New York Giants Make the Grade in Win Over Commanders

The New York Giants took another step closer to a postseason berth with their 20-12 win over the Washington Commanders. The win, according to FiveThirtyEight, increases the Giants' chances at a wildcard spot to 87 percent; with a win next week against Minnesota that jumps up to 99 percent.

Let's get to the grades.

Offense: B-

The numbers weren't pretty--288 yards total offense, two of 10 on third down, and 4.6 yards per play. And no, those numbers won't necessarily hold up if they get to the playoffs, but for this week, they were good enough.

More importantly, the Giants made the plays that needed to be made at the right time. Quarterback Daniel Jones delivered yet another fatal blow to his critics' argument that he's not franchise quarterback worthy with a 21-of-32 for 160-yard performance that might have been much better had his receivers held onto a few more balls.

Richie James, who at the start of the week wasn't even assured of playing since he was in concussion protocol, finished as the team's leader in receiving yards (42) and came up with two big catches, including one on third down and one on the fourth-down conversion on that 18-play drive.

Saquon Barkley looked like the Saquon of old. He gained 87 yards on 18 carries, but he ran with power--something we haven't seen him do since his 35-carry performance against Houston.

Defense: B+

Kayvon Thibodeaux officially introduced himself to a national audience Sunday night with his team-leading 12-tackle, a big-time strip sack, fumble recovery, defensive touchdown, and three tackles for a loss. Imagine how good he's going to be

The Commanders crossed into Giants territory on seven of their ten drives. Still, they only scored on three thanks to big plays by Azeez Ojulari and Dexter Lawrence to sack Taylor Heinicke and cornerback Darnay Holmes to deny the Commanders a potential game-tying touchdown and ensuing 2-point conversion on a fourth-down play as time began to expire.

The ongoing negative? The Giants run defense was a problem, allowing 159 yards on 26 carries (6.1 average) and at least four long runs of 10+ yards. That just can't continue to happen if this team wants to continue surprising people on this journey.

Special Teams: B

The only blemish of note was Antonio Gibson averaging 31 yards per return on kickoffs, including his big 43-yarder that set up what should have been Washington's game-tying drive. Other than that, the Giants special teams were solid. Jamie Gillan put three of his five punts inside the 20 as New York held the Commanders to just four yards on punt returns.

Richie James, who remember initially lost the punt return job due to ball security issues, was pristine, catching two punts and averaging 16 yards per return, including a 23-yarder in the batch. Graham Gano nailed both his field goal attempts (both from 50 yards out) and his two PATs.

Coaching: A

The Giants went back to basics, or what was working for them at the start of the season. On offense, they were more aggressive than they had been in recent weeks-see, the bold decision on fourth down or the Wildcat call that capped an impressive 18-play drive.

Outside of trying to come up with a fix for the run defense, Wink Martindale came up with some ideas that led to eight hits on the quarterback, six pass breakups, and four forced fumbles (two recovered) in a much-improved effort this time around.

Kudos to head coach Brian Daboll for winning a big-time challenge on Heinicke's fumble in the fourth quarter that initially wasn't ruled a fumble. That was one of several turning points that went the Giants' way.

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