New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) slides just short of the endzone late in the fourth quarter. The Giants defeat the Ravens, 24-20, at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. — Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

New York Giants 24, Baltimore Ravens 20: By the Numbers

The Giants improved to 5-1 for the 2022 season following a gritty 24-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Let's take a look at some key numbers from the win.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Oct 16, 2022 5:11 PM EDT

In this story:

New York Giants

Baltimore Ravens

The New York Giants had no business winning their Week 6 game against the Baltimore Ravens, they said.

Well, "they" were wrong, even though "they" had most of the major stats on their side.

The Ravens outgained the Giants in total yards, 406 to 238, including in the running game, where the Ravens finished with a 211 to 83 advantage.

But don't tell these Giants, whom critics had labeled the worst 4-1 team in the NFL before this week's game, that they're not good enough to stand toe-to-toe with any team.

The victory wasn't pretty --they rarely are in the NFL. But the Giants' win showed resiliency, grit, and determination, and the Giants came up big in areas where it counted the most.

Here are a few numbers from the Giants win that made the difference for these Giants.

Two...

...As in two minutes, or the amount it took for the Giants to overcome a 20-17 deficit. The sequence began when a short pass by quarterback Daniel Jones over the middle intended for Darius Slayton was intercepted by Marcus Peters, only to be wiped off the board when Peters was flagged for defensive pass interference in the end zone.

One play later, Saquon Barkley was into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown, which, with the PAT, gave the Giants the 24-20 lead, capping a three-play, 13-yard scoring drive.

But the Giants' work wasn't done just yet. With 1:43 left on the clock, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw an incomplete pass. Then on the ensuing play, he was sacked and stripped of the ball by rookie outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux; Leonard Williams recovered the loose ball.

The Giants, then exercising outstanding clock management, ran two straight running plays, both by Saquon Barkley, who picked up the first down on the second when he reached the 2-yard line. With the Ravens out of time-outs, the Giants iced the victory.

33...

As in 33 percent, or the red-zone conversion percentage by the Ravens (versus the Giants' 60 percent). The Ravens dominated the Giants through three quarters in just about every major statistical category--rushing, passing yardage, and time of possession.

But when it came to scoring, the red zone was the dead zone for the Ravens, who came into this game with the seventh-best red zone offense (64.71 percent). Then again, the Giants brought the seventh-best red zone defense into this game, allowing opponents to convert just 41.18 percent of their red zone opportunities.

10...

...As in the number of penalties, the Ravens racked up in this week's game (the Giants only had three). While Baltimore was initially running all over the Giants, New York played a more disciplined game, refusing to shoot itself in the foot with stupid penalties.

The Ravens had three false starts in the first quarter alone, but that was nothing compared to what they'd rack up later in the game. In the second quarter, the Ravens were flagged for having too many men on the field, the penalty contributing to the Giants' 5-yard touchdown catch by Wan'Dale Robinson that tied the game at 7-7 at the time.

There was the unnecessary roughness call against linebacker A.J. Klein, who barely had a cup of coffee with the Giants before the Ravens poached him off their practice squad last week. The penalty gave the Giants a fresh set of downs.

Or how about a third-quarter unsportsmanlike penalty on Ravens outside linebacker Odafe Oweh on a third down play that kept the Giants' drive, cumulating in a Graham Gano field goal to cut the Ravens' lead to 13-10, alive?

And let's not forget the biggest penalty of all: defensive pass interference called against Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters in the end zone, nullifying a Ravens interception on what would eventually be the Giants' game-winning drive.

Zero...

As in the Raven's goal-to-go efficiency. When a team has goal-to-go and can't make it, that usually contributes to a loss.

And that's what happened to the Ravens, who went zero for one on goal-to-goal situations. Their best chance came in the third quarter when they had 4th-and-5 from the Giants 5 and had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Justin Tucker after quarterback Lamar Jackson threw three consecutive incomplete passes.