REPORT CARD
OFFENSE Absolutely nightmarish start — bordering on the comical — for
Ereck Flowers with two penalties on first three plays. He was brutal. Eli
Manning started hot — he completed his first 10 passes — but cooled to finish 23-of-37 for 224 yards and one tipped-pass interception for a Jaguars TD. Odell Beckham Jr. (11 catches, 111 yards) is always a threat, but never broke loose.
Saquon Barkley’s numbers (18 carries, 106 yards) are deceiving, as he notched his first NFL TD on a brilliant 68-yard run and averaged only 2.2 yards on his other 17 rushes. He also was not much of a factor (2 catches, 22 yards) as a receiver. Offensive line got no real push and Manning’s pocket was often shrinking. D DEFENSE Huge break came when RB Leonard Fournette (9-41) left in the second quarter with a hamstring injury. Giants had trouble getting off the field early but pitched a shutout in the second half. Rookie LB Lorenzo
Carter is the real deal. CB Eli Apple was solid but there are greater challenges ahead. CB Janoris Jenkins’ interception led to first Giants points. Other than 41-yard run by QB Blake Bortles, Jaguars were held in check on the ground. This was a winning effort. A- SPECIAL TEAMS Let’s see. Kaelin Clay was signed six days ago to handle punt returns. He muffs a punt in the last minute. Offense never gets on the field. Game over. Not good. Aldrick Rosas looked strong and confident as he hit field goals of 27, 31 and 44 yards.
Riley Dixon got a fortunate bounce on a shaky first punt and his second traveled just 31 yards. In the fourth quarter, he failed to keep the ball out of the end zone for a touchback. C- COACHING Three straight running plays, including a third-and-goal from the 8-yard line end-around to Beckham? Interesting play-calls by
Pat Shurmur. Also did not like the 2-point conversion try, an inside run to Barkley after he ran 68 yards. Needing to call a timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty to start the second half (Manning’s headset radio malfunctioned) was not a good look. Liked going for it on fourthand-2 from the Jacksonville 37 in third quarter even though Barkley’s leap came up short. B