Three Plays that Gave the Giants the Win vs the Chargers

After exchanging punts, the Chargers took the field looking to even up the game, still being down a touchdown, with time dwindling in the first quarter. 

They picked up a first down on two modest plays, and after a first down incompletion, Justin Herbert snapped the ball on the LA 45-yard line. 

With good protection, he was able to survey the field and turned to his right, where Dexter Lawrence was being double-teamed. He went to pass short right, but Lawrence was able to get his hands up and bat the ball in the air. 

It was a surprise to the offense, everybody watching, and even Lawrence himself that he was able to pull the football in and gallop down the field on the left side, only to be tripped up right before the goal line. 

Lawrence did not score on the play, and the offense was unable to get the ball into the endzone, but it was a pivotal play. 

It ended a Chargers drive, put three more points on the scoreboard to give the team a two-score lead, and boosted the confidence and morale of a defense that had surrendered a lot of yards and points over the previous two weeks. 

For a man to be as big as Lawrence is, it is not fair for him to be able to make such an athletic play. 10-7 Giants at the start of the second quarter. 

Justin Herbert Forced into Intentional Grounding

After the Giants kicked a field goal to make it 10-0 at the beginning of the second quarter, the Chargers were on an eight-play drive that had already surpassed five minutes. 

They just picked up 19 yards on a 2nd-and-24 pass from Herbert to Omarion Hampton. The momentum seemed to be shifting as New York prepared for 3rd and five from the 15-yard line. 

This time, the pair of Giants' top five picks at edge rusher decide to take matters into their own hands. 

Kayvon Thibodeaux lined up on the inside next to Abdul Carter on the edge and ran an “inlaw” stunt where Carter loops around Thibodeaux, who is forcing the action towards the C-gap in his rush. 

Carter came free and was bearing down on Herbert, who, in a panicked moment, just threw the ball away to nobody! It was an intentional grounding, which was a 10-yard penalty and a loss of down. 

The Chargers would have to settle for a field goal. Once again, the play instilled more confidence in the defense and their ability to bend but not break at the most critical points in the game.

Dru Philips with the Interception and Return

The second half began with three drives, then ended in a punt. There was an eight-play, 20-yard drive by the Giants, a six-play, 28-yard drive by the Chargers, and a useless three-play Giants drive that netted negative three yards. 

Ten minutes into the half, the Giants were not scoring, but they were trying to keep the ball away from LA's offense. When they possessed the ball, the Big Blue defense responded well. 

After two lackluster runs by Omarion Hampton, the Chargers were sitting on a 3rd & 6 still in their own territory. They came out in a 3x1 formation. Herbert threw a pass that seemed as if it was intended for a receiver who fell. 

The ball went directly to Dru Philips, who was in a perfect position to intercept the pass. He was able to fake out a couple of would-be tacklers as he scurried towards the endzone before being tripped up inside the Chargers ' five-yard line. 

It was yet another defensive effort that boosted team morale, put the battery in the back of the defense, and reinvigorated the crowd inside the stadium. 

This time, the offense would punch it in for a touchdown on Jaxson Dart's first touchdown throw of his career to Theo Johnson. 21-10 Giants in what proved to be an insurmountable lead for the Chargers on this day.