Giants fall to Seahawks: Winners, losers and those in between

The New York Giants fell to the Seahawks, 27-13, in Week 8 and here’s a look at our winners and losers (and those in between) from the game.

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The New York Giants came into Seattle riding a four-game winning streak and a 6-1 record. The Seahawks were also hot, winning three of their last four and sitting atop the NFC West.

The weight of the winning streak (and their depleted roster) were too much for the Giants to overcome this week as they fell to the Seahawks, 27-13.

Here are some winners, losers and in-betweens from Sunday’s game.

Andrew Thomas, Leonard Williams were highest-graded Giants in Week 2

Pro Football Focus grades are out and Andrew Thomas and Leonard Williams led the way for the New York Giants in Week 2.

The New York Giants defeated the Carolina Panthers, 19-16, in Week 2 but it wasn’t necessarily pretty. Big Blue struggled in a lot of areas, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

In particular, their offensive line appeared to take a step back. With the exception of left tackle Andrew Thomas, that is. He led the team with a 87.5 grade from Pro Football Focus.

Just behind Thomas were wide receiver Richie James (72.6), and tight ends Tanner Hudson (69.1) and Chris Myarick (66.7).

Other notable offensive grades include running back Saquon Barkley (65.9), wide receiver Sterling Shepard (59.9) and quarterback Daniel Jones (51.5).

The lowest-graded Giants on offense were offensive linemen Mark Glowinski (50.2), Jon Feliciano (39.9) and Joshua Ezeudu (22.3).

Defensively, Leonard Williams led the way with an 83.4. He was followed by cornerbacks Darnay Holmes (77.2), Fabian Moreau (69.5) and Adoree’ Jackson (67.2).

Other noteworthy defensive grades include linebacker Oshane Ximines (66.1), safety Xavier McKinney (60.0) and nose tackle Dexter Lawrence (58.3).

The lowest-graded Giants defenders were linebacker Tomon Fox (43.7), defensive lineman Justin Ellis (30.6) and linebacker Tae Crowder (30.2).

The highest-graded Giant on special teams was the aforementioned Chris Myarick, who logged an 81.2.

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Giants vs. Titans: Statistics, numbers and broken records

The New York Giants defeated the Tennessee Titans in Week 1 and here’s a look at some of the records, statistics and numbers.

The New York Giants stunned the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, storming back from 13 points down to steal a victory in the waning moments of the fourth quarter.

It was a refreshing change-of-pace for this Giants team, but there is little time to bask in the glory. A Week 2 matchup with the Carolina Panthers looms.

Here’s a glance at what interesting stats, numbers and broken records were birthed from the Week 1 win over the Titans.

  • Brian Daboll picked up his first-ever win as a head coach.
  • The opening weekend win was the first for the Giants since 2016 and just their second over a 12-year span.
  • The win was the Giants’ first-ever opening weekend win on the road against an AFC team.
  • With the win, the Giants go to 1-0 and are over .500 for the first time since 2016.
  • The Titans scored a touchdown on their opening series, which was the first TD the Giants surrendered on an opening series in an opening game since 2014.
  • The Giants gained 394 yards of offense, which was their highest output without an overtime period since Sept. 16, 2021 against the Washington Commanders.
  • New York totaled 238 yards rushing, which was their most since Dec. 31, 2017 (260).
  • Saquon Barkley rushed for 164 yards, which was the third-most of his career and his highest ever total away from FedEx Field.
  • Barkley’s 168 rushing yards was the most in an opening weekend game in Giants history.
  • Barkley’s 68-yard run tied the second-longest of his NFL career.
  • Barkley totaled 194 yards from scrimmage, the fourth-most of his career.
  • Daniel Jones completed 81% of his passes (17 of 21 with one drop), which was the highest completion percentage of his career.
  • Jones hit Sterling Shepard for a 65-yard touchdown in the second half, which was the second-longest of his career.
  • Chris Myarick scored the second touchdown of his career (both from one-yard out).
  • Tomon Fox appeared in his first NFL game and recorded his first career sack (the team’s only sack in Week 1).
  • Daniel Bellinger and Evan Neal each drew their first career start.
  • Wan’Dale Robinson saw his first NFL action and recorded his first career reception.
  • Jason Pinnock recovered his first career fumble.
  • Brian Daboll won his first-ever NFL challenge as a head coach.

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Giants-Titans Week 1: Offense, defense and special teams snap counts

The New York Giants won their Week 1 game against the Tennessee Titans. Here are the snap counts on offense, defense and special teams.

The New York Giants kicked off the Brian Daboll era with an electrifying comeback victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon.

Big Blue rallied from 13 down in the third quarter to take a 21-20 lead on a gutsy two-point conversion late. The game was sealed when Titans kicker Randy Bullock sailed a potential game-winning field goal wide, giving the Giants their first opening weekend victory since 2016.

There’s a lot to break down and a lot to go over but before we look ahead, let’s look back. Here are the snap counts that contributed to the Giants’ victory.

Offensive snaps: 60
Defensive snaps: 65
Special teams snaps: 28

The Giants may have won the game but they’ll need more than 60 offensive snaps from here on out.

Kadarius Toney taking just seven snaps is curious and something head coach Brian Daboll will need to answer for. He’s stated that Toney is healthy and the second-year wideout certainly appeared to be in his fleeting moments on Sunday.

Undrafted rookie Tomon Fox securing 42 percent of the defensive snaps is certainly worth noting. He’s climbed the ladder quickly. Meanwhile, rookie cornerback Cor’Dale Flott logged just two special teams snaps.

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Baldy Breakdown: Giants’ Wink Martindale a ‘situational football’ expert

Brian Baldinger breaks down Wink Martindale’s approach in the final moments of a New York Giants victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

When New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll chose their coaching staff, a new era of Giants football began.

One of the bigger names on staff was Wink Martindale — Big Blue’s newest defensive coordinator who came over from the Baltimore Ravens.

Martindale’s play calling has already been highlighted through two preseason games and it seems to be frustrating opponents.

One thing we have seen so far during the preseason is that schematically, the Giants look better on both sides of the ball. And for the defense, there may be no greater example than the play that sealed the game on Sunday night against the Cincinnati Bengals.

With nine seconds left and the Giants up by three, the Bengals tried to gain a few more yards while getting out of bounce to set up for a game-tying field goal. The play was perfectly played by the Giants defense, securing the victory.

Brian Baldinger broke the play down:

Baldinger highlighted the prevent defense and situational football as the Giants had the sideline clearly covered. Despite being in a prevent coverage, they were still able to be aggressive when the play developed as Tomon Fox quickly closed on the ball carrier, causing a fumble and essentially ending the game.

With the young talent on defense, there is a lot for the Giants’ new defensive coordinator to utilize going forward. Clearly, Martindale and the Giants defense played that final play perfectly and hopefully this is something that continues into the regular season.

As we know, Martindale is known for his aggressive, blitz-happy defensive play calling and it seems as though he’s already showing signs of having his defense prepared.

The Giants have lost plenty of close games over the last few years, so this should give the team and fans some hope that those days are now behind them.

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Tomon Fox seals game two of the preseason for New York Giants

Undrafted rookie Tomon Fox made waves Sunday night after sealing a week two preseason victory for the New York Giants on a monstrous hit.

[autotag]Tomon Fox[/autotag] delivered a moment in the second preseason game for the New York Giants, sealing the victory Sunday night with a hit that echoed throughout MetLife.

The undrafted rookie out of UNC was the late game hero, delivering a monstrous hit to force Bengals wide receiver Trenton Irwin to cough up the ball, and ending the Bengals’ late attempt at a comeback drive. The Giants were up 25-22 with the Bengals at the 50-yard-line with nine seconds left in the game when quarterback Jake Browning tossed it to Irwin, looking to go up the sideline when Fox came in like a wrecking ball to cause the fumble.

Fox brought many hard hits to the UNC football program after spending six seasons there due to being awarded an extra year of eligibility from the Covid-19 pandemic.

In those years suiting for UNC, Fox finished with 179 total tackles, 44.5 tackles for loss, 30.5 sacks, one interception, and five forced fumbles.

Fox made the unofficial depth chart for the New York Giants, getting listed at the rush position behind Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oshane Ximines, and Quincy Roche.

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Highlights of former Tar Heels in action Week 2 of the NFL preseason

Take a look at what some of your favorite Tar Heels did in the NFL this past weekend with the NFL preseason officially underway.

The NFL regular season is near as week two of preseason football is behind us and one again some former North Carolina players made an impact.

This season should be fruitful for Carolina fans, as many former players are not only gearing up in the NFL but are written on a few depth charts as starters.

Mitch Trubisky is in the driver seat to lead the huddle this season in Pittsburgh, while Javonte Williams is set as the lead back in a split workload for the Denver Broncos.  Running back Ty Chandler looks to be making a case for a spot in Minnesota with 10 carries for a 6.9-yard average, and Antonio Williams looks to secure a spot with the New York Giants.

As the season continues, we will highlight some Tar Heels for break-out performances. Here are highlight plays from your favorite UNC players.

Giants defeat Bengals: Winners, losers and those in between

Here are the winners, losers and those in between from the New York Giants’ preseason Week 2 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

After a solid showing against the New England Patriots in Week 1 of the preseason, the New York Giants were back at it on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

Already down 18 players due to injury, the Giants quickly inflated that total. There were several notable injuries throughout the game, including to rookie edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Back on the field, New York’s reserves struggled against the Cincinnati Bengals initially, but rebounded strong and closed things out on another Davis Webb comeback.

2022 Giants training camp preview: Linebackers

Wink Martindale will rely heavily on his New York Giants linebackers in 2022.

The New York Giants are entering a new era on defense with incoming coordinator Wink Martindale. The objective is to creatively find ways to get to the quarterback via pressure packages and blitzes.

All three levels of the defense will participate but it will the linebackers that the lead the way this year behind two new unit coaches — John Egorugwu (outside) and Drew Wilkins (inside).

Here’s a quick roundup of the linebackers heading into camp.

Giants legend Lawrence Taylor a fan of undrafted rookie Tomon Fox

Retired New York Giants star Lawrence Taylor exudes praise for undrafted rookie linebacker Tomon Fox.

The 2022 NFL draft has come and gone and the New York Giants selected 11 rookies to bolster their depth chart, but that’s not the only place they’re finding players.

Tomon Fox was an undrafted free agent until the Giants signed the linebacker last week.

Fox completed six years of collegiate play at the University of North Carolina, the extra thanks the NCAA allowing athletes an added year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During his time at UNC, Fox  recorded179 tackles (44.5 for a loss), 30 sacks and five forced fumbles across 47 games played. His sack total ranks third in Tar Heel history behind Greg Ellis (32.5) and Julius Peppers (30.5).

Former Giant Lawrence Taylor, also a product of UNC, is apparently a big fan of Fox.

“I know he’s hardcore and not being drafted will make him work harder. He is a solid player from what I’ve seen,” Taylor told the New York Post.

The praise is not lost on Fox.

“That means a lot coming from him. He’s a well-respected guy. He has respect for me, I got respect for him, so that just means a lot,” Fox siaid.

Fox had nine sacks in his senior season at UNC, which got him to 30 on his career and pushed him past Taylor (21) for third-most behind the aforementioned Ellis and Peppers. Although he ranks higher, LT likes to remind Fox that he did it in two years and therefore remains the superior player.

It’s all in jest, of course, but no one should take lightly LT’s praise of Fox. Taylor was a beast in his time and is still considered the best defensive player in NFL history. He knows what it takes to be successful in the NFL, and has no problem telling people exactly what he thinks. So when he praises a young player, take note, he’s probably onto something.

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