The New York Giants prevailed against the Baltimore Ravens, 24-20, on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
The Giants won this game against all odds as they went down double digits in the fourth. They were able to battle back and take the lead late due to some individual late-game heroics. The excitement surrounding this team should continue as the Giants are now 5-1 and second in the NFC East.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what we saw during the game and how we graded the Giants in this win.
Offense: B+
Daniel Jones and the offense once again showed up late in the clutch.
Jones recorded his fourth game-winning drive of the season in Week 6. Leading the league in this category, it is amazing to think how much Jones has matured as a quarterback. His poise and intelligence allowed the Giants to score 14 fourth-quarter points (tied for their most this season in a quarter) and come back and win the game.
Statistically, Jones had a solid game as well. He passed for 173 yards and two touchdowns with a passer rating of 112.1. He did this with arguably the worst receiving core in the league and that group recording five drops (one for a touchdown).
Saquon Barkley also recorded another solid performance as he totaled 95 scrimmage yards and one touchdown on 24 touches. That could have easily been two touchdowns for the front-runner Comeback Player of the Year but Barkley made a heads-up play to slide down short of the goal line to eliminate any possibility of a Giants’ loss.
However, outside of the two best Giants’ playmakers (and Andrew Thomas who always shows up strong), the rest of the offense played simply to par.
The Giants’ offensive line allowed four sacks and were not opening many rushing lanes for Barkley and the rest of the group to make some noise. The team totaled a season-low 83 rushing yards in this contest.
The pass catchers also failed to gain a lot of separation against a Ravens defense that has been torched through the air in the past few weeks. This will need to change as the Giants travel to Jacksonville next Sunday.
Defense: B-
While there were some game-changing plays from New York’s defense, they have a lot to improve following this last match.
In terms of the run defense, the Giants were simply outmatched and made the fools as Lamar Jackson and Kenyan Drake were allowed to run all over them. Drake was able to pull off big run after big run as he recorded 119 yards on just 10 carries. And while Jackson is almost impossible to stop, allowing him to gain 77 yards on seven carries is unacceptable.
Stopping Baltimore’s passing attack was just as fruitless for this Big Blue defense. While the cornerbacks played a solid game against a thin Baltimore receiving core, the middle of the defense was torched by the Ravens’ tight ends.
The positional group had 157 of their 210 receiving yards and the Giants seemed to be allowing Mark Andrews (arguably the second-best tight end in the NFL) to roam free down the middle play after play. Andrews recorded seven catches, 106 yards, and a touchdown in a contest where he saw little adversity.
While the Giants’ defense clearly has to improve how it battles the run and tight ends, they did make two game-changing plays late in the game.
Julian Love’s interception and 27-yard return (the team’s first of the season) put the Giants in an instant position to score and win the game. And while the team struggled to really pressure Jackson all game, with only two sacks all game, Kayvon Thibodeaux sucked the life out of a Baltimore last-second comeback and his first career sack ended up being a game-winning strip sack.
Special Teams: B+
New York’s special teams unit played arguably their best game of the season.
The highlight of the game in this department came on a 47-yard kick return from Gary Brightwell which set up Big Blue’s first touchdown of the day. Richie James Jr. also performed well as a returner as he returned one punt for eight yards and threw out one block which gave the Giants a touchback rather than being pinned inside the 10.
In terms of the Giants’ own punting group, they covered up well against an All-Pro returner as they only allowed one return to go for 12 yards. Jamie Gillan was also able to down two of his four punts inside the 20-yard line.
And finally, old reliable Graham Gano all three of his extra points and one field goal.
Coaching: B
It was not the best win but New York’s rookie coaching staff put together their fifth win in six contests.
Brian Daboll once again made the second-half adjustments to win and has truly gotten this group ready and excited to play each week. However, it was not all perfect as he did fail his challenge call and did not have the best clock management throughout the game. Nevertheless, a win is a win, and having five of them this early in your first year is commendable.
As for the coordinators, Mike Kafka once again got things done on the offensive side of the ball. The Giants put Jones in positions to make plays and it worked out for the most part as the quarterback was able to win the game.
Nevertheless, there is still a lot of room for growth in the play-calling department as the Giants made some questionable choices late in the second quarter and the wildcat formation was completely neutralized by Baltimore.
On the other side of the ball, many would have expected more from Wink Martindale having coached with Jackson and the Ravens. Allowing 408 (211 rushing) yards is unacceptable at the end of the day, especially when you are supposed to have a competitive advantage. The game plan will certainly need to improve as the Giants play a potent young offense in the Jaguars.
