New York Giants Week 9 Report Card | Progress Peeks Through the Clouds
If only the Giants could play the Washington Football Team every week, what a wonderful season it would be, right?
Alas, that is not feasible, as the Giants have wrapped up their home and away series with their NFC East rivals with a 23-20 win marking the second year in a row they've swept their foes. And the theme in this week's win was one that should leave a lot of Giants fans smiling: improvement.
"The whole message was 'finish,'" head coach Joe Judge said after the game. "That's a thing you could constantly hear a player saying over and over and over. Before the game, we talked about that at halftime, throughout the game, and on the sideline. We have to finish the game.
"When we took the field, a number of times in that fourth quarter, the message was 'finish.' We responded to whatever came our way."
They sure did, and in finishing, they made certain not to do all those little things that for the last several weeks have hurt their quest to put wins on the ledge, such as turning the ball over, failing to convert on third down, getting off the field on third down, and finding success in the red zone.
While the Giants can't play Washington every week the rest of the way, if they can play the way they did Sunday, they have a fighting chance of finishing with a better record than they posted in the first eight games of the season.
Rushing Offense: A
The Giants rushed for a season-high 166 yards on 35 carries using a running back rotation whose top two contributors, Wayne Gallman and Alfred Morris, racked up 68 and 67 yards, respectively.
Did I mention this was all done behind an offensive line that rotated guys in and out of the lineup at both tackle and guard?
Special kudos to the Shane Lemieux-Nick Gates duo for executing textbook combo-blocks that neutralized the initial charge of some really good defensive linemen before firing out to the second level where they stopped some equally good second-level defender from wrecking the party.
Passing Offense: B
Although Washington had five sacks out of nine quarterback hits, none were game-changers. The closest they came was on the last one when Daniel Jones took that blindside hit yet still managed to hang on to the ball, a play that maybe before today he fumbles.
Of all the offensive linemen, rookie Matt Peart, who these days isn't playing like a rookie, had the most impressive showing on a first glance, keeping whatever edge the coaches asked him to guard pretty much pristine.
And how about young Austin Mack, who in his first expanded action, finished as the team leader in receiving yards with 72 and on four receptions (out of five pass targets).
Isn't it amazing how having a running game makes the passing game so much more efficient?
Run Defense: B+
Washington only ran the ball nine times for 37 yards, but they did manage a touchdown and two long runs of 10 or more yards. Still, the running game was smothered by that big Giants defensive front as led by Leonard Williams, which has been a force all season long.
Pass Defense: C
The Giants pass defense began leaking some big chunk plays in the second half, including Terry McLaurin's 68-yard touchdown catch, which looked like it came on a busted coverage.
However, the Giants clamped down and stopped the bleeding by confusing quarterback Alex Smith with some different looks. They were forced into throwing three interceptions by disguising what they were planning to do.
Leonard Williams recorded his fifth sack of the season and is now three sacks away from his career-high. Jabrill Peppers, Logan Ryan, and Blake Martinez—Peppers and Martinez being guys not known for their prowess in coverage—all recorded interceptions for the Giants, who recorded seen quarterback hits and two sacks in this one.
Special Teams: A-
After last week's "off-night," the Giants special teams were back with a bang. Cam Brown, a core member of special teams, caused a muffed punt that Madre Harper recovered on the Washington 16 that the Giants converted into a touchdown several plays later.
Graham Gano continued to be Mr. Reliable with his field goal kicking, converting three more attempts to give him 18 consecutive conversions.
He even had one of his PATs doink its way through the uprights. Regardless, how nice is it to not have to worry about scoring on kicking? On the negative side was Steven Sims' 12-yard punt return.
Coaching: B+
Credit head coach Joe Judge for his handling of the Golden Tate situation. Whereas other coaches might let that storyline overshadow things, Jude expertly contained that fire from getting out of control and creating a distraction.
The Giants continue to keep things simple for Daniel Jones as his comfort level grows with this offense. They not only had him get the ball out of his hands quickly, but they also did a better job with the routes called.
And how about defensive coordinator Patrick Graham's improvisation? For the second game this year, Graham drew up a play late in the week.
This time, his defense didn't even get a chance to practice since he drew it up Saturday night. That play turned out to be a big one as it's the one on which Logan Ryan picked off to seal the win.
