The New York Giants’ magic appeared to run out against the Baltimore Ravens at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, and then it suddenly returned.
Buy Giants TicketsSome late key penalties and miscues by Baltimore opened the door for the Giants to steal a 24-20 victory and improve to 5-1 on the season.
Here are some winners, losers and in-betweens from the game.
Winners
Daniel Jones: On a day when his receivers dropped five passes (two of them potential touchdowns), Jones hung tough and led back-to-back scoring drives to secure a win. Stat heads will want to point out the yardage totals but at some point or another, you just have to tip your cap to this kid.
Brian Daboll: Not quite sure exactly what Daboll’s secret is, but he has the Giants playing competitively every week. They were grossly outgained by Baltimore but somehow they stayed in the game the whole way and found a way to win it.
Wan’Dale Robinson : The rookie finally got back on the field and made an immediate impact with three receptions for 37 yards and the Giants’ first touchdown.
Daniel Bellinger : It seems Bellinger does something positive every week now. He caught all five of his targets for 38 yards and a touchdown.
Kayvon Thibodeaux: The Giants’ top draft pick had the game-sealing strip sack of Lamar Jackson and appears to be on his way to becoming the force the Giants hoped he could be when they drafted him fifth overall in this year’s NFL draft.
Others: Graham Gano, Evan Neal, Oshane Ximines
Losers
Rushing game: The Giants had just 16 yards rushing in the first half and although that improved slightly as the game unfolded. Their 83 yards on the ground were still way under their 179.0 season average.
Rushing defense: The Giants got ripped apart by the Ravens’ running game. Kenyan Drake rushed for 119 yards and Lamar Jackson had 77 en route to 211 total rushing yards on the afternoon.
Darius Slayton: Not really a loser but many were hoping Slayton would follow up last week’s strong performance with another one but it was not to be. He was targeted three times and ended up catching just one for 18 yards. He did draw a crucial pass interference penalty that led to the Giants’ winning score but could not find the handle on a corner fade earlier in the game.
Others: Jon Feliciano
Mixed reviews
Wink Martindale: The Giants’ defensive coordinator faced his former team and eventually won out but he had a lot of warts on the way. The rushing defense and the lack of a plan to defend Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews would have been the story had they not pulled off an other amazing late comeback.
Saquon Barkley: The NFL’s leader in total yards from scrimmage came into the game with a dinged-up shoulder and did not get untracked. His longest gain was for eight yards. He did end up with 95 total yards (83 rushing, 12 receiving) and the winning touchdown but hurt his shoulder again.
Tae Crowder: The inside linebacker was not his usual omnipresent self and only had three total stops on the day. Not sure right now what his snap count was in this game but his name was not called as often as it should have been.
Others: Leonard Williams, Julian Love
