter, the Giants found themselves facing a fourth-down, three-yard situation at their own 37.
Coach Brian Daboll sent his offensive line back onto the field, but only to try to get the Vikings to call it offside, which they didn't, and the Giants then punted after a delay-of-game penalty, drawing boos from the stands.
Vikings safety Joshua Metellus jogged to the sideline and began waving his arms energetically at the crowd, seemingly encouraging them to boo louder.
Was he actually making fun of Giants fans?
“For sure,” Metellus told the Post. “If the home team boos you, as the away team, you win. It's one of the best feelings in football, just knowing you can take away the enthusiasm of the crowd.”
Pace, who went undrafted last year, has emerged as a hidden gem for the Vikings. He had a big game on Sunday, recording six total tackles and a quarterback hit.
Metellus, the Vikings' sixth-round draft pick in 2020, totaled four tackles, an interception and a quarterback hit.
And they probably won't be the only ones looking down on the Giants.
“We knew what we had,” Metellus said. “It didn't matter about them. I know what Ivan said, but it didn't matter about them. It just meant we knew what we had, the kind of players we had.”
“If we're going to have a discussion, we're going to back it up. That's always been the plan. Once he said that, we knew we had to support him.”
