Giants Survive An Ugly One

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First of all, outstanding effort for a majority of the game out of this Giants defense. They got beat on a couple big plays & a Wade PI call, but outside of a short field Spags’ unit stood strong all day. Jenkins was solid, Collins had a huge sack (although he did get lost in coverage on a Flacco 4th-down luck-chuck), they followed up Beckham’s 75-yard score with a 4-down goal line stand & did a good job ensuring Justin Tucker was kicking more FG’s than XP’s. Can’t ask for much more.

The offense was laughably bad to start. Beckham’s fumble on their first offensive play was just the start. There was no rhythm & play-calling was head-scratching as usual. Big Blue didn’t get their initial first down until over 20 minutes into the game. After a little MACtion out of UDFA Roger Lewis Jr. finally got the Giants on the board (after Beckham left the game with a hip injury) though, it was somehow still a game at the half.

The second half was the Eli & Odell Beckham Jr. show. Finally. A 75-yard connection for the lead. A 43-yard dime that led to a FG. A 66-yard slant & go for the win. 403 yards at a 70% completion rate for the two-time Super Bowl MVP. 8 grabs for 222 & 2 scores for the phenom ODB. Kid just couldn’t help himself though & was nailed with a 15-yarder after he took his helmet off in celebration. Big Blue fans act like I’m making a mountain out of a mole hill. I’m not. With less than 1:30 left on the clock though you simply cannot do that – I don’t care what your stat line is. That allowed the Ravens a kick return instead of a potential kick out of the end zone. What if he ran it back? Are we still shrugging and saying he can do what he wants because he’s good?

No shit this team NEEDS Beckham in the worst way. I’m not saying he stinks, he needs to go, or I hate him. But there’s a difference between a supreme talent and a championship-caliber player. Maybe the Giants are never good enough throughout his career for him to see many big games. If/when they are, these emotional outbursts – whether it’s in celebration or retaliation – could be a problem. A big one. It’s the only thing holding him back from potentially being one of the best ever – and if you don’t see that or think stat lines make him exempt, I don’t know what to tell you. It is, in fact, possible to be great AND smart.

Anyway, a win is a win is a win. If the Packers can handle business against the Cowboys, the division is all within a game of each other. Next up before their bye is a date in London with the LA Rams – another very winnable contest against the league’s worst offense. If I had a chance to take 4-3 at the break before the season started, I’d have jumped all over it. I just wanna see what these Giants can do without going out of their way to try & shoot themselves in the foot repeatedly. Luckily the Ravens were much better at that today.