The New York Giants fell to the Seattle Seahawks, 27-13, on Sunday afternoon in an uncharacteristically sloppy game. Turnovers and penalties were the culprit this time around, which are typically what the Giants avoid.
With the loss, the Giants fall to 6-2 on the season and slide back to third place in the NFC East. They will enjoy a bye in Week 9 before returning in November to take on the Houston Texans.
Whose stock is up and whose is down after the Week 8 loss? Let’s take a look.
Stock up: Leonard Williams
After a few weeks of trending in the wrong direction, Leonard Williams very much returned to form in Week 8.
The Big Cat, despite being a bit banged up coming into the game, recorded a team-high eight tackles (five solo, one for a loss), five QB hits and his first sack of the season. And quite frankly, we’re surprised there wasn’t more to his box score — that’s how active he was.
It’s unfortunate the Giants couldn’t pick up the win behind such a performance, but that’s through no fault of Williams.
Stock down: Richie James Jr.
Just a few short weeks ago, Richie James Jr. was WR1 for the Giants and served as a potentially electric return man. My how the mighty have fallen.
James took just four offensive snaps in Week 8 and wasn’t targeted for the first time this season. He has just six receptions since Week 4 and seems to have fallen out of favor with head coach Brian Daboll & Co.
Compounding matters, James had a career-worst night as a return man. He fumbled two punts in Giants territory, leading to 10 easy points for Seattle.
The two fumbles lost gives James three on the season.
Stock up: Graham Gano
What even needs to be said about Graham Gano at this point?
We argued last week that Gano wasn’t getting his due despite being silently automatic, and that trend continued on Sunday. The veteran connected on both of his field goals and his only point after attempt. He feels nearly automatic and that’s got to be reassuring for the offensively-challenged Giants.
Gano deserves Pro Bowl and All-Pro consideration.
Stock down: Daniel Jones
Daniel Jones has been gritty and magical at points this season, but all of that seems to have vanished against the Seahawks.
While Jones did briefly lead the Giants back to tie the game in the fourth quarter, he just didn’t seem right on Sunday. He didn’t showcase the speed that usually has him running away from defenders, couldn’t seem to sell his bootlegs and even got chased down by a 350-pound defensive tackle at one point.
He completed just 17 of his 31 pass attempts for 176 yards and no touchdowns. He also rushed for just 20 yards, averaging 3.3 yards per carry.
Lacking supporting cast or not, the Giants rely on Jones to make something out of nothing. If he can’t do that, the team struggles.
Stock up: Darius Slayton
Things in the NFL happen fast.
Darius Slayton has gone from the bench and the doghouse to the team’s top wide receiver in the blink of an eye. And on Sunday, he had his best game of the season, hauling in five receptions (on six targets) for a team-leading 66 yards.
The stats may not be overly impressive, but that’s where box score watching is faulty. Slayton had several big plays on third down, wrestled a pass away from Tariq Woolen and was very sharp in his route running. He made a point of driving back to the ball, giving Daniel Jones at least some space to work with.
Other receivers on the team should take note.
Stock down: Tyre Phillips
Thrust into the starting role with rookie Evan Neal (knee) out, Tyre Phillips struggled on Sunday afternoon.
If we’re being honest, the entire offensive line outside of Andrew Thomas struggled, but Phillips allowed several pressures from the corner, missed a few blocks that cost the team on the ground and just generally looked uncomfortable out there.
Making matters worse, Phillips was called for two false start penalties.
