There was plenty to like about the NY Giants’ comeback victory over the Saints on Sunday, and there’s plenty that needs to carry over if New York wants to replicate that success
Down by 11 with just over seven minutes to go in regulation, the NY Giants had their backs against the wall, seemingly on the brink of starting 0-4 in back-to-back seasons.
Instead, Daniel Jones hit Saquon Barkley for a 54-yard touchdown to bring them within 3, Graham Gano hit a game-tying, 48-yard field goal to send the game to overtime, and finally, the offense drove down the field to win it with a touchdown from Barkley.
Jones set a career high with 402 passing yards, Barkley had his first all-purpose 100-yard game since week 17 of 2019, Kenny Golladay had his first 100-yard receiving game as a Giant, Kadarius Toney broke out for 78 yards in his first start and John Ross caught a 52-yard bomb in his first game as a Giant.
That’s all good and well, but when you take a deeper dive into the numbers, you might be even more encouraged by what the Giants were able to accomplish in their first win of the season.
Here are three incredible stats that defined the NY Giants’ upset win over the Saints:
203
The Giants‘ receivers tallied a whopping 203 yards after the catch on Sunday, according to Football Reference.
Leading into the game, they had just 231 YAC over the previous three weeks.
Barkley (60), Toney (50) and Kenny Golladay (49) carried a hefty load for the offense in the YAC department, and that’s what the offense was always lacking in the receiving game. Dating back to last year, NY Giant receivers had averaged just 79 YAC per game while Jones was under center, failing to eclipse 129 yards in any given matchup.
If it wasn’t evident before, it should be clear now as to why general manager Dave Gettleman decided to draft Toney after trading back to pick no. 20 in the 1st round.
Giants WR Kadarius Toney had a career-best 6 catches for 78 yards in Week 4. Here is a look at 3 of them.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 4, 2021
This dude has rare change of direction and is absolutely electric with the football in his hands ⚡️⚡️
More of this please. pic.twitter.com/5jpBsWpcai
Sure, he isn’t the sharpest route runner and he did record a couple drops, but he more than made up for it having brought in six receptions for 78 yards after being thrust into a starting role in wake of the injuries to both Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton.
It’s also important to recognize Barkley’s terrific game through the air, recording five catches on six targets for 74 yards. Jones was brilliant, and the NY Giants ability to turn 5-10 yard passes into 15-20 yard gains was crucial to the offense’s success.