The formula for the Giants has been well established this season and they followed it to another win in Jacksonville.
The Giants have shown week after week that they do not get put off by playing from behind and they trailed the Jaguars for most of Sunday’s game before pulling ahead for good in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Daniel Jones gave the team the winning points with a one-yard touchdown run with just over five minutes left to play.
That score put the Giants up 20-17 and the Jaguars had a quick three-and-out to give the Giants back the ball a little more than a minute later. The Jaguars only had one timeout left and three Saquon Barkley runs for 40 yards made it look like the Giants would have no problem running out the clock.
Issues staying in-bounds cost Barkley, however, and Graham Gano eventually came in to kick a field goal with just over a minute left on the clock that moved the Giants lead to 23-17. The Jags had time for one last gasp and Giants penalties allowed them to keep plugging away. The last of them was a roughing the passer call on defensive lineman Leonard Williams on a 28-yard completion to Marvin Jones, which gave the Jags the ball at the 17-yard-line with 19 seconds left to play.
After a pair of incompletions, Trevor Lawrence hit Christian Kirk just outside the end zone but cornerback Fabian Moreau and other Giants defenders got him down and time expired before the Jags could run another play.
Barkley struggled for much of the day, but his strong finish meant that he had 24 carries for 110 yards. That was enough to lead the team in rushing, although not by much. Jones ran 11 times for 107 yards and also went 19-of-30 for 202 yards and a touchdown.
Both players came into the season with big questions about their futures with the Giants, but they have been major drivers of the 6-1 start to the year and that has opened the door for the team to go in many different directions come the offseason.
For now, though, they will focus on a trip to Seattle for an attempt to move to 7-1 before their bye week. The 2-5 Jaguars will remain at home to face the Broncos and try to snap a four-game losing streak.
Some of the things they did on Sunday would aid that effort. Travis Etienne ran 14 times for 114 yards and a touchdown, but he fumbled inside the Giants’ 5-yard-line for the game’s lone turnover and that miscue played a big role in the final result. Trevor Lawrence was 20-of-39 for 266 yards and ran for another touchdown, but got stopped short on a fourth down from the Giants’ 20 early in the fourth quarter.
The Giants drove for the go-ahead touchdown on the ensuing drive and Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson will likely be asked about passing on a field goal at that point. Given the Giants’ knack for pulling games out, though, any choice might have ended with the same result.