The streak is dead! The New York Giants won in Philadelphia on Sunday for the first time in 14 tries, outlasting the Philadelphia Eagles, 19-11. Let’s get to the ‘Kudos and Wet Willies’.
Kudos to …
Arvell Reese — As Chris Pflum messaged me during the game, is it possible to give Reese something like a ‘Super Double Kudos’? Well, we can do whatever we want. So, ‘Super Double Kudos’ it is. Three sacks, 12 tackles, three tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and three quarterback hits.
Per NextGen Stats, Reese is the
first rookie since at least 1994 to have three sacks and 10 tackles in a game. Can we just give him Defensive Rookie of the Year now?
Isaiah Likely — The tight end had five catches on six targets for 53 yards, and a touchdown. He now has 46 catches on the season, surpassing his previous career high of 42.
Jameis Winston — I hope John Harbaugh gives Winston a game ball. He earned one. Winston played one full drive, going 6 of 7 for 71 yards and throwing a 5-yard pass to Isaiah Likely for the Giants only touchdown of the day. He also got first downs on a fourth-and-1 Tush Push and an 11-yard scramble on that drive.
Sunday was yet another example of why Winston is so valuable, even if he is a guy you don’t want starting every week.
Dominic Zvada — The Giants never make life easy for the rookie placekicker. After struggling in a couple of recent games and with questions hovering about his job security, Zvada went 4 of 4. He made a 53-yard field goal, two 49-yarders, and a 38-yarder.
Gregory Desrosiers — The Giants had a miserable day running the ball, with just 80 yards on 31 carries (2.6 yards per rushing attempt. Desrosiers, though, provided a little spark with 20 yards on three carries (6.7 yards per attempt) in his NFL debut.
Darnell Mooney — The veteran wide receiver is a third, or fourth, wheel in a passing attack dominated by Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely. He had three catches on four targets Sunday for 54 yards, including grabs of 17 and 27 yards.
J.J. McCarthy — This wasn’t a statistically great day for McCarthy, just 12 of 19 for 127 yards. He showed toughness, though, fighting through a hip injury and taking five sacks while helping the Giants win.
Los Angeles Rams — The Rams helped out the Giants on Sunday by going into Washington and defeating the Commanders, 20-13. It’s just too bad the Colts couldn’t close out the Cowboys in the final minute. Indy could make it up to the Giants by trading them Jonathan Taylor, though.
Darius Alexander — I wouldn’t call the second-year defensive tackle a star of the game, but he did play well. Alexander had a sack, a quarterback hit, a tackle for loss, and batted down a pass on Philly’s final desperation drive.
Malachi Fields — The rookie had three catches for 40 yards, including grabs of 16 and 14 yards.
Wet Willies to …
Special teams discipline — The Giants got great work from Dominic Zvada and Jordan Stout. Everyone else, though? Cover your eyes. Charlie Jones muffed a punt. The Giants, for at least the third time this year, got caught with the wrong number of players on the field on a special teams play. This time, Jack Kelly could not get off the field on an extra point and the 12 men on the field penalty led to Philadelphia converting a 2-point play. Elijah Campbell committed a 15-yard penalty to help set up the Eagles only touchdown. Newbie returners Desrosiers and Phil Mafah twice allowed touchbacks on bouncing kickoffs, putting the ball at the 20-yard line.
Offensive line — The Giants’ run-blocking was atrocious. Devin Singletary had 31 yards on 21 carries, 1.5 yards per rush. Overall, the Giants averaged just 2.6 yards per rushing attempt. The pass blocking wasn’t any better, with Giants’ quarterbacks sacked six times and hit on nine other plays.
Kwillies to …
Malik Nabers — Nabers’ streak of 100-yard receiving games was snapped at four as he had five catches for a pedestrian 43 yards. Nabers had a chance to seal the game for the Giants when he couldn’t haul in a 20-yard pass from McCarthy. That wasn’t an easy catch, but a top 5-ish wide receiver who demands the ball get thrown to him the way Nabers does needs to make that play. The FOX broadcast was critical of Nabers’ body language at times during the game. Nabers did come up with an onside kick recovery. Nabers was amused by the Eagles kicking the ball to him.
