Your 4–1 New York Football Giants
Brian Daboll is working miracles in the Meadowlands
Yesterday, we witnessed easily the best victory a Giants team has had since at least the 2016 season. I don’t think even the most optimistic of Giants fans would’ve predicted they’d win four of their first five games in 2022. Yet, despite injuries ravaging an already bottom-tier roster, Brian Daboll’s Giants are 4–1 and sitting pretty in a currently loaded NFC East after knocking off the Green Bay Packers in London.
Waking up yesterday, my mindset was the same it’s been all season long: just be competitive. As I mentioned, this is not a good roster top to bottom. GM Joe Schoen and the front office are undoubtedly using this season to see who’s part of the long-term plans and who isn’t. Additionally, injuries to both the secondary and wide receivers corps have turned below-average units into practice squad-level corps.
Marcus Johnson, fresh off the practice squad, led the Giants’ WRs in snaps yesterday. Fabian Moreau and Nick McCloud — a guy I definitely didn’t know existed before yesterday — played significant snaps at CB for the Giants. None of this ended up mattering, thanks to Brian Daboll and his staff of miracle workers. The Giants came back from down 17–3 and then 20–10 at halftime to win 27–22, holding the Packers to two (2!) total points in the second half that came from a planned safety by the Giants.
Just an unbelievable performance that shows the importance of high quality coaching. The stark difference in discipline, game management and situational awareness between this iteration of the Giants and the team under Joe Judge is night and day. Let’s break down some key takeaways from their big win.
Danny Dimes and Co.
Was that not the best performance we’ve seen from Daniel Jones in the pros? It perfectly exemplified the best version of everything we’ve come to expect from Jones at QB. He used his legs when needed to extend plays and pick up key first downs, he took the intermediate throws the defense gave him, and he showed true toughness battling through injuries and a bloodied hand.
I cannot overstate how crazy it is that a Giants offense with a WR corps of Marcus Johnson, David Sills III and Darius Slayton had the highest passing EPA of week 5 up to this point. Essentially, this means that based on starting field position for each of their drives, the Giants added more expected points than ANY other team through the air on Sunday.
Tough to have anything negative to say about Daniel Jones, who arguably had the first game with no turnover-friendly passes (i.e. passes dropped by the opposing defense). Jones cut back on his turnovers under Jason Garrett the last two years, but that was at the cost of rarely pushing the ball downfield.
Under OC Mike Kafka — who’s done a brilliant job working with this offense — Daniel Jones is both limiting his turnovers while also hitting guys in stride downfield. Of course, after a performance like this, the Jones fans out there want us nonbelievers to capitulate and admit he’s better than we thought he was. That’s totally fine, but there is a LOT of season left, so let’s not go and count those chickens before they hatch.
In the interim, I’ll continue watching Jones and Saquon Barkley carry this offense to success. Speaking of Barkley, the dude is all the way back, performing like arguably the most electric RB in the league with Nick Chubb. Between his usage in the wildcat formations with him receiving the snap, and the way Kafka schemed him wide open for that huge reception, Saquon is playing like everyone has expected him to his whole career.
Wink’s Defense
What a second half performance from DC Wink Martindale’s defense yesterday. Throughout the first half, Aaron Rodgers methodically picked apart the Giants defense on a number of short routes, marching down the field en route to 20 first half points. The second half, however, was a completely different story.
The Giants were able to bring pressure against Rodgers, led by rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux, who was held on a number of pass rushes throughout the second half. Dexter Lawrence, who yet again played nearly every snap — unheard of from a defensive tackle — had a huge sack on third down to push the Packers out of FG range. The defense managed just enough pressure, especially when it counted most on 3rd- and 4th-and-2 with under two minutes left, tipping passes on both plays to seal the victory.
Look at this chart! A vast majority of Aaron Rodgers’ throws came right around the line of scrimmage on designed bubble screens and quick outs. Rodgers going 0/6 on deep passes against a Giants secondary featuring guys picked up off the street is wild to comprehend. Additionally, it’s crazy when you consider Martindale’s scheme’s weakness is generally the deep ball, given he likes to bring pressure and play man coverage on the backend.
When you’re as bad as the Giants have been over the last five years, you’re constantly drafting high and taking top-caliber players in drafts. In theory, some of those players should become lynchpins of your team as you rebuild and retool. Seeing first rounders Lawrence and Thibodeaux contribute to the victory is exactly what you hope to see as a Giants fan.
Five weeks into this season, each and every Giants fan should be over the moon with how well this team has played. Does that mean it’s time to talk playoffs? Not necessarily. But given how well they’ve competed week-in and week-out regardless of the myriad injuries they’ve faced across the roster, it’s tough to count them out in any week.
At some point, the Giants will face a team and the talent gap may prove insurmountable, but Daboll’s Giants are proving that any game is winnable right now. With a majority of teams looking to be a bit mediocre at best, good coaching can prove to be the difference between a win and a loss. Right now, the Giants are 4–1 thanks in great part to the excellent coaching across all phases of the game, and it’s starting to get tough to argue against the Giants having the coaching edge every single week.
After what we’ve experienced the last five seasons, let’s make sure to take a step back and enjoy what we’re watching. Daboll’s Giants may just be building something special in the Meadowlands.
