Let's do our weekly review of the Pro Football Focus numbers for the New York Giants, this week applied to Sunday's 24-20 victory over the New England Patriots. As always, remember they are for discussion and they aren't gospel. As we talked about Monday in reference to QBR and passer rating, no stat truly reflects what Eli Manning did for the Giants in the closing minutes Sunday.
Anyway, here we go.
OFFENSE
Victor Cruz (+3.0)
Jake Ballard (+2.2)
Eli Manning (+0.6) ... Clearly, Eli was penalized here for the end zone interception and struggling somewhat the first three quarters.
Mario Manningham (-1.5)
David Diehl (-1.7)
Bear Pascoe (-2.1)
Chris Snee (-2.2)
Kevin Boothe (-2.2)
My question about all of those negative numbers is, if the line and fullback play was that poor how did the Giants manage to run the ball effectively?
DEFENSE
Mathias Kiwanuka (+3.5)
Here is a Kiwanuka nugget from PFF's post-game analysis:
Generally viewed as a pass rush specialist, LB Mathias Kiwanuka's athleticism allows him to play a number of roles on the Giants' defense. He graded at +3.6 Run Def and made his presence felt on the Patriots' second drive with 5:59 to play in the first quarter. On 3rd-and-1, the Giants stacked the line and Kiwanuka shot the gap to tackle RB Danny Woodhead for a loss. He then showed some awareness while playing zone on the first play of the second quarter as Brady's poor throw was tipped by LB Michael Boley and Kiwanuka was there to pick up the interception and return it another nine yards. It was not his strongest day as a pass rusher, but on 3rd-and-8 with 11 seconds to go in the first half, his blitz forced Brady into an errant throw on his corner route to TE Aaron Hernandez. There was a time when the Giants seemed not to know what to do with Kiwanuka. That time seems to have passed.
Rocky Bernard (-1.4)
Jason Pierre-Paul (-1.7)
Justin Tuck (-1.7) ... Tuck is playing again, but he is clearly not playing the way he can.
Special teams note: Mark Herzlich earned a +1.5 for his kick and punt coverage.