Another player might have hid in the training room, but Calloway stood at his locker and talked about it: ''It came off low, it came to me, I went down, but it took a funny bounce, hit my chest and went away.''

Chris Walsh pounced on the bouncing ball for the Vikings.

''I think Corey Fuller had a hand on it,'' Walsh said of his teammate, ''but it took off my way and I got it. We practice it twice a week and even more so in training, but that's our first recovery and it couldn't have come at a better time.''

Or a worse time for the Giants.

''We practice the onside kick every week,'' Calloway said. ''During the season I think we lined up for two onside kicks. One, we didn't get and one, we got. On this one, I knew the ground was wet, but a football isn't like a baseball where you can scoop it up. We were in control of this game. Unfortunately, it came down to special teams.''

Whenever the Giants expect an onside kick, Calloway, a starting wide receiver, lines up with what is known as the ''hands team,'' the players with the best hands for grabbing an elusive bouncing football. During the game he caught six passes for 53 yards, but he let the bouncing onside kickoff get away from him.

''We had a second opportunity to get it,'' Calloway said, ''but I should have had the ball.''

Percy Ellsworth, the backup free safety, had that second opportunity, but he was blocked off.