NY Giants Make the Honor Roll in 34-17 Win Over Eagles

Defense: A-

The defense loses a few points for busted coverage and big plays surrendered by the back end, but otherwise, the unit delivered big time. 

For the second week in a row, the Giants' run defense held an opponent to under 100 yards, this week holding the Eagles to 73 yards on 20 carries, 58 of those yards coming from old friend Saquon Barkley.

Brian Burns, after being shut out of the sack column last week, made up for it with a pair of sacks this week as his fine season continues. 

The Giants also forced two big turnovers, a 68-yard interception by cornerback Cor’Dale Flott and a forced fumble by safety Dane Belton that slot cornerback Dru Phillips recovered. 

That the Giants were able to convert the interception into the game-sealing touchdown and drain the clock after recovering the fumble was the icing on the cake.

Special Teams: A-

A couple of blips this week, which included Jamie Gillan’s opening kickoff not going far enough to land in the landing zone, and the Eagles cashing in on the short field position to get a field goal for the early lead.

There was also the missed PAT by newly signed kicker Jude McAtamney, not that it mattered. Otherwise, the special teams unit was on point.

New York won the starting field position battle, their drives starting on their own 36 while limiting the Eagles' average starting field position to their own 22-yard line. On kickoffs, the Giants began their drives on their own 33 and the Eagles on their own 23–huge!

Punt returner Gunner Olszewski finished with a healthy 9.3 yards per punt return and a long of 15, as his cover unit gave him enough space that he didn’t have to call for any fair catches. Gillan put two of his four punts inside the 20 while the coverage team held Jahan Dotson to 8.0 yards per return. 

Coaching: A

Brian Daboll sure does love him some Jaxson Dart, doesn’t he? The head coach's concern when Dart had to be checked for a head injury was caught on camera, as were the hugs Daboll gave the kid after scores and at the end. But maybe, given how reckless Dart tends to be as a runner, cut back just a smidge on some of the designed runs, especially when you have another kid in Skattebo who’s willing to be the workhorse?

Kudos to maligned defensive coordinator Shane Bowen for putting an end to the ridiculous rotation between Cor’Dale Flott and Deonte Banks at cornerback. Banks, per PFF, didn’t get a single defensive snap in the first half, and we don’t recall him getting any snaps in the second half either.

Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial doesn’t get his name mentioned much, but he should, given how he’s fixed up a unit that was once a major liability and quietly turned it into a strength this year.