The New York Giants defeated the Washington Redskins, 24-3, on Sunday to even their record to 2-2 on the season. The victory puled them into a tie for second place in the NFC East with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
One step forward, one step backward
Just when the Giants appear they are getting some traction, they suffer a major blow. Last week’s win was costly as they lost their best offensive player in running back Saquon Barkley. This week’s win saw them lose their most promising defensive player in rookie linebacker Ryan Connelly to a knee injury.
The Giants didn’t have many linebackers to begin with and now they’ll be strapped going forward. One solution could be to promote Josiah Taueafa from the practice squad. He led the Giants in tackles in the preseason and is a heads-up young player.
“I like everything that Josiah’s doing,” linebackers coach Bill McGovern said last week, “He’s been preparing, does a great job in the meeting room. He’s working his tail off. When I say this, he’s one of those guys who has definitely gotten better since he’s been here.”
Daniel Jones finds a way to win
Jones didn’t set the world on fire against the Redskins but he fought through seem rough spots. After leading the Giants on two scoring drives to open the game, Jones followed with back-to-back drives where he threw interceptions. Then, he came right back and took the Giants down the field on a drive that resulted in a field goal.
Head coach Pat Shurmur was asked how Jones reacted after throwing the picks.
“I think he stayed right in the moment,” said Shurmur. “Listen, after those plays, you wouldn’t have known that he didn’t just throw a touchdown pass. That’s part of his charm, he’s just onto the next thing. I think that’s a credit to him….He’s smarter than all of us. I can’t speak for you guys, I’ll speak for me. He’s way smarter than me. Not only is he a quick learner, but he’s a fast thinker and that goes into the decision-making piece.”
The Redskins were just what the Giants’ defense needed
Washington came into the game with half an offense, missing three-fifths of the starting offensive line, their top tight end, their most explosive wide receiver and then switched to rookie quarterback in the second quarter.
I’m not sure if the Redskins could have beaten any of the 31 other NFL teams on Sunday, so the Giants dominating them was not that much of a big deal. The Redskins had 12 penalties accepted and committed many more. The Giants were lucky Case Keenum overthrew Trey Quinn twice on what would have been easy touchdowns and then Dwayne Haskins came in and threw three picks as rookie quarterbacks will do.
