The New York Giants fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a heated divisional battle on Monday Night Football.
It was a heart-crushing 25-23 defeat for Big Blue on primetime. New York was up for most of the game and once again had many opportunities to win, but unfortunately, in the end, they were not able to pull through. The Giants are now 1-7 and last in the NFC East.
Here’s how this victory affected the stock of various people in the Giants organization.
Stock up
Coaching Staff
The entire coaching staff as a whole performed phenomenally in week eight. Even though they did not get the outcome they desired, this coaching staff proved that they can get their team to compete with anyone.
The New York Giants entered the game as double-digit underdogs but ironically jumped out to a double-digit first-half lead. Unfortunately, they ended up surrendering this lead; however, the coaches had the Giants in this game until the last seconds. They were a two-point conversion away from an overtime trip with a potential win.
The reason why the coaches were able to do this was that both Jason Garrett and Patrick Graham designed a phenomenal gameplan. Garrett relied on elaborate run schemes and quick passes to get the Giants offense looking at the best it has all year—23 points and 357 yards. While Patrick Graham got pressure on Brady and used a good mixture of zone and man to hold the Buccaneers to 25 points.
Sterling Shepard, WR
Sterling Shepard had his best game of the season on Monday.
The Oklahoma product is just finally getting healthy, and it is starting to show. Shep had eight catches for 74 yards on 10 targets against the Buccaneers. He has quickly become Daniel Jones’ most reliable target in this quick passing offense that the Giants are trending towards. Expect more big days from Sterling Shepard.
Leonard Williams, DT
Leonard Williams is continuing his campaign to get paid as he recorded his fourth sack in week eight. He played great all-around Monday as he recorded four tackles and a Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade of 85.7. He has become New York’s best defensive lineman and is not looking back.
Jabrill Peppers, S
Jabrill Peppers is another player that is starting to get healthy, and it is also showing. Since coming back from injury, he has played great, and in the most recent game, he recorded 10 total tackles (9 solo) and two passes defended.
Blake Martinez, LB
Blake Martinez has not only been the Giants’ best linebacker but arguably one of the best linebackers in the league. He currently has 83total tackles (tied for first in the NFL), seven tackles, and two sacks. Nine of those tackles came on Monday Night Football, and in that game, he also added a crucial forced fumble. The signing of Blake Martinez is proving to be one of the better signings in the NFL this past offseason.
Stock Down
Daniel Jones, QB
Do not get me wrong, Daniel Jones made some fantastic plays last week, including two touchdown dimes. But his turnovers have become an overwhelming issue.
The sophomore quarterback now has 34 turnovers in his first 20 games, and two of them came in last week’s game. Both were inexcusable as the young quarterback did not need to throw either of the balls. He could have simply taken the sack or thrown it out of bounds. However, like he normally does, Daniel Jones tried to do something with nothing, and it ended up biting him in the butt. Take away these two interceptions, and the result of this football game might have ended very differently.
Nevertheless, it seems as the Giants will be sticking with Jones for the foreseeable future, but his carelessness with the ball is starting to really rub Giants’ fan the wrong way.