5 Lessons from N.Y. Giants' Win over Patriots

The N.Y. Giants started their "brutal" second half schedule with an impressive win over the New England Patriots on the road.  On the road in a place where Tom Brady had won 31 straight games, and his team itself hasn't lost in almost three years during the regular season.

 The Giants showed the rest of the NFC and the football world, they will be a factor for the rest of the season and perhaps the postseason.

There were many factors that played a part in the big win, but there are five things that deserve to be highlighted in what could be a season-defining win for Big Blue.

1. Eli Manning Has Learned How to Slide

I won't go into the praising of Eli Manning and calling him elite, because if you've read my article from a couple weeks ago here, you'd see that I've already felt he was in that category.

 I had him as the third best quarterback so far this season going into yesterday's game in my QB rankings here, but with this performance he will be moved to number two.  While his late game prowess didn't surprise me, it was his 12 yard scramble and that he executed the perfect slide on that game winning drive.

As a loyal Giants' fan, I'm sure I wasn't the only one holding my breath when Eli broke out of the pocket to scramble.  Last November's infamous fumble against the Eagles where Manning dove head first rather than slide, immediately came to mind.  It was good to see that Eli has worked on his technique since that debacle, and the slide was a big and overlooked play during that game winning drive.

2. Maligned Players and Units Come Up Big

Two weeks ago, Brandon Jacobs complained about a lack of carries and his diminishing role in the offense.  He responded with ten yards on four carries with a fumble, and one catch for zero yards with a drop.  After that game, he declared that we would see a different Jacobs.  While many of us were skeptical, Jacobs gave the Giants the much needed balance that we've lacked, totaling 110 total yards from scrimmage on 22 touches with a touchdown.  Jacobs didn't dominate, but he continuously gained positive yards and broke tackles in a game where he was needed with Bradshaw sidelined.  

After struggling all season long stopping the run, the Giants played their best run defense of the season against a pretty good rushing attack.  After BenJarvus Green-Ellis opened up the game with an 18-yard run, the Giants held him to just 34 yards on his next 11 carries.

Throughout the game, the Patriots couldn't get anything going on the ground, forcing them into a lot of third and long situations.  Chris Canty played his best game of the year, dominating the interior.  The linebacker duo of Mathias Kiwanuka and Michael Boley were all over the place, combining for 22 tackles, one sack and one interception, for the weakest unit of the Giants' defense.  

Looks like Deon Grant saw that with first round pick Prince Amukamara getting healthy, his playing time was in jeopardy.  Grant has been criticized by many, including myself, for taking bad angles and being out of position more often than not.  Grant responded by playing his best game of the season with four tackles and breaking up two passes, including one interception.  Grant defended Rob Gronkowski a lot this game.  Gronkowski caught eight passes, but Brady had to throw it to him 15 times.  Grant deserves his due for playing an excellent game, since I've let it be known when he's played bad.

3. Steve Weatherford Signing Was Huge

This was a game where the offense lacked consistency, and Tom Brady figured the defense out by the third quarter.   Additionally, we had muffed returns by Aaron Ross and Devin Thomas.  The one constant was the play of punter Steve Weatherford.  

Weatherford has made Giants fans and coaches remember the days of Jeff Feagles, and forget the days of Matt Dodge. Weatherford put five of his eight punts inside of the 20 yard line, and didn't put one in the end zone.  The Patriots only averaged 3.4 yards per return, and constantly had a long field ahead of them to get into scoring territory.

Weatherford has been brilliant all season with his directional kicking, giving the coverage team a chance to bottle up the return men.  One of the strengths of the Giants teams that made the playoffs for four straight seasons was the kicking game.  With Tynes and Weatherford as kicker and punter respectively, the Giants have one of the better duos in the league. 

4. Mentally Tough Team

If you would've have told me that the Giants would muff a punt and turn it over, throw a red-zone interception, give up 342 passing yards on the road against a team that hasn't lost there in three years, and be without their top receiver, running back and center while doing it, I would've assumed the Giants would've lost that game by at least 10.  This Giants team overcame the injuries and mistakes and came out victorious.  It takes a lot of confidence and mental toughness to be able to do so.  

All of the close games this Giants team has played in so far this season has made them  comfortable in tough situations.  All of the injuries this team has dealt with during the preseason and regular season has made them tougher. The Giants haven't felt sorry for themselves.  The Giants have a lot of confidence in their team, their coaching, and their execution; they always believe they will win.  The mental toughness starts with the head coach, and Tom Coughlin is doing a great job keeping his team focused, prepared and ready for any situation.

In a season where a lot of people worried about the Giants second half schedule because of the close games they've had with mediocre teams, experience in executing during clutch situations will better serve this team against the better teams.  The game against the Patriots was evidence to that. The Giants never blinked and calmly moved down the field to win the game after the Patriots went up by three with 1:36 left to play.

5. The Giants Can Beat Anyone

After the win against the Patriots on the road, the Giants showed the rest of the league that they can beat anyone.  

They have the quarterback with the best fourth quarter passer rating, and the best quarterback in the league not wearing green and yellow right now.  They have the best pass rush in the league without blitzing, one of the better coaches, one of the better kicking games around, and are tied for the third most takeaways in the league with 18.

When you have all of those assets on your team, you can beat anyone you play, no matter where you play at.  Just ask New England, who almost never loses two straight games, and who never lose when they are at home.  

The scary thing is that this team hasn't put a complete game together, so their best football is still ahead of them.