The New York Giants defeated the Indianapolis Colts, 38-10, at MetLife Stadium on Sunday to improve to 9-6-1 on the season and clinch their first postseason berth in six years.
Here are some things we learned from Sunday’s game.
Daniel Jones is here to stay
Before the season, the Giants elected to forego fourth-year quarterback Daniel Jones’ fifth-year option — a decision that, based on his performance up to then, was the right one.
There’s no gray area anymore surrounding Jones as he has played extremely well this season. The Giants, of course, are pleased with his development and will look to build around him.
Jones had a banner game on Sunday to drive the point home by completing 19 of 24 passes (79.2%) for 177 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 125.2 passer rating. Jones now has five career games in which he completed at least 76.5% of his passes — all this season.
Let’s not forget his 91 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns. Jones has 708 yards rushing this season and only Justin Fields and Jalen Hurts have more rushing touchdowns among quarterbacks.
He is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this March but expect the Giants to either ink him to an extension or place the franchise tag on him so another team can’t poach him away.
New management is succeeding
Brian Daboll is the Giants’ fifth head coach since parting ways with Tom Coughlin after the 2015 season (Ben McAdoo, Steve Spagnuolo, Pat Shurmur, Joe Judge) and it looks like they finally might have gotten this right.
Daboll has come in — with the help of general manager Joe Schoen, of course — and changed the entire atmosphere in the building. He has shown faith in his players and coaches and has empowered them to do their jobs.
Combine that confidence with some solid strategy and great in-game adjustments and things have turned around much quicker than anticipated around here.
Daboll and Schoen will continue to improve their roster and the goal is to win a championship. They are off to a good start.
McKinney matters
Safety Xavier McKinney played 100 percent of the Giants’ defensive snaps in the team’s first eight games. They won six of those games and headed into the bye week with a 6-2 record.
Then, McKinney broke bones in his hand while on vacation during the bye week while riding an ATV. He missed the next seven games. The Giants went 2-4-1 without him.
On Sunday, McKinney returned to the lineup with his hand heavily bandaged. He made seven total stops and defensed a pass while playing 83 percent of the snaps.
The Giants coasted to a 38-10 victory. They are now 7-2 with McKinney in the lineup.
Stepping up on offense
Jones is not the only one making plays on offense these days. Most of the heavy lifting is still done by Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley, whose statistics don’t always demonstrate his total value.
Barkley’s diligence and steady play have allowed for others to find their roles in this offense. While defenses overcompensate for Barkley, there have been several players who have taken advantage of their opportunities.
Wide receivers Richie James Jr. and Isaiah Hodgins have emerged as reliable pass catchers for Jones. So has rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger.
On Sunday versus the Colts, the three combined for 14 receptions for 160 yards and two touchdowns.
In addition, change-up running back Matt Breida averaged 6.6 yards per carry on nine attempts.
