The New York Giants’ Defense Made A Complete Turnaround In Week 4

The New York Giants are .500 for the first time since 2016. After their commanding week four victory against the Washington Redskins, the Giants are now 2-2.

Against the Redskins, the Giants’ defense came to play. After struggling heavily in the first three weeks of the season, the Giants’ defense seems to finally be figuring it out.

When Things Turned Around

The Giants’ defense played great in week four, but this improved play did not begin in week four. The Giants’ defense elevated their performance in week three.

In the first half of the Giants’ week three contest with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the defense was pitiful. The Giants trailed 28-10 at halftime after surrendering 3 first-half touchdowns to Mike Evans. The second half of the game was a different story, however.

The Giants’ defense got a spark when it forced Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston to throw an interception. The Bucs then went on to take the ball out of their quarterback’s hands and rely on the run game. The momentum was on New York’s side and the Giants held the Buccaneers to only 3 points in the second half, allowing Daniel Jones and the offense to come back and win the game.

Since the start of the second half in week three, the Giants’ defense has allowed a total of 6 points. 3 in the second half of the Tampa Bay game, and 3 in the entirety of the Washington game. The Giants’ defense has made a quick turnaround.

Three Elite-Graded Performances

The New York Giants’ defense shut down the Washington Redskins in week four. The defense made a statement early in the game when they intercepted Redskins quarterback Case Keenum in the first quarter. Rookie linebacker Ryan Connelly came away with his second interception of the season on this play.

Ryan Connelly, unfortunately, went down with an injury later in the game that is now confirmed to be a season-ending torn ACL. A really tough loss for the Giants’ defense as Connelly was playing elite football before going down. Connelly recorded 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 tackle for loss, and 3 total tackles. This was enough to earn Ryan Connelly a spot on the Pro Football Focus Team of the Week with an overall grade of 90.7.

Connelly was not the only player on the Giants’ defense to earn an elite PFF grade and make the Team of the Week. In fact, the Giants had three defenders awarded with this weekly honor.

Janoris Jenkins posted an overall grade of 92.8 and finally looked like his old self again. Against the Redskins, he allowed just 15 yards on two receptions. He also snagged 2 interceptions and totaled a pass breakup. According to PFF, Jenkins finished the game with an NFL passer rating allowed of only 19.8. A pretty impressive turnaround from the guy who had allowed 282 yards on throws into his coverage coming into the game.

Jabrill Peppers was the third and final Giants player to make the Pro Football Focus Team of the Week in week four. Peppers is another player who had been struggling in 2019 but made a quick turnaround in week four. Jabrill was targeted four times in coverage, yet he allowed just one reception for five yards and had an interception that he returned for a touchdown.

Jabrill Peppers is a swiss army knife on defense and he seems to finally be molding into the player we knew he could. Giants fans should hope to see this defense’s progression continue in week five against the struggling Minnesota Vikings offense.

The Giants’ defense altogether played a near-perfect game against the Redskins. They held Washington to just 176 yards of total offense and also forced 4 turnovers. New York also added 3 sacks on the day. All of this added up equates to a New York Giants win.