The word resiliency is oft used, but never more appropriate for this 2022 NY Giants football team. Another win today has even the biggest believers stunned in pure elated joy.
Week 1: Consider that the Giants find themselves down 13-0 to Tennessee going into the 2nd half. Trailing 20-13, they win by driving 73 yards and making the 2 point conversion, 21-20 with 1:06 left in the game. The Titans would miss a 47 yard FG. NYG never had a lead until their last drive.
Week 2: Versus Carolina, in the first 6 possessions, the Giants amassed 4, 25, 8, 4, 9, and -1 yards for a whopping 49 total yards. Because of 2 turnovers and Defense, the Giants still found themselves in contention at only a 13-6 deficit. They would come from behind again, winning 19-16.
Week 3: Against Dallas they would come back to earth and lose 23-16.
Week 4: The Bears are a particularly weak team. The Giants would lead most of the game and win 20-12.
Week 5: We chronicled a marvelous come from behind win vs heavily favored GB last week. Down 17-3 and 20-10, the Giants collected their third win by retracing a second half deficit. This one was special- 17 unanswered.
Week 6: Enter Baltimore. 5.5 point favorites versus Giants. The Packer win is making believers out of loyal fans but we are nonetheless cautious about a very good Ravens team who went toe to toe with Buffalo, arguably the owners of the pole position to win the AFC.
If I told you that Baltimore would outgain the Giants nearly 2:1, with 406 yds to 238 yds and yet the Giants won the game, you’d be as shocked at a win as you would be at 5-1. Yet this is the 2022 Cinderella season.
The Giants, with 13 minutes remaining in Q4, find themselves down 20-10 again after an Andrews TD. Follow the highlights from the 10:00 minute mark. Time for some more Giants magic. They drive down the field with 12 plays and two third down conversions, hitting Bellinger (…hello another TE…) in the red zone.
The Ravens would get the ball back with a 20-17 lead, but the game would get wild. A dropped shotgun snap sends the ball past Lamar Jackson, who desperately throws a floater which is picked off by Julian Love for the Giants first INT of the season. He would return the ball 27 yards to the BAL 13.
The Giants were aided throughout the game by 10 penalties for 74 yards. Many of them were at big moments. Slayton would be held in the end zone to negate an INT and set up first and Goal from the 1; Barkley put the Giants ahead for the first time in the game.
On the final BAL drive with less than 2 minutes left, rookie Round 1 pick Kayvon Thibodeaux would sack strip Jackson and Leonard Williams would fall on the loose ball. Barkley iced the game by brilliantly running for a first down and then taking a knee before going into the end zone. Sorry fantasy owners, Giants fans were oozing with pride at how well coached this team is to run out the clock instead of take the points. (If CLE does that vs NYJ, NYJ lose.)
So how do the Giants pull off the win when they are outgained nearly 2:1 in yardage? 2 huge turnovers, 10 Penalties on the Ravens, a kickoff return to the 48 yard line, Tucker hitting the goal post, the Giants stopping the Ravens at the 5 yard line.
I need to single out Sexy Dexy. Dexter Lawrence is becoming a menace. Another sack, a deflected ball, and 2 QB hits. One was a hurry on 3rd down which caused the end of a BAL possession. 4 sacks for an Interior DLman who is already a run stuffer is getting Lawrence recognition around the NFL. Last week Aaron Rodgers singled him out. It may even get gaudier for the DT when/if Ojulari + Thib come on later this year.
Another notable is the debut of rookie WR Wan’dale Robinson. He made his presence felt on the drive which brought the score from 20-10 to 20–17. He moved the sticks on a 3rd down conversion and scored the TD on pass/YAC inside the red zone. Kafka is going to leverage the Round 2 pick often in this Offense.
The Giants have now won 4 games after trailing in the second half by 13, 7, 10, and 10 points. It’s really fun to watch a young team with new coaches play with such confidence.
The Giants and Jets have more wins combined at October 16th than they had all of last season. They each have more wins than the Tampa Bay Bucs, the Baltimore Ravens, the Green Bay Packers, the LA Rams, and the SF 49ers. The NFL. Not For Long. Thank you Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll for making all of us believers in Giants football again.