Keys To Giants 27-22 Victory Over Packers
The Giants were able to pull the biggest upset of the Sunday slate as they beat the Packers across the pond. The offense came to life with a depleted group and the defense showed up when it mattered most.
The New York Giants have maybe been the most surprising team in the NFL through the first five weeks of the season as they are now 4-1. They not only matched their win total from a year ago, they did it by beating Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. These are games that you would’ve written off as a loss if this was the Giants of the past five years and so many people did that for this game. However this group, led by Head Coach Brian Daboll, is different and he gets the best out of his players.
It took special performances from Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley and the defense as a whole to get the job done in London. They trailed 20-10 at the half and needed a spark to get them going. They seemed to get that spark as they tallied off 17 unanswered points on their way to victory. These three key factors were the reason why they mounted that comeback and sit with a 4-1 record after week five.
1. Daniel Jones Rises Up To The Moment
For years, Giants Quarterback Daniel Jones has been seen as a guy that has some talent but can never really harness it. He struggled in big games and has become a guy known for turning the ball over. This year was seen by many as his last chance to prove he’s the guy in New York. It was a tall-task and it still is, however Sunday’s performance against the Packers was maybe the most impressive we’ve ever seen from him. The Giants were missing Wide Receivers Kadarius Toney, Kenny Golladay, Wan’Dale Robinson and Sterling Shepard as they were all out due to injury. Jones was also ailing from an ankle injury he suffered last week.
To win this game, Jones had to come up with some magic and he did just that. He threw for 21/27 for 217 yards. He played consistent football and never put the Giants in any danger. Him and WR Darius Slayton used their connection back from 2019 to generate yards as Slayton caught six passes for 79 yards on the day. In the best drive of the Giants season so far, Jones led a 15 play, 91 yard drive in which Running Back Saquon Barkley got hurt and had to exit the game on the first play of it. He led it for a touchdown and looked like a franchise quarterback.
The touchdown would tie the game up and on the following Giants drive, Jones connected with Barkley on a big gain that would set them up for another touchdown to give them the lead. Daniel Jones has gotten a lot of grief and much of it is deserved. That doesn’t mean the kids got talent and he put it on full display Sunday. It was an eye-opening performance and Jones was a reason why the Giants won.
2. Saquon Barkley Does It All Once Again
The Giants MVP through the first five weeks is undoubtedly RB Saquon Barkley. He’s been asked to carry this team on his back all season and he’s done just that. He’s running the ball, catching the ball, and even playing wildcat QB. He did all of those things on Sunday against the Packers. He ran for 70 yards on 13 carries and caught three passes for 36 yards.
Late in the third quarter, he exited the game with a shoulder injury after being tackled awkwardly by Packers Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell. He was evaluated in the blue medical tent and then taken to the locker room for further examination. As mentioned above, he missed basically the entire 15 play, 91 yard touchdown drive to tie the game but was back out there for the next series.
On the second play of that drive he caught a pass from Jones and gained 41 yards. He destroyed Cornerback Darnell Savage’s ankles on his way for a big gain and to finish the drive, Saquon ran the ball in for a TD from two yards out as a wildcat QB to give the Giants the lead.
It was an outstanding performance from Barkley and to do that on the drive following being taken out of the game with what looked to be a nasty shoulder injury is incredible. It goes to show that Barkley is the Giants offense right now and everything goes through him. Teams have known this for weeks and have still failed to stop him. The question now is what is the severity of that shoulder injury and is it anything to worry about long-term.
Giants Gridiron Affiliate Trophy Smack
3. The Giants Secondary Steps Up In A Big Way
The Giants secondary has been the weakest part of the defense for the majority of the season. After releasing CB James Bradberry and failing to truly replace him, they were left with a void that was going to be hard to fill. They’ve been using different players to patch it up and it’s gotten them through the first four weeks. However, when their best cornerback Adoree’ Jackson went out in the third quarter, things looked really bleak.
The Giants though didn’t waver and players like Nick McCloud, Fabian Morreau and Darnay Holmes stepped up playing excellent football. They were playing Aaron Rodgers who’s a surgeon at the quarterback position. He sees a weak point and usually takes advantage of it right away. They didn’t back down though and played the Packers receivers great, not allowing any big plays. On fourth and two, down seven in the red zone with under two minutes left, the secondary stepped up again as safety Xavier McKinney batted down a Rodgers pass to give the Giants the ball back. The secondary played big-time football and when one of their best players went down, they came up big.
Huge win for the New York Giants in the NFL London game. Packers got off to a great start but the Giants kept in touch and then dug in to make the comeback. Great game Love NFL Sundays 🏈🏈#NFL #NFLLondon #Giants #Packers@Giants @nfl pic.twitter.com/Ls3cGz44YC — STradingPost (@STradingPost1) October 9, 2022