New York Giants Report Card: High Grades for 19-16 Win vs. Panthers

The New York Giants are 2-0 for the first time since 2016, and there is a lot of beauty in that record.

Besides being in first place in the division (pending the outcome of the Eagles' Monday Night Football game), consider this. This team is still rebuilding, yet it’s getting contributions from guys that most Giants fans wouldn’t have thought of as contributors two or three months ago.

And for critics who say, “well, who have the Giants beaten?” Yes, the Carolina Panthers, the latest team to fall to the Giants, are a struggling franchise trying to find its identity, but it also needs to be pointed out that in Week 1, the Giants edged out the AFC’s top playoff seed last year.

Dare yourself for a moment to imagine what this Giants team which has found new life under head coach Brian Daboll and his staff, might look like once general manager Joe Schoen has a healthy salary cap situation to work with.

Go on, do it. Because if you like what you’ve seen so far from this scrappy Giants bunch which once again made the grade in the weekly report card, something tells me the best is still yet to come.

Offense

The good news is that the offense did just enough to contribute to the win, but it could have done much more. Averaging 3.8 yards per play usually isn’t a recipe for success, which is probably why the Giants settled for four field goals in this win. And settling for two early game field goals after being gifted with outstanding field position off two turnovers was particularly eyebrow-raising,

Early on, the Giants tried running Saquon Barkley inside, which didn’t work either. Barkley gained 69 of his 72 yards in the second half. His best touch of the game might have been his late third-quarter 14-yard rush between the tackles.

Quarterback Daniel Jones finished 22 of 34, 176 yards, and one touchdown despite being under duress for most of the game—he was sacked three times and hit nine times during his 34 attempts—had a mostly solid showing. Jones’s lone brain blip came at the end of the first half when he threw a ball into coverage that was almost picked off. But he quickly wiped that from his memory and somehow got into a rhythm as the game progressed, pass protection issues or not. Jones’s biggest play might have been his 11-yard run in the fourth quarter that gave the Giants a first down and kept the Panthers from ever seeing the ball again.

The Giants’ leading receiver yardage-wise was Richie James, who had 51 yards on five receptions. Kadarius Toney, in an increased role, caught two of three pass targets for zero (yes, you read that correctly) yards, while Kenny Golladay, who got two snaps this week, was the latest receiver to land in limbo.

Grade: C

Defense

The defense came ready to play, ready to bully, and ready to take charge, and that’s what the unit did. A big forced fumble and recovery by cornerback Darnay Holmes and Adoree’ Jackson, respectively, on the Panthers’ first drive from scrimmage set up another scoring drive on which the Giants settled for another Graham Gano field goal.

The Giants also did a masterful job of slowing down the always dangerous Christian McCaffrey, who, other than for a big 49-yard run right through the spot where the injured Leonard Williams would have been, barely made a peep all day on the run or in the passing game. The pass rush—minus Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari and missing Leonard Williams (knee) for the last five series—got after Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield, moving him off his spot several times.

And how about the job the unit did after losing Williams? The Panthers' final five drives after the Big Cat was forced out of the game consisted of four punts and a field goal, with two of those drives being the “three-and-out” variety.

Grade: A

Special Teams

Graham Gano delivered an “NFC Special Teams Player of the Week” worthy performance, nailing all four of his field goals, including the eventual game-deciding points. His final two field goals were 51 and 56 yards, respectively. That’s about as clutch as clutch can get.

Carter Coughlin forced a game-opening fumble on Panthers kickoff returner Chuba Hubbard, the loose ball recovered by Dane Belton. The Giants converted that turnover into the game's first points, a 360yard Gano field goal.

Punter Jamie Gillian had a good day statistically with a 50.6 gross and a 43.2 net, the net likely due to his one touchback (on his 67-yarder). Gillian, who does a great job of quickly getting his punts off his foot, had a solid day.

The coverage teams were much better, the lone blip on the radar being Hubbard’s 36-yard return. Otherwise a solid overall day for the Giants' special teams.

Grade: A-

Coaching

Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale promised the MetLife Stadium crowd a show, and he delivered a script that the players executed to near perfection. They held Christian McCaffrey to 102 rushing yards on 15 carries, 49 of those coming after Leonard Williams had to leave the game with a knee injury, and just 26 yards on four receptions. One of the many keys was deploying a three-safety package, which helped take some of the onus off the linebackers in coverage.

Offensively, they got the job done but started a little too cute at the beginning with the play calls, but as the game went on, the offense became more settled. A highlight was the surprising third-down play call to running back Gary Brightwell, who picked up 14 yards and a key first down. If the coaches can figure out how to get this team into a position to start faster on offense, that would be a big help moving forward.

Finally, give credit to head coach Brian Daboll for tying it all together and coaching as a good old-fashioned NFL coach would. By that, we mean he doesn’t care about draft pedigree or contract status (see Kenny Golladay). You will play if you show you know the playbook and earn your snaps in practice. Period.

And that’s how it should be.

Grade: A

Join the Giants Country Community

Sign up for our FREE digest newsletter
Follow and like us on Facebook
Submit your questions for our mailbag
Check out the new Giants Country YouTube Channel.
Listen and subscribe to the daily LockedOn Giants podcast.
Subscribe and like the LockedOn Giants YouTube Channel
Sign up for our FREE message board forums