Grading the Giants’ 24-20 win over the Ravens on Sunday:
Offense
The whole is greater than the individual parts. Daniel Jones (19 of 27, 173 yards, 2 TDs) was perfect 5-for-5 on a key fourth-quarter drive and continues to do things to win games rather than lose them. Saquon Barkley was stopped cold in the first half (6-14) but came on strong after halftime to finish with 22 carries for 83 yards and a 1-yard TD leap. He also alertly slid to stay out of the end zone to let the clock expire. Jones was sacked four times, but most were coverage sacks. How about the rookies? WR Wan’Dale Robinson (3-37) came back from a knee injury to score his first NFL TD but he had a costly third-down drop early in the third quarter. TE Daniel Bellinger (5-38, 1 TD) continues to develop into a trusted target. Only 238 total yards, but solid 7 of 14 on third down.
Grade: B
Brian Daboll looks on during the Giants’ win over the Ravens. Bill KostrounDefense
Call these guys The Closers. Huge late turnovers to seal the deal, with a Julian Love interception and a sack and forced fumble of Lamar Jackson by rookie Kavyon Thibodeaux. Leonard Williams returned from a knee injury for a timely fumble recovery. It wasn’t easy. Kenyon Drake found gaps in the front to run twice for 30-yard gains en route to a 119-yard outing. Jackson (17 of 31, 210 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) ran seven times for 77 yards. He is a terror with the ball but he wilted late. Dexter Lawrence had a tipped pass and a sack of Jackson by halftime. CB Fabian Moreau could have come up with a diving interception in the end zone that would have prevented a field goal. Allowing 211 rushing yards and 406 total yards usually does not translate to a victory. But it did. The Giants only had 10 men on the field for Ravens’ first touchdown — Drake’s 30-yard run — which is unacceptable.
Grade: A
Special teams
Gary Brightwell took a kickoff at the goal line and returned it 47 yards in the second quarter, juking kicker Justin Tucker along the way. Richie James made a nice fake and block to allow a Ravens punt to bounce into the end zone for a touchback. Jamie Gillan’s first punt sailed 50 yards with no return and two of his four punts were downed inside the 20. Long snapper Casey Kreiter was called for a holding penalty early in the third quarter that cost the Giants 15 yards in field position on the re-punt. Graham Gano hit a 34-yard field goal and sent five kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks, nullifying dangerous return man Devin Duvernay.
Grade: A
Coaching
The Giants are dominating the fourth quarter and that bodes well for the messaging from the coaching staff. Brian Daboll has his team believing that anything is possible and has injected resilience throughout the roster. Kudos to Wink Martindale for finding a way with his defense against the franchise he worked for the past 10 years. A special win for him. Mike Kafka continues to find creative ways to get in the end zone from the red zone. Daboll lost a replay challenge late in the first quarter contending that a 12-yard reception for Josh Oliver should have been ruled incomplete because the ball hit the ground. Daboll played the field-position game early in the second quarter, punting on fourth-and-2 from the Ravens 46.
Grade: A+







