The New York Giants were able to capture their first win of the 2020 season on Sunday, beating the Washington Football Team by a score of 20-19. Head coach Joe Judge earned his first win as Giants head coach six weeks into the year. Big Blue will head down to Philadelphia on a short week, where they will take on another division rival on Thursday Night Football. While there are many things to improve on, there were some good takeaways from New York’s first victory.
New York Giants Edge Out Washington in 20-19 Victory
The Giants’ first drive started off well, with Daniel Jones rolling out and hitting Evan Engram for a first down. Devonta Freeman juked out the first Washington defender he saw and picked up another first down. Dion Lewis, who has been somewhat nonexistent the past few weeks, added in a nice over-the-shoulder catch for the third first down of the drive. Unfortunately, the Giants’ red zone offense failed once again, and they had to settle for a field goal. However, Graham Gano, who went 2/2 on field goals on Sunday, has been on point all season and drilled a 33-yard field goal.
This was the story of the day for the Giants offense. Besides one touchdown, their first passing touchdown since Week 1, the offense had been stagnant for the rest of the game. The defense, however, played very well and added in a touchdown of their own.
Positive Notes
James Bradberry continues to be a force on the defensive side of the ball. He added in another pass defensed, bringing his season total to 10, tied-first in the league. Bradberry also hauled in his second interception on the season. Bradberry’s level of play has been elite so far through six weeks. He is undoubtedly one of the best players on the Giants defense.
Tae Crowder, the seventh-round selection in this past year’s draft, is starting to grow into his new role next to Blake Martinez. The rookie racked up 10 tackles and a fumble recovery, which led to his first career touchdown and gave New York the lead. Crowder seems to have played himself into a starting role and deservedly so, he has been playing exceptionally well.
Leonard Williams, Kyler Fackrell, and Logan Ryan all had one sack each, bringing down Kyle Allen three times. The Giants were getting in the backfield and disrupting plays all game. Fackrell added in a forced fumble which led to Tae Crowder’s scoop and score.
Darius Slayton continues to be Daniel Jones’ favorite target. Only hauling in two receptions, but he had the only Giants’ offensive touchdown of the game. A great ball thrown by Jones made for a great over-the-shoulder grab by Slayton in the corner of the endzone. Slayton now has 25 receptions for 406 yards and three touchdowns on the season, becoming the Giants leading receiver.
Matt Peart, the third-round selection from this year’s draft started the game in place of Andrew Thomas, who violated team rules and was benched to begin the game. Peart played very well, earning an 89.7 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. Peart also only allowed one pressure on 11 pass-blocking snaps. Many fans are calling for Peart to start with Thomas, and we could very well see that happening.
Negative Notes
There are not too many bad notes about the game. It was truly a defensive battle between two good defenses. Daniel Jones played pretty well yesterday, using his legs as an advantage once again and throwing for a touchdown. The only flaw from Jones’ Sunday performance was his interception. While he did not fumble, that interception was a bad mistake.
Everyone saw it as well. Kendall Fuller‘s elbow hit the white line in the back of the endzone. The interception should not have counted, but Jones just has to put more power into throwing that away. Good decision, bad execution. In all honesty, erase that interception and Jones has a solid game that led to a Giants win.
The offense as a whole was at a standstill for most of the game. Devonta Freeman had some nice runs throughout the game, totaling 61 yards on the ground. The passing game is still a mess, thanks to Jason Garrett‘s offense.
Final Word
The Giants sit at 1-5, now tied with Washington at the bottom of the division, although the Eagles lost and are now 1-4-1. The Eagles happen to be the Giants’ opponent on Thursday night. Even though they have not beaten Philadelphia in four years, this is a very winnable game for the Giants. After coming off of a win, the team will definitely use that momentum when they head into Lincoln Financial later this week.
