New York Giants Week 6 Stock Report

The New York Giants 30-27 win over the San Francisco 49ers was about as thrilling of a game played by the Giants all season, and a game that defined the very concept of “total team effort.”

Of course to get that team effort, it takes a strong showing by the individuals, many of whom delivered nice showings in the win. Before running down the list, however, a big “stock down” to the run defense, which entered the game as the NFL’s No. 1 run defense.

The Giants, who were missing key run-stoppers, such as defensive end George Selvie (calf) and linebackers Devon Kennard (hamstring) and Jon Beason (concussion, suffered on the fifth snap from scrimmage), but yielded 124 yards on 27 carries to San Francisco, the most by an opponent in this still-young season.

As a result, the Giants run defense (80.6 yards per game) fell to No. 2 in the league, behind the Atlanta Falcons (78.4 yards per game).

Still, a win is a win, so let’s now look at the Giants’ risers and fallers from Week 5.  

Stock Up: TE Larry Donnell

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Besides hauling in the game-winning reception, tight end Larry Donnell has quietly been improving week to week in all facets of the game.

His overall grades at Pro Football Focus have risen steadily, from a minus-4.0 in Week 1 to a 0.9 in Week 5. Grades aside, Donnell caught a season-high 85.7 percent of his targets for 35 yards.

More importantly, he hasn’t had any drops since Week 3, when he let two balls slip through his hands. His routes were about as solid and crisp as they’ve been all year long, he had much better field awareness as to where the first–down marker was and his blocking was more than serviceable.

No one will mistake Donnell for Rob Gronkowski any time soon, but so long as he remains efficient in the offense with his assignments and isn’t hurting the team with bone-headed drops or those midair flips in which he looks like he’s auditioning for the circus, Donnell is going to continue to be a contributor in this offense.

Stock Down: RT Marshall Newhouse

Uncredited/Associated Press

Disclaimer: Giants right tackle Marshall Newhouse easily had the toughest matchup in trying to contain Aaron Lynch, which he did as far as keeping the dynamic defender from recording any sacks against quarterback Eli Manning.

However, Lynch did manage to record five quarterback hits against Manning, all by going through Newhouse.

In addition, the veteran offensive lineman, who has actually played better than many outsiders thought he would this season, was nailed for two holding penalties as he tried everything he could to slow down Lynch.

Interestingly, the coaches decided not to give Newhouse, who was successful in impeding Lynch’s path to the quarterback, any help blocking.

Fortunately, the coaches insisted on using the short passing game, which went a long way toward helping Newhouse and the rest of the offensive line avoid giving up a sack.

Stock Up: TE Will Tye

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

Former Stony Brook tight end Will Tye wasn’t supposed to find himself in the spotlight this soon in his career.

Due to the unfortunate situation involving veteran Daniel Fells, who is fighting a MRSA infection, Tye was signed from the practice squad prior to the Giants’ Week 4 game at Buffalo and thrown into the deep end of the pool head first.

Thus far, the rookie has managed to swim instead of sink. As a receiver, he not only ran solid routes, but also caught all four of his pass targets for 48 yards, including a big 12-yard reception that went for a first down.

This was a nice response to the prior week’s performance, in which he had a dropped pass on a ball that he tried to trap against his body.

He also held up well in the four run-blocking snaps that Pro Football Focus had him down for.  

If nothing else, Tye showed the coaches he can be a nice complement to starter Larry Donnell. The more game reps Tye receives, the better he’s likely to become as the season heats up. 

Stock Down: CB Trumaine McBride

Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

Cornerback Trumaine McBride was supposed to be the clear-cut winner of the slot cornerback job. However, in Week 5, he had his share of trouble in coverage, eventually giving way to Trevin Wade, whose 12 defensive snaps played were one less than McBride’s 13, per the official game book.

How bad was it for McBride this week? He allowed all four pass targets against him to be completed for 82 yards, 63 of which came after the catch, according to Pro Football Focus.

He was also responsible for giving up the 49ers longest play from scrimmage, a 37-yard pass from quarterback Colin Kaepernick to receiver Anquan Boldin, a play that safety Craig Dahl had to eventually clean up.

When the night was over, McBride finished with a whopping 118.8 NFL Rating, the second time this season his NFL rating in a game was over 100. What’s more, a look at his weekly NFL ratings shows that he’s been hovering in the 90-plus range, which is not what defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo wants to see from a cornerback.

As a result, McBride’s snaps have rightfully started to diminish in favor of guys who are able to get the job done more efficiently.

Stock Up: QB Eli Manning

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s see… 41 pass completions (a franchise record) out of 54 attempts for 441 yards, his sixth career game in which he’s thrown for at least 400 yards, three touchdown passes to one interception and a quarterback rating of 110.2 for the Giants’ franchise quarterback Eli Manning.

Want more reasons why Manning’s stock is bullish this week? Giants.com’s Mike Eisen has plenty, including Manning’s attempts being a new career-high, besting the 53 he previously attempted three times, most recently in 2014 in the regular-season finale.

Manning’s pass completions were also a new career high, besting the 34 he threw in a game against Tennessee on Sept, 26, 2010.

He topped a personal best 15 straight completions in the second half of the game, shattering his old mark of 12, set on October 15, 2007 against Atlanta, and he recorded his 102nd career victory (regular and postseason), which is a new franchise record.

The cherry on the cake was his 27th comeback win in the fourth quarter, a rally that he accomplished without top receivers Rueben Randle and Odell Beckham Jr., both of whom were dealing with hamstring strains.

Any questions? 

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.

Follow me on Twitter, @Patricia_Traina.