The New York Giants traveled overseas and defeated the Green Bay Packers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, 27-22.
"Good, hard-fought win," coach Brian Daboll said. "Again, it came down to the end. Our guys competed for 60 minutes. Made a few more plays than Green Bay. They are a good football team. We got things to work on. Obviously, some knicks, some bumps, some bruises. Long trip back. So, get at it and go next week."
The win moves Daboll and the Giants to 4-1, the franchise's best start since the 2009 season.
Here are five things we learned in the big Week 5 win.
VICTORY MOVES GIANTS TO 4-1
The Giants won four games throughout the entire 2021 season. They've now matched that win total after only five weeks under the new regime. They now head home 4-1 on the season and 3-0 all-time in London.
"I think they play hard," Daboll said about his team. "They do what we ask them to do. They trust in the things we ask them to do. They work extremely, extremely hard. These guys, we practice hard. Practice really hard but we try to practice smart. They played good situational football. You know, it's really not, whatever, five games. It's just this game. We were 3-of-4 I think in the red zone to their 2 and 3 - what were we on third down, 6-of-10 or something like that, 6-of-11, which was much improved. I thought we were very efficient.
"I thought the quarterback (Daniel Jones) had an excellent game and he's had a few of those. Maybe his stats don't reflect it, but he's led his team down to wins. He's played good at crunch time coming back from a little bit of an ankle. I give credit to all the guys and all the coaches. Just a good group to work with."
The win was the Giants' first over the Packers since 2013 after three consecutive losses, including one during the 2016 playoffs. The Giants will return to MetLife Stadium in Week 6 when they welcome the Baltimore Ravens, who currently sit at 2-2 (Baltimore plays the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football in Week 5).
"We've got a tough group," said Daniel Jones. "A group that's going to compete for four quarters and 60 minutes. We got down in the first half. Found a way to fight back at the end. I think we've known that, and I think we've known we have a tough, competitive group and I thought we showed that today."
DJ TOUGHS IT OUT
Daniel Jones suffered an ankle injury during last week's win over the Bears. However, the fourth-year quarterback did not end up missing a single practice leading up to today's game. He then went out and played every snap against Green Bay and led the Giants offense to 27 points.
"It felt good," Jones said about his ankle. "It felt good throughout the game, and it's been feeling good all week."
Jones completed an impressive 77.8 percent of his passes (21 for 27) for 217 yards and a passer rating of 100.2. He also added 37 yards on the ground on 10 rushing attempts.
"I just say that he comes in ready to go each week," the head coach said about Jones. "He's very humble. I think it's very, very important to him. He has very good leadership amongst the team. Players got a lot of respect for him and I know the coaches do too. We have confidence in him. He's done a really good job for our football team and the things that we have asked him to do, he's done them well. I'm glad he's our quarterback."
TALE OF TWO HALVES ON DEFENSE
Aaron Rodgers completed 18 of 24 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, leading the Packers to 20 points before halftime. But Wink Martindale and the Giants defense made adjustments at halftime, and the results followed. The defense shut out the Packers offense in the final two quarters as Rodgers went seven of 15 for just 76 yards and no touchdowns.
"I thought the coaches were doing a good job in the first half," said Daboll. "They made a few plays that they drove down on. They are a good football team. They had a big run on a pass interference penalty and they got a little pick on us. They had some good plays that they made and we started off a little slow offensively. So they got the ball, they got some momentum but it's a long game. You can start fast and fade out. You can start fast and end fast. There's a lot of different things that can happen.
"I think what we have preached is, 'Let's not worry about the scoreboard. Let's not worry about the results. Let's just focus on the next play and whoever is in there, let's do your job to the best of your ability.' Whether it's a coach, whether it's a coordinator, assistant coach, player, support staff. Those trainers are doing a great job. Daniel had a cut on his hand getting ready to go out. Saquon, going in and out. It's a collective team effort, football. Our building, it takes everybody not just a couple people."
Dexter Lawrence had yet another strong outing, finishing with five tackles (four solo) and a sack. Lawrence now has three sacks on the season after picking up nine sacks total in his first three years in the NFL.
Kayvon Thibodeaux also had a solid game. The rookie outside linebacker recorded three tackles (two solo) and two pass breakups, including one on third down deep in Giants territory inside the final two minutes of the game. Fellow outside linebacker Oshane Ximines sealed the victory for Big Blue when he strip-sacked Aaron Rodgers on the final play of the game. Jihad Ward added a tackle for loss and two quarterback hits.
SAQUON CONTINUES TORRID START
Jones isn't the only Giants playmaker to put together a gutty performance in London. Saquon Barkley entered this matchup as the league's leader in both rushing yards and total yards from scrimmage. The fifth-year running back briefly departed the game after Green Bay's De'Vondre Campbell fell on him, but was able to return and help lead the Giants to the victory.
"He went in and he came back out and he went in and then he was - you know, and he said he was good," said the head coach. "They looked at him. He felt - I kept asking him on the sideline, 'Are you good to go?' He was good to go. We'll see where he's at but you know, hopefully he'll be ready to go next week."
Barkley busted loose for a 40-yard catch-and-run soon after coming back into the game. He would go on to score the game-winning touchdown from two yards out. Barkley finished the game with 70 yards on 13 carries (5.4 avg.) and the score and added three receptions for 36 yards. The talented back has now topped 100 yards from scrimmage in four of five games this season.
"He's a competitor. That's what I say about Saquon. He competes, but I've seen that in OTAs," Daboll added.
SLAYTON, YOUNGSTERS STEP UP
The Giants were down several skill position players on Sunday as Kadarius Toney, Wan'Dale Robinson and Kenny Golladay were all ruled out on Friday. This led to more playing time for fourth-year wide receiver Darius Slayton, who took full advantage of the opportunity. Slayton, who had just one reception through the first four games, led the Giants with six catches for 79 yards.
"It's easy when everything is going great for people, everyone is saying good things about them," said Daboll. "This kid had a good mindset -- I shouldn't say kid - young man and made the most of his opportunities when he had an opportunity to. When you make plays, you get more opportunities and he did that."
The Giants saw a few other youngsters step up as well. When Barkley was briefly sidelined, second-year running back Gary Brightwell punched it into the end zone from two yards out for his first career touchdown. Additionally, rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger scored the second touchdown of his career when he ran it in on a double reverse from the 2-yard line. He added two receptions for 22 yards.
