Xavier McKinney can Shape the 2nd Half of the NFL Season, NFC Head Coach Says

NY Giants’ 2nd-year safety, Xavier McKinney, is finally starting to shine, and is turning heads around the NFL following his career-day against the Raiders.

The NY Giants are starting to get some much-needed help and winning individual performances as they got from Xavier McKinney in Week 9.

McKinney, Week 9’s NFC  Defensive Player of the Week, shined for the Giants’ defense in their upset win vs the Raiders. McKinney‘s second-half efforts made all the difference in the game for New York and his clutch play was noticed and well-deserved for his award.

McKinney equaled the NY Giants’ total touchdown output on offense with one apiece.

McKinney jumped Derek Carr’s out route for a pick-six to give the Giants their first defensive touchdown of the season. McKinney’s six was the team’s lone touchdown of the second half as two drives stalled in the red zone resulting in field goals. In the fourth quarter, McKinney followed up with another impressive interception, showcasing his range and ability to operate as a Cover-1 safety.

McKinney’s play caught the eyes of not just the NFL’s award makers, but also other team’s coaches.

In fact, an NFC Head Coach told FanSided’s NFL Insider Matt Lombardo McKinney could be a player who shapes the second half of the NFL season.

“Sunday seemed like just a glimpse of the kind of impact McKinney can make on a game,” the NFC head coach said. “He’s someone teams are going to need to pay attention to.”

If McKinney keeps performing like he did this past week, big things will continue to come his way. He now has four interceptions on the season with a pair of two-interception games and he’s now tied for 4th in the NFL in this category. The Giants defense has improved recently and McKinney has been a big reason for its resurgence.