Getty The Giants pulled off an impressive come from behind victory on the road against the Saints. However, they lost another captain on their defense.
The New York Giants pulled off an impressive come from behind 27-21 victory in overtime over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, October 3. But not before they lost another captain on their defense.
This time, it was underperforming safety Jabrill Peppers, who went down with a hamstring injury before being ruled out for the rest of the game in the fourth quarter.
Injury Update: S Jabrill Peppers (hamstring) has been ruled out.
Peppers endured a rough first-half in pass coverage and was a non-factor against the running game. Peppers did not appear in the second-half, which initially led some reporters to speculate he had been benched. However, the Giants ultimately announced Peppers as the latest starter to suffer a hamstring injury.
Keep in mind, the Giants were already without two top receivers in Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton due to hamstring issues as well. This duo was inactive for their Week 4 matchup in New Orleans.
Not to mention, linebacker Blake Martinez, the other captain on the Giants’ defense went down with a season-ending torn ACL in Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons.
Regardless of the severity, Peppers will likely miss time for the Giants, who just can’t seem to catch a break in the injury department.
Peppers had a big season for the Giants in 2020 with 91 tackles, eight tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks and 11 passes defensed but this year has mostly been a non-factor. Peppers accumulated 16 tackles, one tackle for a loss and one pass defensed through three games. He also allowed a 92.9% completion rate on 14 targets this season.
Peppers served as the Giants’ punt returner, which could pave the way for rookie Kadarius Toney to assume this role in his absence.
Although Peppers exited with an injury, he still played a big role in the win. Peppers went out as the captain for the Giants and won the coin toss in overtime. This allowed the Giants to march right down the field, where Saquon Barkley punched in the game-winning touchdown.
GIANTS WIN!
(via @NFL)
Safety Depth
Despite losing Peppers, the Giants are still deep at the safety position.
With Peppers down, this means Julian Loves’ snaps will likely increase at strong safety. The Giants also have the versatile Logan Ryan, who should fill Peppers’ hybrid role as well.
Even with Peppers out, Patrick Graham can still run plenty of three-safety sets with Love, Peppers and second-year free safety Xavier McKinney.
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Jones Has Arrived
Although it is evident that Daniel Jones has a had strong start to his third-year in the NFL, he was magnificent in the Giants’ crucial OT victory on the road against the Saints on Sunday.
Despite not having top wide receivers Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton, Jones went 28-of-40 for 402 passing yards, two touchdowns of 50 or more yards and a last-second Hail Mary interception with two seconds left in the first-half.
With the Giants down by 11-points with 7:01 left to play in the fourth-quarter, Jones got them right back in it with a 54-yard strike to Saquon Barkley to pull the Giants within five.
Saquon keeping Big Blue in it 👀
(via @Giants)
He then ran in the two-point conversion on a quarterback draw to cut the deficit to 21-18.
After the Giants’ defense came up with a crucial stop, Jones got the ball back with three minutes to play and led his offense into field goal range. This setup Graham Gano’s 48-yard game-tying field goal with 31 seconds left to force overtime.
And after the Giants won the coin toss in OT, Jones led them down the field again, before Barkley punched in his second touchdown on the day to walk it off for the win.
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