Giants Defensive and Special Teams Grades: Jevon Holland Shines, Secondary Struggles in Rams Loss

If the New York Giants' offense struggled to find a rhythm in Monday's 28-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the defense wasn’t far behind in its own shortcomings.

Rams receiver Davante Adams torched the secondary at will, and much of that fell squarely on Tyler Nubin, who racked up eight tackles but was repeatedly beaten in coverage.

Rookie corner Colton Hood took his lumps in his first extended boundary work, while Greg Newsome II held up well outside of one costly edge-run mistake.

The Rams targeted stopping Giants pass rusher Abdul Carter by throwing extra resources at him, thereby challenging Kayvon Thibodeaux, Brian Burns, and the rest of the pass rushers to beat solo blocking.

And the run defense allowed a whopping 5.8 yards per carry. Woof!

Let’s get into the individual grades for the defensive players and for the special teams participants.

Defensive Line

D.J. Reader

One of the team’s better inside players, Reader was impressively stout against the double teams, while also flashing into space to make several plays.

The night’s best hit may have been Reader’s close of an unsuspecting running back cutting back and getting splattered.

Reader just missed finishing another play in the backfield, and finished the night with 3 solo tackles and a whole lot of presence.

C.J. Okoye

Getting his fair share of the snaps over center, Okoye had a couple of physical plays, but overall, he played much too tall and with very little snap.

He was too easily sealed by solo blocking and slow to close on gaps. He also does not shed well.

Okoye is a very big body, and he’s young (24), but unless he can get himself lower to the ground by bending his knees, we don’t see what the coaches see in him.

Josh Tupou

Signed off the practice squad this week, Tupou took the spot of an inactive Darius Alexander but wasn’t much better at the point of attack.

Tupou was another D-lineman who was easily handled by solo blocking and had little positive impact on the game.

Shelby Harris

Starting at defensive end, this veteran, who is slowly rounding into shape, was spotted attacking several gaps with some success. Still, he was also neutralized by the double-teams that he regularly drew.

Though he battled and held up well enough, working his way into one tackle, the Giants are looking to get a bit of an inside pass rush out of Harris. So far, no luck.

Chauncey Golston

Drawing another hold — that’s two drawn holds in two games — Golston finished another solid night’s work with 4 solo tackles plus the only inside pass rush that this unit has seen to date (several flashes that never quite got home).

With the Rams doubling the team’s edge rushers all night long, and the inside rushers getting very little done, the Rams' pocket was squeaky clean throughout, and that’s not going to cut it.

All four of Golston’s tackles came against the run.

Outside Linebackers

Brian Burns

Playing another quiet game (after last week’s similar performance), Burns made one play: he flashed to the other side of the formation and made the tackle the back was about to gobble up.

Last week, Burns was a factor crashing down against the run, but he couldn’t quite get there this week and was regularly bullied.

The Rams’ strategy of double-teaming the edges with a back or a tight end completely negated his pass rush.

Burns suffered an ankle injury with 6 minutes left in the game and did not return; head coach John Harbaugh characterized it as a regular ankle sprain, not the dreaded high ankle sprain.

Abdul Carter

We didn’t spot a single solo pass-blocking snap against Carter all night, as the Rams identified him as the Giants' most dangerous weapon on defense and worked hard to neutralize him.

The edge double-teams were the obvious answer, and they worked like a charm. Carter still made his plays, closing down the runs on his edge with consistent physicality.

Two of these tackles came on similarly vicious run finishes, while his first sack of the season came when he split a guard-tackle double-team and finished the difficult-to-sack Matthew Stafford.

We sure would have liked seeing Carter attack those tackle-tight end double-teams, but he seemed flummoxed by them.

Kayvon Thibodeaux

Getting his rotation snaps up and down the D-line, Thibs failed to dent the stat sheet, couldn't control his edge, and made no headway against the solo blocking he faced.

Thibodeaux is playing hard and hustling when he’s out there, but he’s not getting many snaps, and he’s not doing enough with what he gets.

He doesn’t seem to have enough power or quickness in his game. He’s playing for a new contract, but he needs to start making some plays.

Inside Linebackers

Tremaine Edmunds

Working his way into 5 tackles, Edmunds also got his helmet on a middle throw that deflected it enough for an incompletion.

Edmunds looked solid enough on his run reads, but he didn't make a difference. His short coverage awareness on several passing downs allowed easy completions.

We didn’t think he did enough to plug the leaks this week. He also seemed more active attacking the line of scrimmage against Dallas.

Arvell Reese

This talented rookie was beaten for the second week in a row for an easy touchdown while ignoring a running back exiting the backfield right in his face.

On both occasions, Reese had a momentary brain freeze, which is all that it takes.

It’s all part of the learning process, of course, as the kid keeps doing enough good things to warrant his place in the starting lineup while he makes mistakes.

His finishes are powerful and consistently secure. His seven total tackles tonight included several physical finishes that made us wince.

All night long he had a blocker in his face, but he never lost his cool. He’s playing a tough yet controlled game out there. All he needs to do is keep seeing things and learning, but while he’s learning, he’s still playing hard and fast.

Once the game slows down for him, he’ll be a force.

Zaire Barnes

Getting onto the field for a couple of snaps in place of Reese when the latter had to come out due to an injury, Barnes was in the unenviable position of being targeted right over his head on the Rams’ second touchdown pass of the game.

It was a great play created by two great players. Barnes was unlucky to be out there when the Rams made a little magic.

Cornerbacks

Greg Newsome II

We continue to like what we see from this veteran corner, who took on lead duties tonight with Deonte Banks (calf) inactive.

Though Newsome was beaten a couple of times by Davante Adams, both times Newsome’s coverage was as tight as could be.

Newsome was not responsible for any of the Rams’ four touchdown throws. He was feisty and instinctive when he had to be, and seemed to be up to every challenge, including sticking his nose into piles.

The one bad look came on an edge run to his side, where Newsome took an inside gap and trusted his outside linebacker to contain the bounce-out, which he did not. A big run resulted.

Colton Hood

With Banks inactive, Hood got one of this week’s boundary starts; he took his lumps covering Adams (an 11-yard too-easy touchdown catch) while also allowing a couple of easy completions to other receivers in front of him.

However, we liked how Hood held up well vs. the deep ball. For instance, on Jevon Holland’s interception, Hood’s coverage was right there.

We also thought he played most of his zone responsibilities soundly. The rookie’s tackling needs a lot of work, but it looks like he’s here for his coverage skills.

Dru Phillips

After last week’s 3-coverage-penalty fiasco shaved his playing time down, Phillips played several short snaps well, but his coverage on a zone read was so wacky we’re still not sure what he was doing on the play. The resulting completion and first down were just too easy.

A big part of playing defense in this league is the mental part. If you can’t be relied upon mentally, especially in the secondary, then all the physical tools in the world won’t get you to the ball on time.

We like the way he plays up and down the line of scrimmage, but watching Phillips bumble his way in coverage makes us question his ability to excel at this game.

Nic Jones

Getting some second-half garbage-time snaps, Jones saw mostly running plays where he made his lone tackle.

Jevon Holland

On a night when it seemed few Giants players showed up for work, Holland was the exception. Holland turned in a big-time, prime-time performance with one interception, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and a team-leading 8 tackles.

Holland's emergence as a turnover machine is a welcome surprise after last year’s lackluster season with the Giants. This week, he was all over the field and played with passion.

Our favorite Holland play was the punch-out near the Rams’ goal line, giving the Giants the ball at the Rams’ 11-yard line.

The offense settling for a field goal and losing the chance to make this a game is no blemish on Holland’s part. He did everything he could to win this game, and played like the leader that this secondary desperately needs.

Now if he can only get his teammates to play with such intensity, we might have something here.

Tyler Nubin

Tied for the team lead in tackles with 8, the stat sheet would make you think that Nubin was a difference-maker for his team.

Alas, such is not the case. Nubin recorded his big number by playing the run hard and sure, and by finishing off the completions he allowed with his inability to play the pass efficiently.

Nubin’s lack of footwork and agility made him a prime target for QB Matthew Stafford, who seemed to throw the ball to whichever side of the field Nubin was allegedly patrolling and play some pitch-and-catch with whoever was open.

Nubin’s worst play was giving up the deep ball to Davante Adams off the slightest move, reacting to Adams’ flinch a good five steps past the top of the route. Nubin’s footwork was clunky and unrecoverable.

The 64-yard completion began Stafford’s assault on Nubin. It wasn’t pretty, but it was relentless. If Nubin remains in the starting lineup, he will be the black hole where opposing offenses will inevitably attack.

He cannot be trusted to cover in space. He plays the game stiffly and ponderously.

Ar’Darius Washington

Getting a smattering of snaps with the deep patrol, Washington only flashed when he allowed a much-too-easy intermediate completion in zone coverage in front of him.

He did get credit for the tackle at least. We’re not sure where Washington fits in this defense, but we’re still waiting to find out.

Special Teams

Dominic Zvada

The rookie converted his first two regular-season field goals, and looked good doing it, nailing both kicks right down the middle, stress-free. The kicks were from 24 and 52 yards out.

Zvada’s lone glitch was kicking his first kickoff into the end zone at the end of the first half, gifting the Rams with field position at the 35-yard line without knocking any time off the end-of-half clock.

The Rams eventually set up a 43-yard field goal attempt, partly because of Zvada’s poor kickoff, but he was bailed out when the Rams’ placekicker missed the kick.

Zvada’s two ensuing kickoffs were much better.

Jordan Stout

The star of the game, sadly for the Giants, was their punter. Stout averaged 52.2 yards on his 6 punts, including magnificent moonballs of 61, 58 and 78 yards (from his own 5-yard line!). Even his shorter punts were productive.

His first punt, a 33-yard pooch, was fair caught at the 10-yard line. Another pooch punt was tackled at the 6-yard line.

All told, Stout’s big punting night yielded just 32 return yards. It was the kind of performance that could have helped, but alas, the rest of the team did not show up.

Ben Mann

More solid deep-snapping from this rookie, including some reliable coverage on the six punts.

Braxton Berrios

Berrios fair-caught two punts, though one of them was on the 4-yard line, a ball that he really should have let bounce into the end zone.

With Deonte Banks out, Berrios became the team’s primary kickoff returner. He had two solid returns to the 30- and 27-yard lines.

Tyrone Tracy Jr.

Stepping in for Banks as the other returner, Tracy also got two chances to return kickoffs and produced solid returns, both to the 34-yard line. Tracy also got in on one kickoff-coverage tackle.

Zaire Barnes

The team’s special-teams leader, Barnes, finished with three tackles tonight as he continues to sparkle on all specials.

Elijah Campbell

One of the team’s starting gunners, Campbell recorded two of his tackles tonight covering kickoffs. He also recorded a tackle on a punt. His gunner work was stellar.

Nic Jones

The team’s other gunner, Jones, got in on one punt coverage with a solid contain on his edge and a close down to finish in pursuit.

Malachi Fields

One of the plays of the game on specials tonight was Fields making a diving tackle at the Rams' 6-yard line on a deep punt, the rookie showing off his fine open-field speed.

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