Grading New York Giants' Win Over Green Bay Packers

The New York Giants move to 4-1 following an impressive and gusty come-from-behind 27-22 win over the Green Bay Packers in London. Let’s have a look at this week’s grades.

Offense: A-

The Giants still don’t have top-notch talent at receiver, and they even lost their star running back, Saquon Barkley, for a bit while he was being examined for a shoulder issue. But that didn’t stop the Giants from scoring 27 points, their highest total since Week 4 of last year against the Saints.

Quarterback Daniel Jones, bad ankle and all, went 21 of 27 for 217 yards, his first 200-yard passing performance this year. Although he didn’t throw any touchdowns, he also didn’t have any mistakes to hurt his team, benefitting from mostly solid pass protection that has quietly improved in recent weeks.

Speaking of the skill position players, how about receiver Darius Slayton’s rise from the ashes to lead the team in receiving this week (six catches for 79 yards)? Slayton overcame an early game gaffe in which he wasn’t on the same page as his quarterback to finish strong.

Saquon Barkley managed 70 rushing yards on 13 carries against a touch Packers run defense. Even more impressive was his running of the wildcat formation and his comeback from a shoulder injury that had Giants nation holding its breath in worry, a return that featured an impressive 40-yard run.

Defense: A

The more the game went on, the better the defense seemed to get. New York locked down Aaron Rodgers in the second half by turning up the heat just enough while preventing the future Hall of Famer from tossing the flames back at them. In the third quarter, New York got key sacks from Dexter Lawrence that knocked the Packers out of field goal range.

They also got a big game-ending sack by Oshane Ximines that thwarted any hope of a Hail Mary comeback by Rodgers and the Packers. And they benefitted by getting a couple of knockdowns at the line of scrimmage by outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux that were clutch deliveries.

And how about the jobs done by the next men up—guys like Nick Williams, Justin Layne, Nick McCloud, and Jaylon Smith? Smith finished third in tackles with six (two solos). McCloud, back from a hamstring strain, and a pass breakup to go along with three tackles. Nick Williams, providing depth with Leonard Williams inactive, had a quarterback hit. Layne had a pass breakup and two solo tackles.

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Special Teams: B

The special teams delivered a mostly positive performance this week, starting with two field goals from Graham Gano (48 and 37 yards) and the fine punting by Jamie Gillan (50.0-yard average), both of whose punts were covered well. Likewise, the kickoffs were covered well, as the Packers didn’t break any long returns of 20+ yards.

Jason Pinnock took over the punt return duties for Richie James, who came into this week’s game with an ankle injury, but Pinnock didn’t pick up any yards on his one returnable opportunity. Pinnock also failed to get out of the way of a live ball that hit him on the hand, but, fortunately for the Giants, it went out of bounds before the packers could corral it.

Meanwhile, on kickoff returns, Gary Brightwell managed just 18.7 yards on three returns—that’s just not going to cut it in a game where if the kickoff returner isn’t getting the ball to at least the 25-yard line, it puts the team at a disadvantage.

Coaching: A+

Several things about the job this coaching staff did for this game warrant the top grade this week. Start with trying to keep the week as normal as possible despite playing the game across the pond. Ensuring the players were rested and not overworked was a key element in keeping everyone fresh.

We can then turn to the bigger picture in which head coach Brian Daboll continues to have his players bought into the system. When Daboll talks, he delivers. That includes putting players in a position to succeed. More importantly, he trusts their judgment when it comes to making decisions on the field, such as when he revealed that tight end Daniel Bellinger had the option to throw the ball if he saw fit on his double end-around.

Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale delivered a near masterpiece against Aaron Rodgers, completely shutting him down in the second half. This, mind you, was without Azeez Ojulari, Leonard Williams, and both starting cornerbacks (Adoree’ Jackson and Aaron Robinson0. Martindale also dialed up pressure packages that appeared to have the Packers guessing, many of those getting home with just four men, which protected the banged-up defensive secondary.

And wouldn’t it be something if offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and head coach Brian Daboll both conspired to lull the Packers into a false state of ease by not having Daniel Jones do much moving around in the first half? In doing so--assuming it was planned--the thinking was to not give the Packers extra time to adjust by springing Jones's ability to run on them before halftime. If that is the case, then kudos to Kafka and Daboll for outsmarting their Packers counterparts.

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