Five Plays that Led to the New York Giants' First Win of 2021

The scoring points were huge in the New York Giants' first win, but a few plays leading up to the scores were equally as big.

Author:
Gene Clemons
Publish date:
Oct 4, 2021 12:44 PM EDT

The Giants pulled victory from the jaws of defeat in impressive fashion Sunday against a good New Orleans team that was returning home for the first time this season.

It was a game on paper that the Giants should have lost, and for a little more than three quarters, it looked as if they would acquiesce.

The Giants’ offense moved the ball regularly but could not put points on the board. The defense made New Orleans work for it, but they could not keep them out of the endzone.

So what happened? Here are the five plays that led to the Giants’ first victory of the season.

No.5: 3rd-and-5, NO 25, 7:59, Q4

The Play: Defense stops Taysom Hill for no gain

The Saints had run the ball effectively all afternoon, and in this instance, they brought in Taysom Hill to pick up the first down, which would extend the drive and burn more time off the clock.

Hill brought Alvin Kamara in motion across the formation, going left, and they ran quarterback power to the right. That is where Dexter Lawrence II and Lorenzo Carter were stationed, and they both did a great job of pushing the offensive blockers back and re-establishing the line of scrimmage in the offensive backfield.

When Hill had to stop his feet to find a hole, Carter and rookie Azeez Ojulari converged and took him down for no gain. This gave the Giants the ball back with plenty of time to tie the game and send it into overtime if they couldn’t get the game-winning touchdown.

No. 4: 1st-and-10, NYG 46, 6:52, Q4

The Play: Touchdown and two-point conversion.

The Giants were in an empty set with running back Saquon Barkley lined up wide to the left of the formation and being guarded in a matchup zone look by the Saints defender. On the snap, Barkley exploded by the defender before he was able to get his feet moving.

Daniel Jones threw the ball immediately, not only creating an easy catch for Barkley to pluck out of the air with two hands but also giving his running back the opportunity to work in space and make defenders miss. Barkley made a full-speed cut inside on the safety and outran the other defensive back to the end zone for the touchdown.

The Giants spread the defense out on the ensuing two-point play, and Jones faked the ball to Barkley. That said, you could tell he never had any intention of doing anything but running the ball in himself.

Jones was able to find a lane and ran the ball into the endzone for the conversion. The conversion was huge because it made it a three-point game and opened up the possibility that a field goal would tie it, or at worst, if they held the Saints to a field goal, a touchdown, and extra point would win it.

No. 3: 3rd-and-7, NYG 38; 0:58, Q4

The Play: Huge first down conversion gets the team into field goal position.

If the Giants don’t convert on this down, they end up punting back to the Saints and most likely end up losing a chance at victory.

Luckily they converted. Jones had Kenny Golladay lined up on the one-receiver side, Golladay facing man-to-man coverage with a safety over the top. The Giants needed to gain seven yards to keep the drive alive.

When Jones hit Golladay on the slant route, Golladay might have been a couple of yards short of the first down if he had gone down. However, the safety did a poor job of wrapping Golladay up, and that allowed the receiver to pick up 23 yards after the catch, which got the Giants to the Saints’ 34-yard line--and in kicker Graham Gano’s range.

No 2. 4th-and-6, NO 30, 0:31, Q4

The Play: Clutch field goal sends it to overtime.

Gano has been great this season. Coming into the game, he was eight-for-eight overall and had two field goals over 50 yards on what was the start of an All-Pro season. However, earlier in the game, he missed a 35-yard field goal. But that miss didn’t create any doubt in the confidence his coaches and teammates had in him.

With the game on the line, if Gano hits a 48-yarder with time expiring, the game goes into overtime. Gano not only came through for the Giants, but he also sent the kick down the middle of the uprights to send the game into overtime.

No. 1: 1st-and-19, NO 34, 6:56, OT

The Play: Fumble recovery keeps the drive alive and ultimately leads to the winning touchdown.

Some of the most impactful plays in the game never show up in the final gamebook, and this critical play is a perfect example.

Six plays into their overtime drive, the Giants' offense was moving the ball with ease against the typically staunch Saints' defense. Jones threw a dump-off pass to Barkley after not seeing anything downfield.

The problem is Barkley barely had his balance. He caught the ball and started to run, and then spun to avoid a tackler. However, the ball was knocked out of his grasp by Saints defensive tackle Shy Tuttle.

The ball bounced left, and veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph was able to locate and jump on the ball quickly, keeping it in the Giants’ possession and saving New York’s hope of an overtime win.

With new life, the Giants offense didn’t get conservative like they may have done in the past. Instead, three plays later, they scored the winning overtime touchdown on a six-yard Barkley run.

It was a great sign to see the talent for New York making plays on offense and coming up big when the team needed it the most. The defense is still a work in progress, but it continues to flash the potential of a top-10 unit in the NFL. A road win like this can go a long way in bolstering confidence for the rest of the season.

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