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Giants Showing Maturity and Other Takeaways from Win Over Jaguars

Some final thoughts/takeaways from the Giants' 23-17 win over the Jaguars.

These Giants are finally starting to grow up.

No, that’s not a slight against the grown men in the locker room, but rather a compliment about how the Brian Daboll Giants team of today is not only finding ways to win games a shrinking number of critics still believe they have no business winning, but even when they win in an unpolished fashion, the team isn’t sitting there all giddy and thankful for a win.

Such was the case following their 23-17 come-from-behind win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, a game that ended dramatically with the Giants defense stopping Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and receiver Christian Kirk one yard shy of payday.

The Giants? Listen, they’ll take the win, don’t misunderstand. But no one in the locker room was saying after the game that they were content with how it unfolded.

Specifically, the game should have never been as close as it was. A couple of defensive penalties helped the Jaguars, including one that nullified a game-sealing interception by cornerback Fabian Moreau. And, of course, that drive was set up by running back Saquon Barkley’s inability to stay in bounds to keep the clock moving after giving himself up.

“I'm glad we won, but like I say every week, there are certain things to clean up, and this week is no exception,” said head coach Brian Daboll. “There were some good things we did. I thought the offense got off to a fast start, did a good job of converting 3rd downs, did a good enough job in the red zone, took care of the ball defensively, got the ball out there when they were going into the red zone, had a critical 4th down stop.

“At critical moments, that was good, but we gave up too many yards and didn't capitalize in the red zone. Didn't finish the game; we should have finished the game. There’re always things to clean up.”

That’s not Daboll trying to rain on the parade of 6-1. That’s Daboll being honest, something his players were after the game.

“Just got to do better,” Barkley said of his slip-up. “Not going to make any excuses. Just got to be better. That's it. I'm expected to understand the situation. I knew the situation. I tried to get down but got to do a better job of it.”

The Giants’ honest post-game take of their victory is refreshing and a sign of growth. Whereas in the past, this team might breathe a huge sigh of relief that could be felt from Jacksonville up to East Rutherford, this team is expecting more of itself collectively and is not settling for anything less.

That’s the sign of a winning franchise that takes pride in the game's outcome, win or lose. And that’s a big reason why these Giants are sitting at 6-1, the second-best record in the league behind the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles.

Some more thoughts…

Next Man Up

How amazing is it that week after week, whenever an injury knocks out a starter, the Giants never seem to lose a beat?

Pretty amazing.

This week the Giants lost left guard Ben Bredeson and right tackle Evan Neal to knee injuries. Yet, they still managed to rush for a whopping 236 yards (including 100-yard rushing performances by Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley, making this the first game since 2010 that the Giants had two 100-yard rushers in the same contest) against the ninth-best run defense entering this week’s game.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Giants have been without starting cornerback Aaron Robinson, who is on IR, for a few weeks now, but you’d never know it given how well his backup, Fabian Moreau, has been playing. Ditto for Nick McCloud sidelined earlier in the year with a hamstring strain, but who has been johnny-on-the-spot when Adoree’ Jackson has gotten dinged.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a result of coaching. Every week, this staff has its players ready to go.

“It's like I've said before, whoever is in our building is our job as a coaching staff to get them ready to play,” Daboll said. “It's their job to be a pro and learn how to play. That's why we evaluate these players. We practice them hard. If we feel like they can help us, they play. I think they did a good job stepping up.”

Daniel’s Temper Tantrum

Quarterback Daniel Jones was somewhat remorseful after the game for having allowed himself to have an emotional outburst during the game.

The incident in question happened on a dropped ball by receiver Marcus Johnson on a fourth-down pass, causing Jones, as he headed to the sideline, to yell what looked like, “Catch the ball!”

“Yeah. [It was the] heat of the moment, and I wish I could have that situation back,” Jones said. “I pride myself on being composed in those situations. Yeah, I wasn't there. I've got full faith and confidence in the world in Marcus, and yeah, [I'm] disappointed I let that happen.”

Jones was asked why he was disappointed.

“I want to be composed in those situations,” he said. “I've got a lot of confidence in him. Yeah, so I think just I'm competitive. It was heat of the moment. I think you get fiery. Obviously, you want to score there. I've got a lot of confidence in him and [I] don't want to do that to any teammate.”

Jones, who each week continues to quell the grumblings about his suitability to be the long-term quarterback for this franchise, need not apologize. His receivers have been letting him down a little too often this year—in this game alone, there were three drops.

Granted there are different leadership styles, but if Jones feels guilty about calling out his teammate, he shouldn’t so long as he’s doing his part to help the cause.

While it’s admirable that he doesn’t want to embarrass anyone on camera, the outburst showed how much Jones has grown as a leader.

Eli Manning used to make faces when his receivers let him down. Before that, Phil Simms wasn’t afraid to get in a guy’s face if he screwed up.

Jones? He’s done a good job of swallowing any frustration he’s felt—and certainly, he’s felt a lot of frustration since turning pro.

“Yeah, he's even-keeled. He's been that way since I met him,” Daboll said of Jones.

But about that fiery attitude?

I think it's a great attitude,” Daboll said. “I wish I had more of it.”

Speaking of Receivers

When you think about the Giants’ 6-1 start, it’s pretty amazing, considering their wide receivers continue to underperform.

This week, in addition to three dropped balls (including the fourth-and-goal play), the receivers came up short on plays that were there for the making, including a botched 3rd-and-14 ball that Richie James couldn’t hold on to.

So here’s the thing. If the Giants continue to roll to where the playoffs look like a legitimate possibility, should they make a trade for a legitimate No. 2 receiver before the November 1 trade deadline? Or should they sit back and hope that one or both of Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney somehow find a magic elixir that heals them of their respective physical ailments and restores them to beast mode?

It's an interesting dilemma for sure, as one would think that the Giants, should they make the postseason—and that right now is no longer a pipe dream but a realistic possibility—cannot continue to sustain the way they’ve been winning without a truly functional receiving unit.

The fly in the ointment remains the salary cap. According to the NFLPA salary cap report, the Giants have $3,394,471 of space left, which is not much if you consider they still have eight more games to go and need operating capital to accommodate injury replacements and practice squad elevations.

I’m curious to see what happens in the coming week. With the injuries to Ben Bredeson and Evan Neal, might the Giants decide Nick Gates is ready to come back from the PUP list? If so, would they look to extend (and hence lower) his contract to get some cap relief that they can, in turn, use to fit in a receiver such as Carolina’s D.J. Moore or maybe even the Jets’ Denzel Mims or Elijah Moore?

Or will the Giants retain their draft assets and look to address receiver next year, hoping that what they have can carry them through?

My guess is they’ll choose Door No. 2, which would be a shame if this team does somehow make it to the postseason only to suffer an early loss because of their receivers; inability to come up big consistently.

By the Numbers

The Giants’ six wins this season have been by eight points or fewer, five of which featured a second-half comeback and four of which featured a fourth-quarter comeback. That makes them the third team in NFL history to register six wins, each by a final score margin of eight or fewer points, within their first seven games of a season, joining the 2000 Vikings and 1988 Saints.

The Giants are also the third team to win at least five games when trailing in the second half through their first seven games of a season, joining the 2015 Falcons and 2007 Titans. And they are the first team since the 2016 Lions to win at least four games when trailing in the fourth quarter through their first seven games of a season.

The No-Huddle Effect

This may or may not have anything to do with the fast start the Giants got off to this week, but worth noting is New York ran no-huddle on seven of its 36 first-half plays, according to a count of such plays in the official gamebook.

And those no-huddle plays were scattered throughout the first half, not just bunched in the final two minutes.

That number is the second-highest the Giants have run no-huddle throughout the first half of a game this year, half of what they ran against the Cowbys in a losing effort back in Week 3 when their 14 no-huddle plays contributed to three fpoints scored int he first half. 

Since retooling the no-huddle (or maybe they're just executing better), the Giants have scored 14 first-half points (six no-huddle offenses) against the Bears and 13 against the Jaguars, the no-huddle apparently helping the offense get off to a faster start. 


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