Oct 23, 2022; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) calls a play at the line against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third quarter at TIAA Bank Field. — Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Giants Come from Behind to Beat Jaguars, 23-17

The Giants move to 6-1 on the year following a wild ending to their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Author:
Joe Najarian
Publish date:
Oct 23, 2022 5:07 PM EDT

In this story:

The New York Giants extended their winning streak to four games with a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field, 23-17.

New York racked up 436 yards of offense and 236 rushing yards, but they would win on defense by one yard. With the Jaguars trying to snatch the game from defeat, quarterback Trevor Lawerence drove them down to the Giants' 1-yard line on a 16-yard pass to receiver Chrisitan Kirk. The latter was stopped one yard shy of the goal line by Giants safeties Xavier McKinney and Julian Love as time expired.

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones completed 19 of 30 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown. However, he did just as much with his legs, with career-high 107 rushing yards on 11 carries and the game-winning rushing touchdown.

Running back Saquon Barkley rushed for 110 yards on 24 carries while adding four catches for 25 yards. The 100+ rushing yards by Jones and Barkley was the first time the Giants had two runners accomplish that in the same game since December 2010.

On the game's first drive, the Giants got off to a great start by marching 75 yards in nine plays. Jones completed six of his seven passes for 65 yards, and the offense converted a pair of third downs, the first with a 14-yard scramble by Jones and the second with a 9-yard catch-and-run by Barkley.

Later, facing 2nd-and-14 at the Jacksonville 32, Jones fired a deep ball to receiver Darius Slayton, who made a fantastic juggling catch for a touchdown for the 7-0 Giants lead.

The Jaguars responded quickly, driving 70 yards in six plays, with four plays picking up 10 yards or more. The biggest of the bunch was a short pass to tight end Dan Arnold that turned into a 24-yard gain. Running back Travis Etienne then scored on a 7-yard touchdown run, and because of a Giants penalty on the extra point, the Jaguars decided to go for two, with Etienne running it in to make it 8-7 Jaguars.

After the Giants were forced to punt, the Jaguars moved 70 yards in 12 plays. Former Giants tight end Evan Engram immediately moved the ball into Giants territory with a 28-yard reception, and receiver Zay Jones converted on 4th-and-1. The Giants defense halted the drive at their own 9-yard line, but Jacksonville’s Riley Patterson kicked a 27-yard field goal to make it 11-7 Jaguars.

The Giants offense, which lost starting left guard Ben Bredeson earlier in the game to a knee injury, would lose rookie right tackle Evan Neal to a knee injury on their ensuing drive. Still, they were able to move the ball 60 yards in 10 plays.

Facing 4th-and-2 at the Jacksonville 15-yard line, Giants head coach Brian Daboll, who had established himself for aggressive decisions, decided to simply take the points and send out Graham Gano, who kicked a 33-yard field goal to make it a one-point game.

The Jaguars advanced to the Giants’ 17-yard line after a massive 49-yard gain, combining a 32-yard reception by wideout Christian Kirk and a 17-yard unnecessary roughness penalty against New York. Two plays later, Giants safety Xavier McKinney forced a fumble from Etienne, and fellow safety Julian Love recovered the ball in the endzone, turning a potential touchdown into a massive turnover.

After the fumble recovery, the Giants moved 65 yards in 12 plays, picking up four first downs on their way to the Jacksonville 15. Although the drive stalled, Gano kicked another 33-yard field goal to put the Giants ahead entering halftime, 13-11.

The second half started poorly for the Giants, as the very first play of the third quarter was a 49-yard run by Etienne that sparked a 7-play, 73-yard touchdown drive. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, giving the Jaguars a 17-13 lead after the extra point was blocked.

The Giants then drove 72 yards in 11 plays, although they narrowly avoided disaster. Jones was intercepted during the drive, but a roughing-the-passer penalty would negate it on the Jaguars. Unfortunately, the drive would still end with no points despite moving to the Jacksonville 3-yard line. Daboll decided to roll the dice on 4th-and-2, but receiver Marcus Johnson dropped a catchable pass from Jones to turn the ball over on downs.

After both teams punted, Jacksonville advanced to the Giants' 21-yard line. But the Giants stuffed Etienne and Lawrence on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1, respectively, for a huge turnover on downs.

From there, the Giants put together a 10-play, 79-yard touchdown drive. Barkley and backup running back Matt Breida each converted third downs, and three consecutive penalties on the Jaguars’ defense moved the ball to the 1-yard line. Jones scored on a quarterback sneak to put the Giants ahead, 20-17.

After forcing the Jaguars to go three-and-out, the Giants ran the ball with Jones, Barkley, and Breida to move 61 yards in eight plays, setting up a 34-yard field goal by Gano. But Barkley could not stay in bounds on the last run, giving the Jaguars one last chance with 1:04 left.

Jacksonville managed to narrowly escape death several times on their 10-play, 74-yard drive. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence would have gotten a sack on Trevor Lawrence, but a defensive holding penalty on cornerback Adoree’ Jackson negated it.

On the next play, cornerback Fabian Moreau seemed to get a game-sealing interception, but an illegal use of hands penalty on safety Dane Belton gave Jacksonville more life.

The Giants later forced a do-or-die 4th-and-15 for the Jaguars, but Lawrence fired a strike to receiver Marvin Jones Jr. for 28 yards, and an additional roughing the passer penalty on Dexter Lawrence moved the ball to the Giants 17-yard line.

After a pair of incompletions, the Jaguars had one last play with five seconds left on the clock. Lawrence hit Christian Kirk just in front of the Giants’ end zone, but McKinney and Love combined to tackle him one yard short to end the game, giving the Giants their first win ever on Jacksonville's home turf.