Giants report card: How we graded Big Blue in Week 17 win
The New York Giants were defeated by the Minnesota Vikings, 38-10, on Sunday afternoon.
This win brings the Giants 9-6-1 and punches their ticket into the playoffs. It was practically a start-to-finish win for Big Blue as after the Colts got the first point on the board it was all Giants. The Giants will play the Philidelphia Eagles next week in a game where the starters may be rested as they have essentially locked up the sixth seed.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what we saw during the game and how we graded the Giants in this win.
Offense: A
The Giants’ offense was responsible for 31 points on Sunday (most of the season). This snaps a 49-game streak where the Giants were unable to score 30 or more points on the offensive side of the ball.
The only thing that stopped this offense from receiving an A+ was the one untimely fumble by Darius Slayton at the start of the second half in Giants’ territory. This could have resulted in a meaningful swing in the game as the Giants were only up 21 at the time and the lead could have easily been cut down to 14.
However, other than that New York was nearly perfect on the offensive side of the ball. Four touchdowns and a field goal out of seven meaningful drives are great considering the Colts have allowed four touchdowns only twice this season.
Daniel Jones had himself a game on Sunday as he passed for 177 yards and two touchdowns with a 125.2 passer rating. Jones also rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns doing nearly everything for New York. A lot of credit has to also go to the offensive line which allowed zero sacks and only two quarterback hits. The unit also opened up lots of rushing lanes as the team rushed for 217 yards and 5.9 yards per carry on the day.
Defense: A
While the Colts’ offense is not anything special, holding them to ten points (only three of them coming in the first half) is something that deserves praise. New York’s defense scored seven points themselves in the first half as Landon Collins turned back the clock and had a 52-yard pick-six.
The rest of the defense did its job nearly perfectly also. The Colts were only able to pass for 124 yards on the day. That was the team’s second-lowest passing output which is so surprising since they were down nearly the entire game. A lot of credit goes to the Giants’ defensive backfield as they played tight coverage all game allowing only 5.2 yards per passing attempt.
In terms of the rush defense, things could have definitely improved slightly as the team allowed 128 rushing yards on the day. However, the Colts do in fact have one of the better rushing attacks in football and these yards resulted in only 10 points on the board.
Special Teams: B-
The special teams unit did its job on Sunday.
Graham Gano made all five of his extra points and his one field goal attempt. Jamie Gillan only punted once and it was for a touchback; it was not the best result but definitely not a game-changer. And finally, Gary Brightwell returned two kicks for 40 yards.
Coaching: A +
Brian Daboll and his staff delivered on Sunday. This was a game for the Giants to ensure their trip into the playoffs and they delivered. The team came out with a purpose and from the first quarter looked like a squad that was going to send New York to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Daboll also made the necessary halftime adjustments to keep their 21-point lead as the team scored 14 second-half points.
As for the coordinators, Mike Kafka was a great play caller on the offensive side of the end. Getting Jones involved in the run game has worked all season and worked again today as he rushed for 91 yards on the day. The team was also great on third down as Kafka had them going 4-7 on third downs.
On the defensive side of the ball, allowing 252 total yards and 10 points shows a lot about how amazing Wink Martindale’s game plan was. The Colts were also only 25 percent on third down on the day as the Giants’ defense was once again great in this area. This will be a big part of New York’s playoff push so its great to see the defense performing well once again.
