The New York Giants were well-rested after 11 days off and it translated into the team's first win of the year as Big Blue toppled the Minnesota Vikings in the Meadowlands on Monday Night, 23-7.

Some new faces emerged to the forefront of the Giants squad; running back Peyton Hillis was just signed a few days before and scored his first touchdown with New York. He had a few nice runs and helped the Giants run the clock in the final quarter.

The Giants also performed well on the defensive side of the ball and kept quarterback Josh Freeman in check throughout the game. Freeman just barely notched 20 completions in 53 attempts and threw an interception to Antrel Rolle. The Giants' defensive line also put all kinds of pressure on Freeman and the rest of the Vikings' offense.

"We knew their best player was Adrian Peterson," Jason Pierre-Paul said according to the New York Daily News. "Everybody knows that. And we just have to stop the run. We did a great job of stopping the run."

Veteran defensive end Justin Tuck said that although the squad has a long way to climb, they are hoping to build from this down the road.

"We needed to get one on the board," Tuck said. "I told (general manager) Jerry Reese that I think we have a shovel to start digging our way out of this hole. Hopefully, tonight is something we can build off. It's still a long way to climb out of this hole. But this was something that we could get the ball rolling."

Coach Tom Coughlin was as happy as anyone else about finally getting the first win on the board.

"The guys have really been great," Coughlin said. "I feel good for our guys. I'm happy for our coaches, I'm happy for our players, I'm happy for our owners that we won."

The Giants will get back on the saddle and travel to Philadelphia to face the Eagles on Sunday.