For the second week in a row, late-game heroics propelled the New York Giants to victory as they defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 23-17 on Sunday.
They say that football is a game of inches and that couldn’t have been more evident than on the final play of the game. Facing a 3rd and 10 from the Giants’ 17-yard line with five seconds remaining and no timeouts left, Trevor Lawrence’s pass in the middle of the field to Christian Kirk to them to the 1-yard line, where Kirk was met immediately by Xavier McKinney, and Julian Love, who prevented him from getting into the end zone.
The thrilling victory was New York’s fourth win in a row, and for the second week, they had to rally late to win. The Giants trailed 17-13 entering the fourth quarter and their three-game winning streak was in jeopardy of ending. But with 11:25 left in the game, Daniel Jones engineered a 10-play, 79-yard game-winning drive. Jones’s legs played a huge part in the drive as he ran the ball four times for 35 yards, including a 1-yard sneak to put Big Blue up 20-17.
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After the defense forced a three and out on the next possession, Jones led a nine-play 61-yard drive that ended with a Graham Gano 34-yard field goal to increase their lead to 23-17, which would be the final score.
Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley continue to shine for New York Giants
It was the 25-year-old quarterback’s best game of the season as he completed 19 out of 30 passes for 202 yards and threw a 32-yard touchdown to Darius Slayton on the first possession of the game. He would have been even more effective if not for the several dropped passes Sunday afternoon. Jones also gained 107 yards on the ground on 11 carries. Most of all, he did not turn the ball over.
Coming into this season, few gave him any chance of showing that he could improve from his erratic play over his first three seasons. But thanks to head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, he is playing the best football of his career and showing poise under pressure.
Jones deserves a ton of credit for Sunday’s win, but he didn’t do it alone. After being bottled up for most of the game, Saquon Barkley came through when it matter most in the 4th quarter.
On the Giants’ last two drives of the game that resulted in 10 points, Barkley ran the ball 10 times for 72 yards. He finished the game with 24 carries for 110 yards and had four receptions for 25 yards. Although New York’s defense only allowed 17 points, it was far from their best effort of the season as they gave up 452 yards of offense to the Jaguars and were unable to sack Trevor Lawrence.
They did however make one of the biggest plays of the game in the second quarter. With Jacksonville up 11-10 and at New York’s 17-yard line, Xavier McKinney forced a Travis Etienne Jr fumble that Julian Love recovered in the end zone for a touchback. If not for that play, the Jaguars could have scored a touchdown that could have ultimately changed the outcome of the game.
All of New York’s games this season have been decided by one score. The fact that they have won six out of seven games goes to show how disciplined and well-coached they are, and that they’re prepared to deal with any adversity that may come their way.
Daboll’s may have to deal with adversity on the injury front as right tackle Evan Neal and guard Ben Bredeson left the game with knee injuries, and tight end Daniel Bellinger left the game after being poked in the eye. The severity of the injuries is not yet known.
The Giants will look to keep their winning streak alive next week when they travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks before their bye week in Week 9.