The NY Giants improve to 3-7, which puts them into a position to take the NFC East title.
For the first time since 2016, the NY Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles. It was a complete team effort, with the defense bending but never breaking, the offense continuing to trend up, and special teams making big plays.
Forget that the Giants have just three wins. There’s much from this game to be happy about. This was the first time this season the Giants have back-to-back wins, and the first time Daniel Jones has had back-to-back wins since Week 3 and Week 4 of the 2019 season.
But most importantly, the Giants are now 3-7, and in the running to win the NFC East. Let’s review which players helped get them here.
WR Darius Slayton
Grade: A-
Slayton caught a high pass over the middle for a first down on the second play of the game. He injured his shoulder on the play, and even went into the locker room for further evaluation. But he was able to come back out and make hard catches all over the field.
Slayton led the team in targets and caught five receptions for a team-high 93 yards. No catch was bigger than the 40-yard bomb from Daniel Jones with just 4:10 to play in the game. The ball caught one of the gusts of wind circling within MetLife Stadium, and Slayton did a fantastic job keeping his eyes on it, and readjusting to make a tough catch.
The catch helped set up a Graham Gano field goal to push the Giants lead to 10.
That he did all this hurt is what gave him the A-. It could have been a solid A, had he not dropped a catchable ball for a first down to start the fourth.
WR Sterling Shepard
Grade: B+
While Slayton went down, Shepard stepped up.
Shepard led the team in receptions with six on as many targets for 47 yards. He caught two first downs on the drive that Wayne Gallman eventually scored a touchdown. He also helped create some room with a good catch when the Giants were pinned down near their own goal line in the second quarter.
Shepard continued to catch more first downs as the game progressed, as well as show off his blocking prowess. Ever since he came back from injury in Week 7, Shepard has been a reliable asset for Jones in both the run and the pass game. He now has at least six catches in five of the six games he’s played in this season.
Shepard is also the only Giant on this year’s team to be on the 2016 team that beat the Eagles. So this win was a long time coming.
P Riley Dixon
Grade: A
It’s easy to ignore how important a punter’s role on the team could be. But if you watched Thursday’s game between the Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts, you saw what a bad punt game can do.
Dixon had a great punt last week, which set up a fumble recovery by the Giants. And he followed that up with another strong game, proving he can punt the ball as far as he can make it look ugly.
He averaged 53.3 yards on four punts, and pinned all four of them within the 20. He also had an absolute bomb of a punt for 71 yards in the second quarter.
The Eagles seemed to start every drive from deep within their own side of the field. Pinning them back so often helped the Giants keep momentum, and help win the game.
CB James Bradberry
Grade: A
Bradberry has done what he’s done all season, make his presence known all over the field.
In the first quarter, Bradberry worked around a natural pick to come up with a huge pass deflection on third down. The Eagles were driving, and the play forced them to settle for a field goal. He also had an even bigger pass deflection late in the fourth quarter, which forced the Eagles to turn it over on downs.
The Giants scored the field goal which gave them a 10-point lead when they took over.
The secondary did not play its best game. A struggling Carson Wentz still threw for over 200 yards and exposed the Giants soft coverage. But Bradberry was constantly in good position to make it difficult, and his two pass deflections erased the mistakes of his teammates.
MVP: QB Daniel Jones
Jones looked as good as he’s looked in his first two seasons. But what really set him up to be this week’s MVP is what he didn’t do, turn the ball over.
For the first time in his young career, Daniel Jones was able to string together two consecutive starts without a turnover. It’s no secret that turnovers are his biggest weakness. But Jones showed he can improve. He was noticeably protecting the ball more in this game than in any other, especially when the pocket collapsed or when he ran.
And run he did! His rushing ability is his best asset, and he flashed it throughout this game. He started the game with a 34-yard rushing touchdown, and would go on to lead the team in rushing yards with 64. He also got a little redemption with that rushing touchdown, since in Week 7 against the Eagles he tripped before he could score.
Jones finished the day 21/28 for 244 yards and a rating of 100.9. He made some key throws on a windy game — no easy feat. But what really made him this week’s MVP was his ability to hold onto the ball.
He snapped the Eagles four-year win streak over the Giants, adding them to his list of defeated teams, which now stands at three. Without Jones playing as good as he did, and as mistake free as he did, the Giants don’t win this game. He is well deserving of this week’s MVP.