The New York Giants dropped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, 32-31, on the back of rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, who led a remarkable and magical comeback in his NFL debut.
Let’s take a look at the winners and losers from the victory.
Winners
Daniel Jones: Phew boy. Where to begin? Jones wasn’t perfect but we’re not even going to bother addressing the negatives. Rather, let’s list the positives: mobility, accuracy, strong arm, unflappable, ice water in veins, respect of his teammates and that little something extra that makes magic happen. You want a reason to be excited? You’ve got it.
Evan Engram: Many expected Engram to break out this season and thus far, he’s delivered on those expectations. He was other-worldly again on Sunday and while his 75-yard touchdown will be the highlight shown on repeat, Engram did a lot of other things well against the Bucs. We’ll break it down further throughout the week, but film is going to be exceptionally friendly to Engram over the next few days.
Darius Slayton: What a performance for the rookie that will be overshadowed by so much else. Yes, Slayton had a few hiccups early on, but he finished the day with three receptions for 82 yards. However, his most impressive play may have been a beautiful downfield block on Engram’s 75-yard touchdown.
Markus Golden: The Giants may have themselves a legitimate pass rusher. Golden had himself a day, recording two sacks and four QB hits. Even beyond that, he had several pressures of Jameis Winston, including one that led to an errant interception. This guy can play.
Sterling Shepard: In his return to the field, Shepard stepped up and helped Daniel Jones out in a big way, hauling in seven receptions for 100 yards, one touchdown and one two-point conversion.
Dexter Lawrence: A sack, a blocked PAT, two QB hits, a tackle for a loss… It was an all-around impressive game for Daniel Jones’ roommate.
Others: Antonio Hamilton, Riley Dixon
Losers
Saquon Barkley: It was an awful afternoon for Barkley from top to bottom. Not only did the Bucs defense sell out on stopping him, but he took a few big shots — at one point being evaluated for a concussion and later being lost for the game with an ankle injury. He finished the day with 10 yards on eight carries and one dropped pass.
Alec Ogletree: Like Barkley, Ogletree left the game with an injury, but prior to that, he was struggling quite a bit. There was a play or two where Ogletree flashed, but primarily, he was picked on through the air, consistently playing with too much cushion and that impacted how far away from the line of scrimmage he played, hindering his strength — dominating in the box.
Janoris Jenkins: A week ago, Jenkins pointed some fingers at his teammates for not playing up to par. You have to wonder if Jenkins will be pointing fingers at himself on Sunday evening. From busted coverages to simply getting beat to missed tackles, it was not a solid performance for The Jackrabbit.
Nate Solder: The veteran left tackle was absolutely abused on Sunday, giving up four sacks, three QB hits and a number of pressures we simply couldn’t calculate by the end of the game. Film review will determine if it was all on Solder, but the initial eye test was not good.
Others: Antoine Bethea, Jabrill Peppers
Mixed reviews
Jon Halapio: The Buccaneers sold out on stopping Barkley early, which led to a consistent mess at the line of scrimmage. However, after the running back was lost, interior issues continued to persist. It wasn’t all on Halapio, who performed at a high level in pass protection, but he didn’t have his best performance.
Deandre Baker: Baker had himself a relatively quiet day and that’s a good thing. He was far from flawless, but considering how poorly he had played over the first two weeks of the season, he made tremendous strides against Tampa Bay.
Others: Mike Remmers
