Stock up, down after Giants’ 23-17 victory over Jaguars
The New York Giants rallied again on Sunday, coming back late in the fourth quarter to secure a 23-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The win improved their record to 6-1 on the season and has them positioned for a shot at the playoffs.
But the win was far from clean. In fact, it may have been the Giants’ ugliest performance of the entire season and left a lot to be desired. The good news? They’re still finding way to win and ways to improve.
Whose stock is up and whose is down after the dramatic Week 7 win? Let’s take a look.
Stock up: Daniel Jones
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If you’re still a Daniel Jones hater or critic at this point, that’s entirely on you and there will never be anything he can do to change your mind.
Jones carried the Giants on his back against the Jaguars despite countless killer penalties, a slew of receiver drops, injuries and a slow start for Saquon Barkley. He tallied more than 300 total yards and two touchdowns, and led the fifth game-winning drive of the season. No other quarterback has more than three.
What more can Jones possibly do to earn respect?
Stock down: Marcus Johnson
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It’s beginning to feel like we’re piling on Marcus Johnson at this point but he nearly cost the Giants the game. A week removed from dropping a touchdown, Johnson again had two drops — one that was another potential touchdown — and had zero receptions on three targets.
The fourth-and-2 drop was so bad that Daniel Jones, who rarely shows emotion, had some choice words that he later apologized for.
Stock up: Graham Gano
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Graham Gano gets swept under the rug too easily, so we’re here to give him his due. The man is essentially automatic — so much so that a second thought is never even given to his field goal or PAT attempts.
Although his final attempt did get tipped, Gano went 3/3 on his field goal attempts and 2/2 on his point after attempts in Week 7.
The value Gano brings to the table and the Giants’ confidence in him is unparalleled.
Stock down: Leonard Williams
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Leonard Williams is still working his way back from a knee injury but his performance on Sunday left a bit to be desired.
The Jaguars were able to run all over the Giants, routinely causing confusion along the defensive line, and The Big Cat hardly factored in. He finished the game with zero tackles and one QB hit.
Stock up: Julian Love
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Julian Love is really the everyman for the Giants. He does everything, he’s all over the field and he’s consistently reliable.
Love did get beat once by Evan Engram, but he immediately corrected his mistake and saved a touchdown the next time the Jags and Engram went after him. He also recovered a fumble in the endzone, helping to prevent a Jacksonville score, and led the team with nine tackles.
Stock down: Saquon Barkley
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Before you freak out, hear us out…
Saquon Barkley did finish the game with 135 total yards and a touchdown, and he deserves a hat tip for being a closer. All of that is well and good. However, Barkley was essentially absent in the first half and by his own admission, wasn’t playing well.
“I was running soft, thinking about the wrong things,” Barkley told reporters. “O-line was playing lights out. I’ve got to do a better job hitting the hole. But I’ll find a way to get on fire a little bit, closer to the end of the game. I’ve got to go a better job starting out faster.”
Then, late in the game, Barkley went out of bounds when the Giants needed the clock to keep running. That extra time allowed the Jags to push the ball all the way to the 1-yard line as time expired.
Barkley will bounce back. He’s in the running for the MVP this season and deservedly so, but he could have played better on Sunday.
