Last Word On Pro Football, Tom McGowan
On Monday night the New York Giants won a thriller at home against the Cincinnati Bengals, with a final score of 21-20. Both sides fought hard until the very end of the game. Here are some Week 10 takeaways from the Giants perspective.
New York Giants Week Ten Takeaways
Landon Collins is the Giants Defensive MVP
Landon Collins has been a force to reckon with all season. He leads the Giants in tackles and interceptions. On Monday Collins was always involved. No matter where on the field the play was happening, he was always present. Collins is not strong in pass protection, however his interception of an Andy Dalton pass was beautifully executed. The talented safety read Dalton’s eyes and was right where he needed to be to make a crucial game changing play.
Hopefully, this is something fans see more from Collins in the future. This play changed the course of the game. In addition to that play, Collins made his presence known with five tackles. It was another great game from the second year safety out of Alabama. He has had a tremendous season up to this point and is by far the defensive MVP for the Giants. Collins may need to be stronger in coverage, but he is one of the best players on this unit.
The Offensive Line Needs Help
The Giants offensive line is the worst it has been in recent memory. Justin Pugh‘s absence is felt greatly, and the line has played significantly worse. An offensive line that was average has now become a bottom five line in the league. Eli Manning was pressured the minute the ball was snapped. Geno Atkins ran right by all of the Giants linemen all game. Also, Manning looked extremely uncomfortable in the pocket. Since the run game could not get going, the Bengals expected passes and made sure to let Manning know that too. The former Ole Miss signal caller was only knocked downed six times, however, he was pressured many more times than that.
The offensive line not playing well also made it nearly impossible for running backs Rashad Jennings and Paul Perkins to get anything going. This has been the story for the entire season, and nothing seemed to change Monday, other than the two big runs by Jennings. The Giants offensive line was dominated by the Bengals Monday night.
The Giants Defense Found its Pass Rush
One eye-popping statistic mentioned during the game is that whenever the Giants blitz, the opposing quarterback has the lowest QBR in the NFL. The Giants put that on display Monday. Whenever pressured, Dalton would either get sacked, hit, or make an errant throw. The Giants defensive line looked impressive against Cinci, recording three sacks and six quarterback hits. After investing upwards of $150 million dollars on the front four, it seems to finally be paying off.
Jason Pierre-Paul had two quarterback hits and five tackles, Damon Harrison had a sack, a quarterback hit, and eight tackles, and Olivier Vernon had a sack, a quarterback hit, and a team-high ten tackles. There was always pressure on Dalton, whether in the form of a blitz or a four-man rush. The defensive line looked great, and along with brilliant play calling from Coach Steve Spagnuolo, this unit should become one of the most feared defenses in the league.
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