EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — You don’t think the New York Giants will go easy on Sunday against the single-game Houston Texans, do you? Yes, the Giants go 6-2 and the Texans go 1-6-1, but if you know this Giants team, you know Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium is going to be fun.
The 24-16 victory gave the Giants their first seven wins since 2016 and their best nine-game record since the 2008 season started 11-1 until Adoree’ Jackson had 07 remaining.
The Giants have a chance to make their lives easier.
They started the game with an uncharacteristic 10-game 73-yard touchdown to go 7-0. However, they refused to build on it.
They entered the scoring position twice in the second quarter, but did not score a single point.
With a 14-3 lead in the third quarter, an interception from Micah McFadden slipped his fingers and the Texans made it 14-10 by scoring a touchdown.
The Giants survived a three-game drive into the red zone by the Texans in the fourth quarter, with two turnovers that allowed only a 34-yard field goal by Kaimi Fairbairn. They recovered two offside kicks in the final 2:26.
Honestly, it’s never been like Texans Will win.However, the Giants have been missing enough opportunities for the Texans to do enough to make Houston possible Can win.
“You’re always happy. It beats the alternatives. It’s hard to win in this league. There are a lot of good coaches (and) a lot of good teams,” coach Brian Dabore said. “Like I said earlier in the week, if you play well, you have a chance. It doesn’t guarantee you anything. If you do something that causes you to lose, it doesn’t matter which team you’re on , who you play with, where you play, when you play, you can lose.”
The Giants did enough for them to win. Honestly, the Texans were bad enough to take advantage of the opportunities the Giants gave them.
“I think of course after the game, you have to enjoy the win and reflect on where we are,” quarterback Daniel Jones said. “Of course it’s much better on this front than we’ve been in the past few years. You have to enjoy and appreciate it, but at the same time, know that we still have a lot to improve and a lot to do, especially On offense. That’s where we focus.”
This is your New York Giants. They were a team with some glaring flaws, but one team still outscored their opponents at the end of the game.
As veteran defensive tackle Justin Ellis put it after the game, the Giants were just “grinding it out.”
“We don’t listen to outside noise,” Ellis said. “We know how hard it is to win in this league.”
It’s never pretty. It’s never been easy. Still, Sunday was another example of the Giants winning. again.
Dabor passes in clutch
Sunday was Avery Dabore’s birthday, and the youngest daughter of head coach Brian Dabore made a request. She wants a game ball to beat the Texans.
“I asked her the other day what she wanted as a present. She said, ‘Win. Dad, give me a football with my name on it,'” Daboer said. “There’s more pressure than anything else. So, I’m going to wish her a happy birthday.”
Of course, Sunday’s victory allowed Dabor to keep his daughter happy. Perhaps the need to satisfy his daughter is why the Giants coach was so pissed off after the Giants failed to capitalize on several scoring opportunities in the second quarter.
bad day for kenny gallady
Well, I don’t know who the dummy in Big Blue View is who made the bold prediction the other day that Golladay will have a fruitful second half of the season for the Giants. Maybe that guy shouldn’t make any more predictions.
Gorradi was targeted twice in the first half. Daniel Jones threw the pass out of his reach in the first quarter. Golladay was booed by the crowd at MetLife Stadium. In the second quarter, a wide-open Goradi gave up a perfect crossover that could have paid off handsomely. He was booed again, this time loudly.
Then he sat on the bench.
“We just decided to play Isaiah,” Dabor said. “It’s that simple.”
After the game, Goradi was in pain. Some examples:
Is he healthy?”
“I’m very good.”
Is the way he played on Sunday unacceptable?
“This is absolutely unacceptable.”
Why didn’t things work out with the Giants?
“I have no idea.”
Does he expect to be useful on offense?
“Wait and see.”
I think Sunday might be Golladay’s last chance to show he can be a contributor. It’s unfortunate, but I’d be surprised if Golladay plays a big role in the future.
next man…again
The Giants just kept digging…deeper…deeper and deeper into their bench and the depths of the NFL, and they kept looking for those who would contribute to the win.
Tight end Lawrence Cager, who signed with the practice team less than a month ago, had his first touchdown catch and recovered an offside kick on Sunday.
Hawkins, in his waiver statement for bye week, had two 41-yard catches. Both led to the first drop, a 26-yard third and 7 touchdowns by Saquon Barkley.
The Giants were without safety Xavier McKinnie on Sunday and may be without him for the rest of the season. It doesn’t matter, at least on Sunday. Rookie Dane Belton had a massive fourth-quarter interception in the end zone, and Jason Pinnock had 1.5 sacks and a pair of quarterback hits.
Jaylon Smith, a midseason signing, had a turnover. Tire Phillips once again replaced Evan Neal at right tackle. Defensive tackle Henry Mondeaux was promoted from the practice squad and played a major role in Nick Williams’ loss this season.
“Our job as a coaching staff is to get those players ready, to find the ones that are on the floor — like (general manager) Joe (Schon) and his staff, and try to get them to come here and see them Can it help us. If they can, that’s great. If they can’t, get some more people,” Dabor said.
better than ever?
Before the season, everyone wondered if Saquon Barkley would be his player in 2018. After Sunday’s 35 carries, 152 yards, I think I’ll prove that Barkley is better now than ever.
Barkley didn’t do anything flashy on Sunday. He ran for 27, 17, 13 and 12 yards. most. He kept taking footballs from Daniel Jones and honing his hard, hard yardage. The kind of yardage that requires slamming to the midline and getting hit. The kind of yard that requires physical play, not dancing and finding an escape.
Barkley set a career high 35 times. For Barkley, it was mostly a honed, worker-like game. Some once doubted Barkley’s ability to play this kind of game.
“He looks fine to me,” Dabor said. “I think the thing with him is that[he]shoots a lot. So we try to do our best — the medical staff, the sports science — or train him the right way. And this week, he’s fresh. So, he had a really good week of practice. I think what he did in a week carried over. Obviously, he had a good season for us. He had a great day.”
It sometimes looks like the Giants are using a 1940s, throwing, game only when absolutely necessary. Barkley likes to carry the burden.
“To be honest, it was really fun,” Barkley said. “Like I said, at the end of the day, just want to find a way to win games, and today that’s the mentality we need to get the job done and we can get the job done.
At his current pace, Barkley will touch the ball 428 times as a runner or receiver this season, breaking his 2018 career-high of 352 touches.
“It’s my job to be a pro, go out there, get in the cold tub, get in the hot tub, get ready for next week,” Barkley said.
I think that’s what I appreciate about Barkley’s fifth season. He can still hit home runs and make defenders look silly. Still, he’s doing better than ever in other areas of his job.