After two weeks in the NFL regular season, the New York Football Giants are 2-0 for the first time since 2016. The Brian Daboll era continues to start out on a hot streak and he continues to prove why he was the right hire for Big Blue. New York has now won by a total of four point in both weeks 1 and 2 combined. A win is a win no matter how it happens. The Giants were able to hold off the Panthers 19-16 in what was a rough game for both teams offensively. It took a group effort in all phases of the game to beat the Panthers. With that being said, here are three players who stepped up in the NY Giants win vs Carolina week 2.
Waking up 2-0 feels pretty good
— New York Giants (@Giants) September 19, 2022
3. Julian Love (Safety)
Much like seasons past, the Giants had to rely on their defense to keep them in the game. The hire of DC Wink Martindale from Baltimore is paying off for New York. He’s an experienced coach who knows how to make adjustments to help the team win. Wink uses a variety of different players on defense and can get the most out of each guy. One player who’s stepped up to a full-time starting role for the Giants this season is the fourth-year pro, Julian Love.
Love was voted a captain by the rest of his teammates, so clearly he has a lot of respect in that locker room. The Giants were on the field for 58 defensive snaps yesterday and Love was on the field for all of them. He ended the day with eight solo tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, and one QB hit. His eight tackles led the Giants yesterday and Love is an invaluable piece of the Giants secondary. New York had a tough matchup trying to cover DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson. Along with keeping Christian McCaffrey and Baker Mayfield in check. It was an overall solid game for the Giants defense. They held the Panthers offense to just one touchdown and three field goals.
2. Xavier McKinney (Safety)
The Giants have to solid safeties in Julian Love and Xavier McKinney. Like Love, McKinney was also voted as a captain for the 2022 New York Giants. In week 2 vs the Panthers, McKinney had three solo tackles and five total for the game. He also had two passes deflected in Sundays win. He’s been asked to do a little more for New York this season as well. Blake Martinez and the Giants mutually parted ways. That put McKinney in charge of calling the defensive plays while out on field. A role he’s embraced fully. He helped the Giants defense have a big second half and they made the plays when it mattered most.
Don’t forget the Giants defense has won both games without the help of Azeez Ojulari or rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux who has yet to make his regular season debut. The Giants defense has potential to be even better when those two are back. In the Giants win yesterday, McKinney was tasked with playing a hybrid safety/linebacker position to cover Christian McCaffrey. He held McCaffrey to just four catches for 26 yards. He spoke to media after the game about his day playing LB and guarding McCaffrey.
“That was my job this game to guard him. I thought I did a pretty good job doing it, taking him out of the game. It was different… Different monsters down there.” – NY Giants S, Xavier McKinney
1. Graham Gano (Kicker)
Graham Gano has been without question the most reliable player for the Giants in the past 2-3 years. The Giants inability to score touchdowns in the past has resulted in countless field goal makes by Gano. In Sundays NY Giants win, Gano went 4-4 on field goal tries and 1-1 on extra points. He also hit a 56-yard field goal that put the Giants up 19-16 with 3:34 left in the game.
Missed field goals were a problem around the NFL in week 1. Not for the Giants, however. In three seasons with Big Blue, Gano has hit field goals at a 93 percent clip, much better than his 84 percent career average. Julian Love, Xavier McKinney, and Graham Gano all played a huge factor in the Giants walking away with a win in week 2. The Giants sit atop of the NFC East as of now, with the 1-0 Eagles still to play on MNF. New York’s next game will be against the Dallas Cowboys on MNF, 9/26 at 8:15pm. Dallas will be without QB Dak Presscot after he had to have thumb surgery. Could the NY Giants find a way to beat the Cowboys and start 3-0?
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1 Comment
A win is a win! Let’s go Big Blue!!!
This looks like a team that has fight in it! Great to see after the last 5 years.