Grading the Giants’ 29-20 win over the Seahawks on Sunday:
Offense
The word “efficient’’ comes to mind.
There were 24 first downs, 420 total yards and a huge advantage in time of possession (37:22-22:38).
Daniel Jones was on his game, completing 23 of 34 passes for 257 yards and touchdown strikes to Wan’Dale Robinson (6-36) and Darius Slayton (8-122).
Slayton filled Malik Nabers’ role to near-perfection.
Rookie RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. made his first NFL start one to remember, with 18 rushes for 129 yards on a robust 7.9-yard average.
The Eric Gray fumble at the goal line was indescribably bad and turned out to be a 14-point swing.
Robinson had two costly drops.
Contribution from rookie TE Theo Johnson (5-48) in the passing game was a welcome sight.
The line protected Jones quite well, and no penalties amid the noise is exemplary. Jones ran smart and tough.
Grade: B+
Defense
Dexter Lawrence was a beast with three sacks of Geno Smith.
There were seven sacks in all, and DJ Davidson had two of them.
CB Deonte Banks held his ground against physical specimen DK Metcalf (4-55) and even forced a Metcalf fumble that Tyler Nubin recovered.
Brian Burns had a huge fourth-down sack in a key moment.
Smith (28 of 40, 284 yards, 1 TD) was dangerous, as usual, but the pressure at times got to him.
Great job against the run — Kenneth Walker III (5-19) did nothing — and the 102 yards allowed on the ground were dominated by Smith’s scrambles for 72 yards.
Holding Seattle to 3 of 11 on third down was nice work.
Grade: A
Special teams
That was quite a game-ending play by Isaiah Simmons, rising up to block Jason Myers’ 47-yard field goal attempt to tie the game in the closing minute.
Bryce Ford-Wheaton picked up the loose ball and sprinted 60 yards with the block for a TD to seal the deal.
Jamie Gillan had a 46-yard punt with no return to close out the first quarter, and he hit a spectacular 59-yarder in the fourth quarter to pin the Seahawks back on their 5-yard line.
Greg Joseph has really settled in.
He was 3 for 3 on field goals, all under 40 yards.
Grade: A
Coaching
Brian Daboll did not have Nabers or Devin Singletary and he improved expertly with his game plan on offense, utilizing screen passes and getting more players than usual involved.
Would much rather have seen a QB sneak with Jones on fourth-and-inches rather than the handoff to Gray.
Kudos to special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial for waiting to unleash the blocked punt play until it was needed most.
Shane Bowen found a way to put heat on Smith and also stop the run.
Grade: A