Andrew Thomas earns highest single-game grade among 2020 first round OTs and other PFF takeaways

The Giants put together an impressive all-around performance in Week 13, traveling to Seattle and defeating the Seahawks, 17-12.

The run game played a crucial role in the offense's success. The Giants ran for a season-high 190 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries (6.1 avg.) against the Seahawks, led by Wayne Gallman's career-high 135 yards on the ground. Alfred Morris contributed 39 yards and a rushing touchdown as well, and also caught a six-yard touchdown pass.

The defense did a tremendous job of slowing down one of the league's most potent offenses. Going into the fourth quarter, the Giants' defense had limited Russell Wilson and the Seattle offense to just three points. Wilson finished with 260 yards, one touchdown and one interception, resulting in a 78.0 passer rating.

Here are some Pro Football Focus takeaways from the Giants' big win in Seattle:

* Andrew Thomas had an elite performance against the Seahawks. The rookie left tackle did not allow a single pressure on 26 pass blocking snaps, helping him earn an overall grade of 87.1, easily the highest grade of his rookie campaign. In fact, Thomas' grade is the highest single-game grade of the season among the offensive tackles selected in the first round of the 2020 draft. That group includes Thomas, Cleveland's Jedrick Wills, the Jets' Mekhi Becton, Tampa Bay's Tristan Wirfs, Miami's Austin Jackson and Tennessee's Isaiah Wilson.

* Pro Football Focus' Mike Renner named Thomas the top rookie of the week for Week 13.

* Thomas wasn't the only offensive tackle to have a dominant game, as right tackle Cameron Fleming earned the highest grade on the offense with his 87.5 overall grade. Fleming also did not allow a single pressure on his 20 pass blocking snaps, and was awarded a 90.3 run blocking grade by PFF on his 22 run blocking snaps.

* As mentioned above, the Giants got a great performance from their running back duo of Gallman and Morris. Gallman earned a 79.2 overall grade for his play on the 28 snaps he played, while Morris received an 84.2. The two backs finished just behind Fleming and Thomas for the highest grades on the offense in Sunday's win.

* Gallman currently owns the 4th-highest yards after contact per attempt among qualified running backs this season at 3.68. On the season, Gallman has a solid run grade of 73.5.

* Will Hernandez made the most of the 16 snaps he played, earning a 72.5 overall grade after allowing just one pressure. Kevin Zeitler finished with a 68.7 overall grade, but received an elite 84.0 pass blocking grade. Matt Peart also had a good performance on his 15 snaps, earning a 75.3 pass blocking grade.

* On the defensive side of the ball, Blake Martinez led the way with an 81.3 overall grade. Martinez was once again solid in all phases, earning a 73.8 run defense grade and 75.7 coverage grade. Martinez's 77.6 overall grade on the season now ranks 8th among all linebackers.

* The second-highest graded Giants defender was rookie linebacker Carter Coughlin, who received a 73.6 overall grade on his 45 defensive snaps. Coughlin registered three pressures and two stops, and received a 76.2 tackling grade and 76.8 coverage grade.

* James Bradberry put together another solid performance, receiving a 72.2 overall grade. When lining up against DK Metcalf, Bradberry allowed just four out of seven pass attempts to be completed for 62 yards, including only 18 yards after the catch.

* Leonard Williams registered 2.5 sacks of Russell Wilson in Sunday's win, helping him earn a 74.0 pass rush grade.

* The Giants were also able to get great pressure on Wilson by blitzing some of the team's defensive backs on some plays. Jabrill Peppers had four pass rushing snaps and earned an elite 91.8 pass rush grade, while Logan Ryan went after Wilson three times and had a 74.8 pass rush grade. Ryan also received an 81.8 tackling grade.

* In just his second NFL game, Niko Lalos registered his second career turnover with a fumble recovery. Lalos earned an overall grade of 65.4 on 26 defensive snaps, aided by a solid 73.3 tackling grade, after finishing with two solo tackles.

* Russell Wilson has been having one of the best QB seasons in the league this year with an overall grade of 90.3. But against the Giants in Week 13, Wilson finished with an overall grade of just 54.3.

Giants are pleased but not close to being satisfied

Joe Judge is pleased but not close to being satisfied.

Yesterday, the Giants enjoyed one of the signature victories of the NFL season, a 17-12 triumph against a Seattle Seahawks team that entered the game with an NFC West best 8-3 record and the league's third-highest point total. The Giants played without quarterback Daniel Jones, who was inactive because of the hamstring injury he suffered last week in Cincinnati.

But they punished the home team in Lumen Field with a rushing attack that generated 190 yards, including a career-high 135 by Wayne Gallman, and a defense that attacked Russell Wilson with ferocity throughout the game. The first-place Giants earned their fourth consecutive victory and improved to 5-7, an impressive achievement for a team that began the season 0-5 and 1-7.

So, is this about where Judge expected the Giants to be with four games to play?

"I think each team's expectations and progress are unique," Judge said this morning on a Zoom call from Seattle, where the Giants remained overnight to reduce the effects of the long trip on the week ahead. "I didn't really have a definite timetable in terms of where they needed to be at certain points.

"There are still things we have to have a lot of improvement on and consistency going forward. We're far from where we need to be or want to be as a team. There's a lot of work ahead of us. But I was pleased with the constant progress I saw. There were times earlier in the season that you questioned are we coaching it well enough to make sure that they can get this the right way and execute it on the grass? We go back and we find different ways of coaching things, or maybe different ways of hitting individual players and making sure that we get on the same page with it. But ultimately, I like the progress they've made right here. I wouldn't say they're ahead or behind any kind of a schedule. I just know that they come to work every day and improve, and that's carried over on a weekly basis."

Texas Football shows love to Colt McCoy

Colt McCoy stepped into the starting lineup for the injured Daniel Jones in Week 13 for his first start in over a year, and the veteran got the job done.

McCoy completed 13 of 22 passes for 105 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The 34-year-old stood in the pocket and made some big throws for the Giants, completing some crucial throws on third down to move the chains and keep drives alive.

The win was McCoy's first as a starting quarterback since 2014 when he was with Washington.

"I thought Colt did a really good job today during the game," Coach Judge said following the win in Seattle. "He made a lot of tough throws. We extended some drives and moved down the field. He did a really good job for us. He does a lot of things that you wouldn't notice on the stat sheet in terms of managing the game and controlling the flow of the game, talking to the guys on the sidelines, relaying information in the huddle.

"Colt really stepped up and had a huge game for us today. He made a lot of big throws when we needed them, he made some tough plays down the stretch, he made some right decisions and some checks on the line of scrimmage to put us in the right play that led to big plays in the runs. So he did a lot of things that may not show up in the stat sheet, but he played a big time game for us. He did a hell of a job preparing this week."

Prior to being selected in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft, McCoy was the signal-caller for the Texas Longhorns, where he enjoyed a very successful collegiate career.

McCoy was twice named a First-Team All-American and a Heisman Trophy finalist (2008, 2009), and also took home numerous national awards for his performance with the Longhorns.

Texas has retired just six players' numbers throughout the years, with McCoy's No. 12 being the most recent one. He is considered to be one of the greatest players in Longhorns history, and on Sunday, his alma matter showed him plenty of love on Twitter.