New York Giants vs. Baltimore Ravens: Full Report Card Grades for New York
Six Flags Great Adventure may in the same state, but the biggest roller coaster in New Jersey was inside MetLife Stadium. Despite the Baltimore Ravens' best effort with an injury-riddled roster, the New York Giants were able to fight them—and the officials—off for the 27-23 victory.
After weeks of poor play, Eli Manning began to look like his former self, looking much more comfortable in the pocket, while head coach Ben McAdoo was more creative in his play-calling. Although the running game lacked once again, all Manning needed was the help from his top wide receiver, as Odell Beckham Jr. had his breakout game of 2016.
The defense, once again, lived up to its price tag, as it had a strong performance overall against the Ravens. The defensive front registered just one sack, but the defensive ends and defensive tackles—combined with smart blitzes by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo—put enough pressure on Joe Flacco to disrupt a number of plays. Key tackles from both the linebackers and the secondary aided in the efforts, making it a strong afternoon overall.
Now sitting at 3-3, the Giants are starting to creep back into the NFC East picture once again. Calling a Week 6 game a must-win may be a stretch, but Big Blue needed to come out with a victory to keep things from spiraling out of control.
Let’s take a look at how each position graded out in one of the most entertaining contests of the season.
Quarterback
1 of 8
In what has been proven over the last few weeks, the Giants will only go as far as Eli Manning can take them. Fortunately for the offense, the franchise quarterback had a strong game on Sunday afternoon, propelling his team to its third win of the season.
After the first quarter looked more like the games against the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers, McAdoo decided to enlist an uptempo offense. Manning, now looking comfortable under center, elevated his game.
Despite throwing two interceptions, the 13-year veteran converted 32 of his 46 passing attempts, good for 403 yards and three touchdowns. Manning also kept the defense on its feet, as he spread the ball around, with nine different receivers catching at least one pass.
The Giants needed this performance out of Manning, and he needed a big game to bring some confidence back. After this game, brighter days seem to be ahead.
Grade: B
Running Backs
2 of 8
With Rashad Jennings back for the first time since Week 2, the hope was that the running game would return to form.
Unfortunately, however, the Giants' lead back couldn’t revive the team’s rushing attack, as they had a poor game on the ground across the board.
The aforementioned Jennings paced Big Blue with nine carries but picked up just 15 yards on the ground. Journeyman Bobby Rainey followed suit with six carries, gaining just 13 rushing yards. Paul Perkins, the organization’s fifth-round pick, was the final running back to receive carries out of the backfield and had 10 yards on two attempts.
Carrying over from the Tom Coughlin days, Orleans Darkwa just doesn’t seem to be an option at running back. Despite impressing in shorts stints this year, the second-year back was relegated to special teams duties.
A combination of play-calling and poor run blocking hindered this group's potential. But the Giants do need more out of their backfield, and this crop of running backs isn't helping.
Grade: D
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
3 of 8
To keep it short, it was the Beckham show on Sunday afternoon.
After weeks of scrutiny in the media, the third-year receiver needed that big game to get his head on straight and to get him back on track. The Ravens must have been the perfect medicine for his woes, as Beckham caught eight balls for a dominant 222 receiving yards and two scores. In addition, his touchdown on 4th-and-1 with 1:36 on the clock proved to be the game-winner.
Sure, Victor Cruz, Sterling Shepard and Roger Lewis had quieter games, but they were effective nonetheless. Cruz had two important third-down completions, en route to his three-reception, 31-yard performance. At the same time, Shepard gave Manning an option in the slot as he caught four passes for 25 yards.
Although Lewis caught just one pass, it was a big one. The undrafted free agent was on the receiving end of the first passing touchdown of the game, which also was the first in his career.
As for the tight ends, both Larry Donnell and Will Tye registered receptions. Donnell played in his first game action after suffering a concussion and caught six passes for 34 yards. Fortunately, his failed attempt at getting a first down in the fourth quarter didn’t come back to hurt the Giants. Tye had just 15 yards on two passes.
For the first time in weeks, the offense was spread out, and that was a huge factor behind the team’s victory.
Grade: A-
Offensive Line
4 of 8
After consecutive weeks of struggling, the offensive line had a tale of two afternoons against the Ravens.
When it came to the passing game, the unit was strong. Although premier pass-rusher Elvis Dumervil was inactive, Ereck Flowers, Justin Pugh, Weston Richburg, John Jerry and Bobby Hart kept Manning relatively clean. The only sack of the game came in the fourth quarter when Flowers succumbed to the prowess of Terrell Suggs.
Unfortunately, however, their performance in the running game was different. The O-Line struggled mightily on the ground, as the Giants combined for just 38 rushing yards. The unit even struggled in goal-line situations, as they failed to run into the end zone inside the 5-yard line.
As a whole, the line had a good game in Week 6. But if it wants to help take this offense to the next level, it needs to get better on running plays. Because of that, the grade suffered.
Grade: C
Defensive Line
5 of 8
While the defensive linemen have done their best to live up to their contracts, one glaring hole in their play has been their lack of sacks on the season. While Johnathan Hankins was the only defensive lineman to get into the sack column, there was more pressure on Flacco than there was on both Sam Bradford and Aaron Rodgers.
Once again, free-agent signee Olivier Vernon’s presence was felt in a multitude of ways. There was even a Ravens drive that Vernon single-handedly thwarted as he stuffed the run on first down, forced a hold on second down and broke up a screen on the next play. While his lack of sacks is starting to get concerning, he’s been great against the run.
Like Vernon, Jason Pierre-Paul, too, was all over the field. Constantly blowing up the linemen trying to block him, JPP forced a holding, broke up a screen pass and also tipped a Flacco pass, forcing a fourth down.
Both Hankins and Damon Harrison did their best to keep Ravens running back Terrence West in check. Although he did gain 87 yards on the ground, a chunk of those were gained on one play. The duo made a huge impact up the middle, forcing the runners to go outside of the tackles.
Kerry Wynn, Romeo Okwara, Owa Odighizuwa, Jay Bromley and Robert Thomas all spent time on the field as well. Unfortunately, Odighizuwa was on the wrong end of a questionable personal foul penalty, giving the Ravens another chance to score as time was running out.
It was a strong game for the unit as a whole, as the defensive line helped set the tone for the team.
Grade: B
Linebackers
6 of 8
Ever since Antonio Pierce called it a career, the Giants have yet to find a linebacker corps that can dominate a game. While Jonathan Casillas, Keenan Robinson, Devon Kennard and Kelvin Sheppard are far from top-notch 'backers, they have found their groove and have become a solid core.
Robinson continued to perform as the team’s top linebacker, as he broke up another pass while registering three solo tackles. Kennard was stout near the line of scrimmage with six combined tackles, while Sheppard aided in run defense as well.
Casillas, however, had arguably his best game of 2016. After weeks of missed tackles, the Giants' defensive captain not only came in second with 11 total tackles but also made the play of the game as he blew up the fullback and, along with Mark Herzlich, stopped Terrance West on 4th-and-goal.
The linebackers may not be game changers, but they don’t get nearly as much credit as they deserve.
Grade: B+
Defensive Backs
7 of 8
Once a source of ridicule, the revamped defensive backfield had another solid outing this season.
Landon Collins was far and away the most active player on defense who was wearing blue. Although blown coverage in the fourth quarter and a dropped interception hurt his stock, the second-year safety also recorded a team-high 12 tackles while also getting a sack, his second on the season.
Outside of one long pass to Mike Wallace against him, Janoris Jenkins continued his stellar play into Week 6. Not only did Jackrabbit cause a number of pass deflections, but he also helped contain Wallace, Breshad Perriman and Kamar Aiken.
In what was one of the worst calls all season, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was on the wrong end of a terrible pass interference penalty, one that resulted in the Ravens taking the lead late into the fourth quarter. Otherwise, DRC had a strong game, breaking up passes on more than one occasion.
Leon Hall, Trevin Wade and newly signed Coty Sensabaugh were part of the pass defense, while Andrew Adams had another quiet game at safety.
While the defensive backs did have a strong game, they also were prone to mistakes, as Wallace could’ve walked into the end zone as time ran out. Fortunately, however, Flacco overthrew him, so the play went largely unnoticed.
Grade: B
Special Teams
8 of 8
Special teams, once again, didn't have a massive impact in the victory.
Dwayne Harris did a poor job in getting touchbacks, as he not only returned kicks that were into the end zone but also fair-caught a number of punts inside the 10-yard line. While he is one of the top returners in the league, he also struggled in putting the Giants in a good position on Sunday afternoon.
Brad Wing had a strong day with punts, as his long went for 57 yards, while Josh Brown converted both of his field-goal attempts.
Grade: B
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