The New York Giants completely manhandled the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, punching their playoff ticket with a commanding 38-10 victory.
The win, which improved the Giants’ record to 9-6-1 on the season, also guarantees their first regular season finish above .500 since 2016.
Whose stock is up and whose is down after the Week 17 win? Let’s take a look.
Stock up: Daniel Jones
What even needs to be said? The Giants entered Week 17 understanding that a win puts them into the playoffs, and Daniel Jones left nothing up to chance.
In what may have been the most dominating performance of his career, DJ tallied nearly 270 yards and four touchdowns against the 11th-ranked defense in the NFL.
When it came time to pull Jones from the game, he received a rousing standing ovation from the fans who were chanting his name and “MVP!”
Stock down: Daniel Jones critics
Maybe we’re piling on a bit here, but after years of relentless hate and baseless criticism, it’s nice to see the DJ haters getting a little taste of their own medicine.
Some have come out and acknowledged they got it wrong, but many others remain dug in.
The more Jones succeeds, the angrier they seem to become.
Stock up: Evan Neal
Evan Neal has faced a lot of criticism this season and to some degree, it’s been warranted. He’s struggled as a rookie and come up small in some big spots.
Part of that has been battling through injury and another part of that has been the normal acclimation to the NFL.
On Sunday, Neal appeared to have his best game of the entire year. He was mauling defenders at times, including Kwity Paye, and didn’t give up a sack. We’re not even sure he gave up a single pressure.
Stock down: Kenny Golladay
Kenny Golladay took just seven snaps on Sunday and has become an afterthought at this point. He’s being out-played by every other receiver on the roster and his role is unlikely to change.
To Golladay’s credit, he’s taken the reduced role like a professional and hasn’t done much griping. But we’ll see if that continues come the offseason.
It’s been quite a fall from grace.
Stock up: Landon Collins
Landon Collins waited patiently for his turn and when it arrived, he capitalized.
For the second week in a row, the safety-turned-linebacker shined when he was needed. This time, he timed a Nick Foles throw perfectly, picked it off, and returned it to the house for what was arguably the game-sealing score.
Big-time players make big plays in big games. Collins is a big-time player.
Stock down: Darius Slayton
Darius Slayton has made several strides this season and he’s impacted several games positively, but that was not the case on Sunday.
Slayton was targeted just three times, hauling in two receptions for 14 yards. He also fumbled the ball to start the third quarter, briefly breathing some life back into the Colts.
When Slayton got to the sideline, he was met with a not-so-happy Brian Daboll, who later tried to encourage his receiver.
