Takeaways from New York Giants' Week 5 Win vs. Green Bay Packers

Some quick thoughts following a gutsy and winning performance by the New York Giants.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Oct 9, 2022 3:44 PM EDT

In this story:

Coaching. It does make a difference for a team, and for proof of that, look no further than the job New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll and his staff are doing this season, their first in New york.

Daboll and company, who just won their fourth game of the year (matching last year's win total) by beating the Green Bay Packers 27-22, has worked hard not only to get the Xs and Os to fit the talent he has but also to gain the trust of his players.

So far, it's working.

"I think they play hard. They do what we ask them to do. They trust in the things we ask them to do. They work extremely, extremely hard. These guys, we practice hard," Daboll said after the game.

"Practice hard, but we try to practice smart. They played good situational football. You know, it's really not, whatever, five games. It's just this game. We were 3-of-4, I think, in the red zone to their 2 and 3 - what were we on third down, 6-of-10 or something like that, 6-of-11, which was much improved. I thought we were very efficient."

Indeed they were. The Giants won the time of possession battle (32:11), they outgained the Packers in net yards (338 to 301), and were better on third down conversion rate (54.4 percent to 40 percent), just to name a few stats where the Giants won the day.

The secret, according to Daboll, is simple.

"I think what we have preached is, 'Let's not worry about the scoreboard. Let's not worry about the results. Let's just focus on the next play and whoever is in there, let's do your job to the best of your ability,'" he said.

"Whether it's a coach, coordinator, assistant coach, player, support staff. Those trainers are doing a great job. Daniel had a cut on his hand, getting ready to go out. Saquon, going in and out. It's a collective team effort, football. Our building--it takes everybody, not just a couple of people."

Here are some more thoughts from this week's win.

1. If you’re still not convinced that coaching is a big deal this year, let's look at a few things from the game that made a difference.

Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale didn’t have Leonard Williams, Azeez Ojulari, or cornerbacks Aaron Robinson and Cor'Dale Flott to start this game and went on to lose Adoree’ Jackson for half, adjusted beautifully as the game went along.

One of the keys for the Giants in shutting out Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the second half is the Giants made sure to have a deep safety (often Xavier McKinney) on stand-by to give corners Justin Layne and Nick McCloud help over the top.

Martindale also did a good job drawing up plays that disguised the pressure points to where not even a seasoned veteran like Rodgers knew where to look. Martindale's defense even managed to get home with four rushers at times, which was a big help to an injury-depleted defensive secondary.

It worked. Whereas Rodgers was 18-of-24 for 147 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, in the second half, he went 7-of-15 for 75 yards and no touchdowns. The Packers simply had no answers for what the Giants were doing to them as the Giants sacked Rodgers twice, forced the quarterback to get the ball out quickly, and swallowed the Packers receivers when they caught the ball.

On offense, the Giants have been making regular use of the Wildcat offense, with Saquon Barkley running it when the team is inside the red zone, and the Giants did so again this week.

Speaking of Barkley, after having little success sending him on runs to the right, the Giants had him go left most of the rest of the way, and it paid off; Barkley had 43 yards on four attempts running wide left versus 12 yards on three attempts (albeit with one short touchdown run).

The skeptics might argue that the Packers hurt themselves with penalties and mistakes. But credit the Giants coaching staff for putting the players into position to capitalize on those mistakes and come away with a big win over a quality opponent.

2. Here’s another thought to chew on that, if my hunch is correct, illustrated just how crafty the Giants coaching staff was.

The Giants didn’t run Daniel Jones, who came into this game with a gimpy left ankle, much in the first half, the quarterback rushing once for three yards and barely rolling out of the pocket. In the second half, Jones, on that same bad left ankle, started moving a lot more, rushing nine times for 34 yards and rolling around in the pocket.

Could it be that maybe head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka purposely kept Jones from moving around too much in that first half with the hope of lulling the Packers into thinking that they weren't going to risk Jones for the long-term on a healing ankle?

Could it be that the Giants wanted the Packers to continue to tee off on Barkley while they were planning to unleash Jones on the unsuspecting defense?

It certainly wouldn’t be surprising if that was the case. Holding Jones back from doing too much running until the second half would mean the Packers not only wouldn't have had halftime to adjust, they'd have to try to combat what the Giants were doing to them by adjusting on the fly, which, as we saw by the second half the Giants had them on the ropes.

If that is the case, then hats off to Daboll and the staff for thinking outside the box.

3. Speaking of outside-the-box thinking by the coaching staff, how about that double-reverse play run by tight end Daniel Bellinger on his 2-yard touchdown run at the end of the first half, a play in which Bellinger had the option of running or throwing the ball as he saw fit?

Seriously how nice has it been that the Giants offense, which once upon a time was as predictable as the day is long, keeps people on their toes trying to guess what’s coming? And how nice is it that they don't crawl into a conservative shell the way they used to when they entered the area formerly known as the "dead zone" (red zone)?

The Giants are currently seven of 12 inside the red zone (58.3 percent). That's a huge improvement for last year's 32nd-ranked red zone offense (44.47 percent) and one of several reasons why the Giants aren't getting blown out in games this year.

4. If you want another reason for the Giants' success so far this season, look no further than the job done by the coaching staff in getting every single guy ready to play. Receiver Darius Slayton, a guy that seemed so far in the doghouse that it was fair to wonder if he would ever see the light of day, ended up the team leader in receptions (six) and receiving yards (79).

In fact, for the first time this season, the Giants receivers combined for over 200 receiving yards (217), the first time that’s happened.

And how about the play of the defensive secondary, especially after losing Adoree’ Jackson in the second half? Randall Cobb, who finished seven of 13 for 99 yards, caught two passes for 23 yards in the second half. Allen Lazard, who was four of eight for 35 yards, caught two balls for 16 yards in that same period, and Romeo Doubs, who finished with three catches for 29 yards, had one catch for eight yards.

I mention this because the injury bug continues to rip into the Giants, removing top talent from the overall personnel picture. But credit the coaching staff for finding ways to get the guys they have ready to go at a moment’s notice and for getting them to play at a high enough level to remain competitive and not beat themselves.

5. It might be too soon to draw any decisions about Daniel Jones’s future with the team, but each week, he’s making things easier for the current brass. Jones is arguably having one of his best seasons since coming to the NFL in 2019, despite having a lackluster group of receivers.

Jones delivered another gutsy performance this week and drew some unsolicited praise from his head coach.

"I thought the quarterback (Daniel Jones) had an excellent game, and he's had a few of those," Daboll said. "Maybe his stats don't reflect it, but he's led his team down to wins. He's played good at crunch time coming back from a little bit of an ankle."

If you’re the Giants brass and you’re seeing Jones doing a better job of taking care of the ball and avoiding the stupid and crippling mistakes he’s been known to make in the past, and you’re hearing how his teammates constantly praise him—even in the loss to Dallas guys were lamenting how they had let Jones down—you can’t help but start to jot down on a cocktail napkin some preliminary figures for a potential contract extension for the former Duke quarterback.

Now some fans might argue against that, given their disdain for Jones and their affinity for a draft class that right now looks like it will be a good one in terms of quarterback talent.

But take a step back and think about it. If the Giants are winning despite Jones (they are not, by the way), then that would make it harder for them to get a prime pick at quarterback without having to trade a small king’s ransom to move up.

Given this is a team with a lot of needs to address in the off-season, it might just be preferred that they keep those draft picks to address the more glaring needs rather than to spend it on a quarterback who may or may not be the answer.

6. The 27 points scored by the Giants are the most they’ve scored in a game since they scored 27 in Week 4 of last season during an overtime win against the Saints. It’s also the third time this season the Giants have scored more than 20 points in a game, putting them halfway toward matching the number of games last season in which they scored at least 20 points (six).