The New York Giants rallied late to edge the San Francisco 49ers, 27-23, Monday night in Santa Clara. Here is a look at the report card for Big Blue.
The New York Giants played under the bright lights of Monday Night Football and actually came away with a hard-fought 27-23 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
Big Blue is not going anywhere this season, but it was a nice confidence builder for them moving forward. The G-Men improved to 2-7 while the Niners slipped to 2-8.
Let’s take a look at Big Blue’s report card from the primetime affair.
Offense
See what happens when you give Eli Manning time to throw? Although the veteran signal-caller only threw for 188 yards, he was very efficient by tossing three touchdown passes, two to Odell Beckham Jr. The beleaguered New York offensive line enjoyed their best effort of the season – Manning was sacked just once and took only four QB hits. What a difference having time makes.
Sterling Shepard recorded just two receptions but had the biggest catch of the contest, a game-winning touchdown catch from Manning with just 53 seconds left. Saquon Barkley averaged just 3.3 yards per carry, but finished with 100 yards from scrimmage. Overall, a solid, if unspectacular, effort.
Grade: B-
Defense
First the good news: linebacker B.J. Goodson enjoyed his best performance of the campaign with a pair of interceptions, six tackles and two passes defensed. Rookie linebacker Lorenzo Carter was highly energized with seven tackles, three for loss.
Now the bad news: the Giants let halfback Matt Breida (17 rushes for 101 yards) run wild. Tight end George Kittle, a true up-and-comer, was open all night over the middle (nine receptions for 83 yards). No sacks? Ridiculous. This was a disappointing effort against a bad offensive unit.
Grade: C-
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Special Teams
Corey Coleman displayed terrific burst on kickoffs, averaging 30.7 yards per return, including a 51-yarder. Aldrick Rosas connected on both of his field goal attempts, although his longest was just 31 yards, shorter than a PAT. Rosas did boot the second half kickoff out of bounds, a big mistake. Nate Stupar was flagged for a holding penalty on a kickoff return. An average overall performance by an average special teams contingent. Plain and simple.
Grade: C