
The New York Giants finally broke through in week three against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They captured their first win of the 2019 season, avoiding a dreaded 0-3 start. The Giants had a Quarterback not named Eli Manning under center for just the second time since 2004. Rookie QB Daniel Jones stole the show throwing for 336 yards and 2 TD’s, while also adding 28 yards and 2 TD’s on the ground. He is the player the media will be praising for the next few days. There is another rookie on the team who deserves some praise, though. Linebacker Ryan Connelly, a fifth-round pick in this past year’s draft, led the defense in just his second career start.
Why Ryan Connelly deserves more recognition after the win:
He became a leader
When starting Linebacker and defensive captain Alec Ogletree left the game in the second quarter, Connelly came in and filled his role. Ogletree is perhaps the most important person on defense, as it is his job to relay the play call from the sideline to the huddle. When he went down, someone had to fill in for him.
Connelly stepped up in just his second career start in the NFL. He took command of a defense that had been struggling mightily for the entire season. In the second half, he and his teammates held Tampa Bay to just 3 points. To put into perspective how impressive that is, the same defensive unit allowed 28 points in the first half. Connelly led the defense to a complete turnaround in the second half.
His individual performance
Besides his leadership in the huddle, Connelly also had arguably the best game of anyone on the New York Giants’ defense. He tallied seven tackles, tied for the third-most on the team. He also recorded an interception, the Giants first and only takeaway of the season thus far.
Don’t take away any of the attention that Jones is getting – he earned it. But Connelly proved that he is not only a starting linebacker in the NFL, but he is a leader on defense. For a fifth-round pick to come into the game and takeover the defense in just his third NFL game says something about the kid from Wisconsin.