Grading the Giants’ 22-16 loss to the Eagles on Sunday.
Offense
How about Davis Webb? It was rough early in his first NFL start but he settled in (23 of 40, 168 yards, 1 TD) and his 14-yard TD run, bowling over Reed Blankenship in the fourth quarter, left his teammates surprised and impressed. He was operating with a bunch of backups and no one can say Webb did not compete. RB Gary Brightwell (11-60) had a 25-yard run. Leave it to C Nick Gates to get in the face of LB T.J. Edwards after Edwards hit Webb out of bounds. RT Evan Neal was called for two false start penalties in the second quarter, not a great sign for the rookie, the only starter in the game on the offensive line at his position. Hey, did you see WR Kenny Golladay leap for a one-handed 25-yard touchdown catch? TE Lawrence Cager (8-69) is a capable target.
Grade: C+
Defense
All things considered, this unit filled with backups did not let Jalen Hurts (20 of 35, 229 yards) and the Eagles starters march up and down the field. Only 342 total yards allowed and 5 of 14 on third down. ILB Jarrad Davis had 10 tackles and one-half sack in his Giants debut. Rookie S Dane Belton covered TE Dallas Goedert in the end zone (and might have gotten away with a penalty) to force an early field goal. Belton had an interception of Hurts in the end zone early in the second half. CB Rodarius Williams had decent coverage but still got beat by A.J. Brown on a 35-yard completion on third-and-9. Rookie CB Cor’Dale Flott had a nice pass breakup vs. Brown. CB Nick McCloud hit Hurts for a roughing the passer penalty. Rookie LB Micah McFadden had a 10-yard sack of Hurts. On the next play, McCloud sacked Hurts for a loss of 11 yards.
Grade: A
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Special teams
What the heck was that fake attempt by Jamie Gillan with Graham Gano lining up for a 47-yard field goal? It was ugly and lost 11 yards. Trying to give the Vikings something to think about next week? The first punt for Gillan traveled only 46 yards and was returned 14 yards for a poor net of 34 yards. Gillan’s next punt went 54 yards with a bounce. Brightwell took the first kickoff return back 24 yards. He showed a burst with a 40-yard return in the fourth quarter. Landon Collins had a holding penalty on the punt team and Britain Covey had a 15-yard return on the same sequence. Gano closed out another fine regular season by hitting a 24-yard field goal.
Grade: B
Coaching
Brian Daboll did what was best for his team and rested virtually all his starters to keep them healthy for the playoffs. This was the right call. Daboll made the interesting decision to give Webb his first NFL start, passing over the backup, Tyrod Taylor. It was a nice thing to do for Webb, a loyal practice squad player who cultivated a relationship with Daboll from their three years together in Buffalo. Daboll signing off on an on-sides kick to start the second half was a bit wacky, but why not? It was that sort of game. Credit Wink Martindale for getting his defense to play hard — the Eagles certainly didn’t dominate.
Grade: A
