By Michael Stewart/@golferbad
Introduction: The New York Giants finally won their first game of the season barely beating Washington 20-19. The win puts the Giants now at 1-5 and tied with Washington for last place in the NFC East. The game could have ended differently if not for a solid stop by the Giants defense on a 2 point conversion by Washington that ended as an incompletion in the end zone. Head Coach Joe Judge is now in the record books with his first win as a Head Coach. Here’s are my top 5 reasons why the Giants won:
- Fast Start: For the second straight game the Giants came out the gate will emotion and ready to play jumping out to a 10-0 lead by the end of the 1st quarter.
- Battle in the Trenches: The Giants OL kept a very talented Washington front four at bay with solid blocking in the running game and keeping Jones on his feet allowing only one sack.
- Red Zone: The Giants The Giants went 1 for 3 in the red zone; which would normally not be a positive stat. However; Washington went a dismal 0-3 for the day, giving the Giants a 13-0 scoring edge in the Red Zone.
- 3rd Down Efficiency: Washington was slightly over 50% on 3rd down; which isn’t bad, but the Giants went 7 for 11 (64%) on 3rd down; which kept drives alive that led to scores and/or keeping the defense fresh.
- Opportunistic: Both teams did a better than expected job in ball security, but once again the Giants won this stat by edging out Washington 2 to 1 in the turnover/takeaway department.
Final Thoughts: The Giants are now riding a one game winning streak and will face off against another division rival in the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles have had their own problems this season with a 1-4-1 record with their 30-28 lost to the Baltimore Ravens at home. Keep an eye out for my Coaches Corner Pre-game matchup between the Giants and Eagles in a few days.