Giants Country

New York Giants Week 9 Report Card: They Got It Done

The grades are mixed this week for the Giants, who managed to pull out a 24-16 win over the Houston Texans.

Patricia Traina

Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
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East Rutherford, NJ - Grading the New York Giants 24-16 win over the Houston Texans.

Offense: B-

Running back Saquon Barkley recorded a career-high 35 carries for 152 yards, the yardage being the fourth highest of his career and his 16th career 100-yard rushing performance.

According to NextGen Stats, Barkley had ten attempts for 61 yards and his lone rushing touchdown when running to the right side, and topped out at 21.31 mph on his best run. Barkley is back, and he was the best part of the Giants' offense.

As for the passing game, any hope for Kenny Golladay, playing in his first game since returning from a Week 4 knee injury, having a big role went out the window when Golladay, who seemed to be motivated to contribute to what the Giants are building here, flatlined again.

He was targeted twice in the first half and came up empty, one of his targets being a bad drop on a second down which, had he caught, he might have scored. Golladay was barely heard from again in the second half, losing snaps to Isaiah Hodgins and Marus Johnson.

Quarterback Daniel Jones finished with 17 pass attempts, the third-lowest total of his career, but he also had his highest passer rating (153.3). The most glaring aspect of the offense's performance was its inability to convert two Texans turnovers into points. Mistakes and penalties doomed the Giants, especially in the first half.

Defense: A

The Giants came in determined to keep Dameon Pierce, the NFL's sixth-best rusher entering Week 9, at bay, and they did just that. Pierce managed minus one rushing yard in the first quarter and finished with 94 yards on 17 carries.

Forty-four of those yards came on a play in which defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence just so happened to be taking a breather at the time. Otherwise, Pierce had no impact on the game.

Speaking of Lawrence, he had a monster game, recording five tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, one pass breakup, and five of the Giants' 12 quarterback hits on the day. Leonard Williams also had a big impact against the run, finishing with a team-leading nine tackles.m, a quarterback hit, and a forced fumble.

The defensive secondary allowed quarterback Davis Mills to go 22 of 37 for 319 yards (second highest in his career) and one touchdown. Mills had 120 yards passing in the third quarter, going six of eight, and recorded his lone passing touchdown.

Special Teams: C

Punter Jamie Gillan was the very model of inconsistency this week. He punted six times and finished with a net 34.2 average. Not all of that was on his coverage, however. When Gillan has to boom it for distance, he's very good, but his lack of touch remains a problem.

In the first half, he needed to pooch a punt so that it would be down inside the 20. Instead, his pop-up landed at the 26. On another punt, he knocked it into the end zone. That kind of inconsistency just isn't going to cut it.

The Giants made a move to Adoree Jackson as their punt returner, but he only managed two yards on two returns (and no fumbles). Not much either from kickoff returner Gary Brightwell, whose lone kickoff return went for 21 yards.

The good news? Mr. Reliable, Graham Gano nailed his lone attempt on the day, a 49-yarder in the second half.

Coaching: B+

The Giants came in determined to ride the legs of running back Saquon Barkley and ride them they did. The move made sense as the Texans had the worst run defense in the league, but the lack of balance in the offense--47 runs to 17 passes, isn't something the Giants are going to get away with, no matter how productive Barkley is.

Not sure what offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was looking to accomplish in the final series of the first half. With the Giants up 7-3, they got the ball back on their 17-yard line with 23 seconds to go, and instead of running the ball there, they tried three passes, one of which saw Daniel Jones get sacked on the final play of the half by Jerry Hughes.

It was somewhat surprising the Giants didn't mix in more zone read runs and/or RPOs into the game plan, though perhaps they just wanted to stick with the hot hand (Barkley).

That said, give credit to Kafka for trying out a heavy package in the first half that featured three extra offensive linemen. Also, credit goes to Kafka for mixing up the tempo of the opening drives in the first and second halves, both of which resulted in touchdowns.

Defensively, the Giants set out to limit Dameon Pierce's impact, and they did just that, swarming toward him and stuffing him at every turn. Piece's lone big run came when Dexter Lawrence got a breather; otherwise, Pierce was a non-factor. 

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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