The New York Giants defeated the Chicago Bears, 20-12, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday. The win improved their record to 3-1 for the first time since 2011 under head coach Tom Coughlin.
Here are some winners, losers and in-betweens from the Week 4 game.
Winners
Saquon Barkley: What more even needs to be said about Saquon at this point? He’s not only back to his rookie level, he’s playing the best football of his career. He finished Sunday’s game with 162 total yards and literally carried his team to victory.
Daniel Jones: DJ is gritty, gutty and does whatever it takes to help the Giants win. Against the Bears, that meant a lot of bootlegs and scrambling, and then returning to the game on a badly sprained ankle. Jones accounted for 139 total yards and two touchdowns to go along with a key block that helped spring a wild first-down run for Barkley.
Tae Crowder: Mr. Irrelevant arguably had the best game of his career on Sunday, recording a team-leading 11 tackles (7 solo, 1 for a loss), two QB hits and one sacks. And several of those plays came in big moments.
Dexter Lawrence: Another player who performed at the top of his game was Big Dex. He has dominated all season and continued playing at an All-Pro level on Sunday, recording five tackles (2 solo, 1 for a loss), three QB hits and 2.0 sacks.
Others: Jaylon Smith, Xavier McKinney, Gary Brightwell
Losers
Richie James Jr.: James had been one of the team’s most consistent, over-achieving players entering Sunday’s game. That changed with a punt return fumble deep in Giants territory and a forgettable game offensively. He managed just one reception for nine yards on three targets.
Kenny Golladay: The $72 million man was targeted just once in Week 4 and failed to come down with the reception. It was a bit high but Golladay didn’t even bother to attempt to go up for it. He later left the game injured.
Others: Micah McFadden
Mixed reviews
Tyrod Taylor: Taylor wasn’t in the game very long but it was certainly eventful while he was. He had couple nice runs, including one where he demonstrated an impressive spin move, but he also threw an ugly first-down interception and fumbled the ball.
Graham Gano: The usually automatic Gano connected on two field goals and two point after attempts, but missed a 37-yard field goal with 0:21 remaining. Bad snap/hold? You be the judge.
Kayvon Thibodeaux: Seeing an increased role, the rookie recorded three tackles and one QB hit. He had a few pressures but one came as the result of confusion when he was trying to leave the field and the other ended with a personal foul penalty (which was questionable at best).
Tanner Hudson: There were at least three key blocks by Hudson on Sunday, including on each Daniel Jones touchdown run. What lands him in the “mixed” category is a horrible dropped that bounced right off his chest.
Darius Slayton: Slayton was finally given an opportunity to shine and while he did draw a DPI penalty, he failed to secure the catch on the play — something he may have been able to take in for a score. He finished the game with just one reception for 11 yards.
Others: Adoree’ Jackson, Jihad Ward, Jamie Gillan
