The New York Giants (3-8) put an end to their three-game losing streak as they defeated the 4-7 Washington Commanders 31-19 on Sunday at FedEx Field. New York not only put an end to their losing streak, but with the win, they swept the season series with Washington.
For at least one week, speculation that head coach Brian Daboll will need to make a change within his coaching staff will be put to rest, as the team put forth its best effort of the season.
Some fans may have wanted the team to lose to improve their chances of securing the No. 1 pick in April’s NFL Draft. But players and coaches don’t have that mentality. They always want to win no matter how bleak a situation may look.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Giants’ win on Sunday.
New York Giants defense made a stand
After being embarrassed last week against the Dallas Cowboys in giving up 640 yards, New York’s defense stepped up on Sunday and played with pride. They forced two turnovers on Washington’s first two possessions of the game and would force five takeaways on the afternoon.
Their final takeaway of the game sealed the victory as Isaiah Simmons intercepted Sam Howell and took it back 54 yards for the touchdown with just 16 seconds remaining in the game.
In addition to forcing turnovers, the pass rush came to life as New York sacked Howell four times and harassed him often. Kayvon Thibodeaux had three hits on Howell and sacked him twice to improve his sack total on the season to 10.5. Bobby Okereke had a game-high 14 tackles and forced a crucial fumble in the third quarter on Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. that was recovered by Micah McFadden.
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Tommy DeVito continues to show improvement
Say what you want about Tommy DeVito, but he continues to make steady improvements and picked up his first NFL win on Sunday.
He completed 18-of-26 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns and didn’t commit a turnover. He became the first Giants quarterback to throw for five touchdown passes in his first two NFL starts.
The one issue he did have was at times he held onto the ball too long which contributed to some of Washington’s nine sacks on him. This is a mistake that young quarterbacks often make. And with coaching and experience, he can improve on this flaw.
One thing is for certain is that since he came in for an injured Tyrod Taylor in Week 8 against the Jets, he has improved each week. He may not have the potential to be a starting quarterback in this league, but on Sunday he showed that he belongs on an NFL roster.
Saquon Barkley continues to be the man
Saquon Barkley had a rough first half as the Commanders held him to minus two yards on six carries. But as is the case with all great players, if you keep giving them the ball, good things will happen and that’s exactly what happened.
In the second half, Barkley carried the ball eight times for 85 yards as he began to wear down Washington’s defense. As effective as he was running the ball in the second half, he made his biggest plays as a receiver as he caught a 24-yard touchdown in the first quarter to put New York up 7-0, and then he had a five-yard touchdown reception in the 4th quarter.
Week in and week out he continues to show that he’s by far the team’s best playmaker, which will put pressure on general manager Joe Schoen to work on a new contract for the star running back this offseason.