New York Giants vs. Tennessee Titans: Full Report Card Grades for New York
The New York Giants may have made the dean's list this week, but it's important to remember playing the Tennessee Titans is something like a remedial course in football basics.
Nonetheless, the Giants overcame a ton of injuries to put forth a dominating effort against in their 36-7 defeat of the Titans. The running game finally got going in the second half, and the defense didn't give up a single point.
To see a full breakdown of how the Giants did, position by position, click though this slideshow and examine New York's report card grades.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Eli Manning had an exceptional first half, finding his new favorite weapon, Odell Beckham Jr., all over the field. His best throw of the game was a contested 50-yard bomb, which Beckham came down with in the middle of the field.
A few plays later, Manning threw another touchdown pass to Beckham—a 15-yarder he squeezed between two defenders.
In the second half, Manning did not have as much success throwing the ball, as the Giants switched their focus to the ground game to kill clock. In the third quarter, he made an awful decision, throwing a loose-spiraling ball across his body when he might have been able to run for a first down. The ball was intercepted and easily returned 23 yards for a touchdown—Tennessee's only score of the game.
Manning had his otherwise clean outing slightly tarnished by this one terrible mistake.
Grade: B-
Running Back
2 of 10
The Giants really struggled to run the ball against Tennessee's last-ranked run defense until the second half. Although the holes weren't opening up right away for Andre Williams, who started over an injured (but active) Rashad Jennings, the rookie displayed great patience on Sunday.
That patience paid off in a big way on a single play. Early in the third quarter, Williams bobbled a third down pitch in the backfield only to corral it and take it 50 yards up the left sideline for a touchdown. Williams' sprint was the longest by a Giant this season and accounted for a large portion of his 131 rushing yards (24 carries).
Williams also got involved as a pass-catcher, reeling in three Eli Manning tosses for 16 yards.
Jennings saw only two carries and one reception, taking them a total of 22 yards.
Grade: A
Wide Receiver/Tight End
3 of 10
Odell Beckham Jr. put in enough work for the entire unit, as the rookie continues to carry not just the pass-catchers, but the entire team on his back.
Beckham's 50-yard reception on a jump ball in the first half was a good example of this...so was his 15-yard touchdown snag in between double coverage...as was his nine-yard rush on an end around...and his 60-yard heave toward the end zone on a trick play would have been if Rueben Randle had made the reception.
As soon as New York designs a play in which Beckham throws the ball to himself, the Giants are in business.
Exceptional as Beckham's 11-catch, 130-yard performance was, the rest of the unit was lukewarm at best. Preston Parker made a couple impressive catches on his way to a 60-yard outing; tight end Larry Donnell was spotted on the receiving end of a couple more.
The most disappointing player in this unit was Ruben Randle (one catch, nine yards), whose impact continues to shrink the more Beckham's grows.
Grade: A-
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Offensive Line
4 of 10
New York's offensive line may have had its best outing of the season on Sunday. Although the blockers struggled mightily to open up running lanes in the first half, they were eventually able to wear down the Titans' defensive front. The Giants ended up averaging 4.7 yards per carry, thanks in large part to Andre Williams' 50-yard touchdown run and Henry Hynoski's increased snap count at fullback.
The Giants' offensive linemen have been better pass-protectors than run-blockers all season, and that did not change during their trip to Tennessee. The O-line kept Eli Manning upright the entire game, shutting out the Titans' pass-rushers. In the first half, we caught a glimpse of how efficient this passing offense can be when Manning is afforded all the time in the world.
The offensive line still isn't a dominant bunch. Remember, this was an abysmal Titans team dealing with many injuries. Nothing has changed: This unit must undergo a major repair during the offseason.
Grade: B-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
New York's defensive line was stiff, controlling the point of attack with Tennessee's offensive line from start to finish. It should be noted, however, that the Titans were without their two starting tackles: Taylor Lewan and Michael Oher.
The Giants took advantage of the undermanned group, ravaging Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger and, later, his backup, Jake Locker. Jason Pierre-Paul and Damontre Moore led the charge from the outsides, collecting two sacks each. Moore's multi-sack outing was sort of overshadowed by a excessive celebration after one takedown and an unnecessary roughness call for hitting Mettenberger during a Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie interception return (which wiped out a Giants touchdown).
Cullen Jenkins returned to action, and he and the other D-tackles did an excellent job stuffing Tennessee's few rushing attempts. The Titans' starting running back, Bishop Sankey, carried the ball only nine times for 25 yards (2.8 YPC).
Markus Kuhn earned the highlight of a lifetime when the 300-pounder picked up Devon Kennard's forced fumble and rumbled 26 yards for a touchdown.
Grade: A
Linebacker
6 of 10
Devon Kennard is turning into a real star for the Giants at linebacker. The rookie has really come into his own recently, collecting two sacks in each of his last two outings.
Kennard plays with such incredible aggression, too. One of his hits on Zach Mettenberger put the ball on the turf; another put him out of the game.
He's just as vicious when making a routine tackle against a running back.
Jameel McClain also had a decent outing, leading the team with eight tackles—all of them solo. McClain made two stops in the backfield and even got a sack on a well-executed blitz.
Spencer Paysinger, New York's only other healthy linebacker with any experience, hardly played at all, as the Giants employed an extra defensive back to stifle 43 dropbacks by Tennessee quarterbacks.
Grade: A
Secondary
7 of 10
The Giants secondary didn't give much up to the Titans. The Titans gained less than 150 yards through the air, as New York limited their top pass-catcher, tight end Delanie Walker, to just four catches for 27 yards.
The pass-rush made the defensive backs' job easy this week, as most pass attempts were rushed. They were able to make a couple plays, the prettiest of which being Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie's interception. DRC kept his eyes in the backfield, jumped the route perfectly and had a clear path to the end zone. It would have been a pick-six had Damontre Moore not laid a cheap shot on Mettenberger during the return.
Another nice play was Antrel Rolle's tip drill to Quintin Demps, thrown by Titans backup quarterback Jake Locker. Both interceptions occurred in the second half of the game.
Mike Harris was a pleasant surprise, too. Harris, a former Jacksonville Jaguar and Florida State product, was signed off the Detroit Lions practice squad at the end of October. Playing slot cornerback, Harris collected three tackles (two for a loss) and a sack.
Grade: A
Special Teams
8 of 10
The special teams highlight of the game didn't even occur on the field. Instead, cameras caught a heated sideline exchange between punter Steve Weatherford and special teams coordinator Tom Quinn.
That all happened right after a Weatherford punt trickled into the end zone for a touchback, but the punter ended up having a pretty good day. Weatherford downed one of his four punts inside the 20 and booted a long ball of 61 yards.
Josh Brown was a perfect five-for-five, hitting field goals from 19, 20, 36, 42 and 52 yards out. It was his best outing this season and also his best since Oct. 27, 2013, when he went five-for-five in a 15-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Grade: A
Coaching
9 of 10
Yes, the Giants won the game, but they didn't always look good in the process. When the game was getting out of hand in the fourth quarter, New York's excessive celebrations, particularly on defense, were in poor taste.
Two veterans in Antrel Rolle and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie were flagged in the end zone for their celebration; how can you blame second-year man Damontre Moore for his equally bone-headed penalty on the same play when that's the leadership he has to look up to?
This is where the coaching staff must instill more discipline.
All the bad breaks New York has weathered this season don't matter if the Giants aren't disciplined enough to win the games when healthy. Even though the Giants won this game by 29 points against a terrible Titans team, they also displayed why they haven't won many games before this Sunday.
Sorry for harping on negatives after the Giants' first win in two months, but this just rubbed me the wrong way. The offense and defense actually made strides in their respective game plans; Ben McAdoo's offense was able to close out the game on the ground and Perry Fewell's defense pitched a shutout.
Grade: B-
Overall
10 of 10
Here's the Giants' full report card for Week 14:
| Position | Grade |
| QB | B- |
| RB | A |
| WR/TE | A- |
| OL | B- |
| DL | A |
| LB | A |
| DB | A |
| ST | A |
| Coach | B- |
Kevin Boilard writes about the New York Giants at Bleacher Report.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
