Giants Report Card: Better Than Expected
When the New York Giants played fundamentally sound against the Minnesota Vikings, they kept things close.
Alas, the Giants also made a host of mistakes--dropped interceptions, turnovers, a blocked punt, and dropped passes--that was enough for some to overlook their resiliency in fighting back from a 24-16 deficit to tie the game on their final drive 24-24 only to lose on a 61-yard walk-off field goal by Vikings kicker Greg Joseph.
That said, the Giants showed resiliency against the NFC's No. 2 seeded playoff team, which gives one hope that maybe this Giants team, which lacks in certain areas talent-wise, just might have a few remaining surprises up its sleeve before their time expires this year.
Now on to the grades.
Offense: B
Despite an interception, quarterback Daniel Jones was not the reason for the loss. Jones was quite impressive on the Giants final drive of the game when he loaded the team on his shoulders and brought them back from behind to tie the game.
So just imagine how good Jones might be one day if he had receivers who didn't drop balls every week and if he had pass protection that made sure he wasn't knocked around like a pinball--this week, he was hit 11 times and sacked three.
Isaiah Hodgins and Richie James each had eight catches for 89 and 90 yards, respectively, Hodgins scoring the lone passing touchdown and mostly going against veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson no less. Glaring mistakes by tight end Daniel Bellinger (fumble), Nick Gates (two penalties, holding, and a false start), and Jon Feliciano (holding) hurt otherwise promising drives.
The Giants did post 445 yards of offense (334 by Jones and the passing game), but it wasn't enough.
Defense: B
The Giants had few answers for Justin Jefferson (12 receptions for 133 yards) or tight end T.J. Hockenson (13 catches for 109 yards), who mostly had their way with the back seven. The good news is the Giants run defense wasn't gouged this week, holding Minnesota to 83 yards on 19 carries.
Darnay Holmes broke up a fourth-down pass attempt intended for Jefferson in the fourth quarter, the change of downs giving the Giants a decent starting field position. Azeez Ojulari, Jalyon Smith, Justin Ellis, and Leonard Williams had sacks. And the Giants hit quarterback Kirk Cousins 11 times while delivering six tackles for a loss.
And inside linebacker Landon Collins signed to the 53-man roster this week. Collins was sharp in coverage and had a sack.
For all the good, it was a pair of would-be interceptions--one by Fabian Moreau that was wiped away by a DPI penalty and a drop by Cor'Dale Flott--that hurt, in addition to having no answers for Jefferson and Hockenson.
Special Teams: C
Another week, another special teams blunder. This week, a Viking player burst right up the middle to block Jamie Gilliam's punt in the middle of the fourth quarter. That block was one of several Giants miscues that the Vikings were able to cash in for points.
Graham Gano was his usual reliable self, nailing a pair of 44-yarders and one 55-yard field goal. Saved for the blocked punt, which wasn't his fault, Gillan had a nice day showing off that big leg of his by booming punts of 40 and 60 yards.
Gary Brightwell's lone kickoff return went for 26 yards (four other kickoffs went for touchbacks). Not much from Richie James on punt returns, as he only managed eight yards on two returns. On the flip side, the Vikings return game was non-existent, as Gano sent all six of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks, and Jalen Reagor only managed seven yards on one punt return opportunity.
Coaching: B
Yes, the Giants lost the game in a heartbreaking fashion. Still, they also managed to keep things close through mostly solid play on both sides of the ball and a resiliency reminiscent of the 2007 and 2011 Giants Super Bowl teams.
The Giants' offensive game plan heavily favored the passing game, and rightfully so against a Vikings pass defense that ranked in the bottom third of the league entering this game. The final offensive play distribution was 42 pass attempts versus 21 rushing attempts.
Wink Martindale didn't change who he was regarding his approach to pressuring the quarterback. It might have paid off even beyond the four sacks, and 11 hits his defense recorded had Moreau not been flagged for defensive pass interference Flott held onto an interception.
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
- Get your Giants tickets today from SI Tickets!