Absolutely HUGE win for the boys in blue yesterday! I wrote a blog leading up to the game going over a few reasons this game was a huge game. This team showed up to play and played hard physical football for 60 minutes. The defense played absolutely incredible tallying 6 sacks, an INT, allowed just 3 points and a safety!
Leonard Williams had an incredible game with 6 Total Tackles, 1.5 sacks and was a key reason for the safety. Azeez Ojulari stole the show from Leo getting himself 2.5 sacks and 3 Tackles for Loss improving on his already impressive rookie year.
I am not sure if this Giants defense ran a more simple defense, similar to last year, or if all of the players simply played better. The pass rush was clearly significantly better, but the pass defense and run defense also looked like a different team from the rest of the season. I do believe with seeing Peppers play more in the box and blitzing a bit more (had a very nice sack), Patrick Graham went back to the defense that was dominantly ran last year which had the secondary look significantly better.
As far as the run D goes. Danny Shelton may just be so bad, that it’s easier to run when he plays. In all seriousness, it seemed like the middle linebackers played better in recognizing the run and getting to the holes. This also seemed to allow Leo and company to pin their ears back to go get some sacks.
The offense was absolutely incredible with all things considered. Daniel Jones once again put another game on the books to prove he is THE guy. He was the best passer, runner, and receiver on the field all game. Evan Engram had 6 receptions with no fumbles or drops. I absolutely LOVE how Jason Garret ran the offense. Usually I would be on JG for not having Daniel let the ball loose down the field, but when you essentially have Daniel Jones playing with the practice squad offensive-line and receivers you can’t do too much.
The biggest thing for this team, was to see that the players still believe in Joe Judge and the coaches. They most definitely did that on Sunday! This team very easily could have rolled over and given up on the season. Don’t get me wrong – The Panthers are not very good and pretty banged up. But the effort that was given the entire game was very promising. This game was the best game for The New York Giant coaching staff this year. My only critique is that Joe Judge has to call timeout in the first half and try to give Danny a shot to get some more points with 40 seconds and two timeouts.
This is a big game that this football team could use to build some confidence and play competitive football as we get to the second half of the year. I am going to enjoy this victory Monday and we have an extra day to enjoy it until we go to Kansas City next Monday.
A Fan With A Mic 