Giants Country

New York Giants Report Card: Continued Improvements

It wasn't perfect, but the New York Giants did enough to hang onto a 10-7 win over the New England Patriots, as they now head into their bye the winners of two straight.
Patricia Traina|
New York Giants Report Card: Continued Improvements
New York Giants Report Card: Continued Improvements

In this story:

New York GiantsNew England Patriots

Grading the New York Giants' 10-7 win over the New England Patriots.

Offense: B 

Quarterback Tommy DeVito continues to show progress in his game. For the second week in a row, he didn't turn the ball over, put it where it needed to be for his receivers, and moved the chains. 

DeVito is still holding onto the ball a little too long on some of his throws, taking unnecessary sacks instead of throwing the ball away, but we suspect that the coaches are fine with him not putting the ball in harm's way so long as he doesn't turn it over. 

Predictably, the Patriots zeroed in on Saquon Barkley, holding him to 46 yards on 12 carries. And finally, we got the game we've all been waiting for from receiver Jalin Hyatt, who finished with 109 yards in five receptions (six targets), including a long of 41. Hyatt is the first Giants receiver to have a 100-yard day in 19 regular-season contests.

Now if only the Giants could score more points so these games don't have to be so close, they'd really be cooking

Defense: A

Tension or no tension, Wink MArtindale's unit came ready to play. There were questions about how the Giants might hold up without interior defensive lineman Dexter Lawernce, inactive due to a hamstring strain, and sure enough, the run defense took a hit, allowing 147 yards on 31 carries.

That blip aside, the defense recorded three interceptions (probably should have had a fourth, but linebacker Bobby Okereke dropped what would have been his second one). They only managed two sacks on the Patriots quarterbacks, but they held the receivers to 143 yards on 21 receptions.

Special Teams: B

Jamie Gillian had an up-and-down punting day, including a new career-high 74-yard punt that outkicked the coverage and a short shank from about his 30. Randy Bullock sent the opening kickoff of the second half out of bounds--not good. And Cam Brown was too busy celebrating a knock-out hit on Demario Douglas, who coughed up the ball instead of being more aware of what was happening. But other than those blips, special teams were solid.

Coaching: A

Whatever is or isn't going on behind closed doors with Daboll and Martindae, credit them for putting any differences aside and banding together to get the team ready to play. Credit also goes to whoever of Daboll and Mike Kafka finally realized that the best way to deploy Saquon Barkley in the running game is on stretch runs. And credit to the staff for keeping the locker room together and instilling belief in these guys that they can be competitive and win games, even if the games being won aren't pretty looking.

Published
Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

Share on XFollow Patricia_Traina
Home/Big Blue+