Grading the Giants’ 14-7 victory against the Commanders on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium.
First half: Nice. Second half: Naughty. Hey, two touchdowns! It’s something to build on. Tyrod Taylor (18 of 29, 279 yards, 2 TDs) continues to display excellent ball security and that is a big deal. He’s a cool customer. This is the Darren Waller (7-98) the Giants traded for as he finally got his first TD with his new team. Rookie WR Jalin Hyatt (2-75) hit the ground to complete a 33-yard reception, just missed on a one-handed grab in the end zone and then hauled in a 42-yarder that survived a replay challenge. Not much on the ground from Saquon Barkley (21-77) but his 32-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown was vintage stuff. He cannot fumble late in the fourth quarter, though. The reworked (what else is new?) offensive line gave up four sacks and played much better before halftime.
Grade: C-minus
This unit entered the game with five sacks all season and dropped Sam Howell six times, including two by Dexter Lawrence and 1.5 for Kayvon Thibodeaux. Micah McFadden and Lawrence split on a sack on the first series on defense. Leonard Williams ran a game up front with Lawrence and stormed in for a 9-yard sack. Lawrence (four QB hits) dominated former teammate Nick Gates. Jihad Ward hit the arm of Howell to force an incomplete pass. Jason Pinnock had a second-quarter sack and the last-gasp pass breakup to end the game. The dropped interception that would have been a walk-in touchdown for Thibodeaux late in the third quarter will keep him up at night. Howell (22 of 42, 249) struggled. Rookie CB Deonte Banks notched his first NFL interception and did a solid job dealing with Terry McLaurin (6-90). Only scoring drive for the Commanders was a mere 21 yards.
Grade: A-plus
Rookie Eric Gray muffed the first punt he saw from left-footed Tress Way and was fortunate that Nick McCloud was there for the recovery. Sterling Shepard badly muffed a punt on a fair catch — the ball slipped through his hands — for a turnover that led to the Washington TD. Ugly stuff. Graham Gano has kicked in every conceivable weather condition but that did not prevent him from missing wide right on a 42-yard field-goal attempt in the wind in the first quarter. Byron Pringle broke off a 38-yard kickoff return in the second quarter. Cam Brown put a big hit on former teammate Jamison Crowder on the first punt. How about Gilla? He punted eight times and averaged 49.4 yards. Huge blocked field-goal try by Leonard Williams early in the fourth quarter.
Grade: C
Brian Daboll made good on his assertion that he would give Hyatt increased snaps and that is looking like a smart move. Daboll has his team playing hard but the points are so difficult to attain. Wink Martindale sent pressure at Howell every which way and the sacks are starting to come, in bunches. Mike Kafka tried to stick with the run but that was difficult to do with a rushing attack that averaged only 3.3 yards per attempt. Thomas McGaughey needs to sort out the punt return situation because it is hurting the cause.
Grade: B