Giants defense finally delivers, sending Sam Darnold to bench in victory vs. Carolina
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Maybe we should've known this was going to be a game that belonged to the New York Giants when Leonard Williams started blowing kisses to the crowd early in the second quarter.
Williams took a lot of heat on social media from fans who were upset with his postgame comments about taking issue with vociferous boos from the home crowd last week.
The reaction may have been overblown, but it was way past time for Williams and the Giants to offer an on-field answer.
And that's exactly what they did, smothering former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold and the Carolina Panthers with Williams registering 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hits with six tackles as the Giants dominated for a much-needed 25-3 victory Sunday.
Rookie Azeez Ojulari finished with 2.5 sacks against the Panthers, and he now has 5.5 on the season. The Giants sacked Carolina quarterbacks six times Sunday.
The Giants' defense even got points on the board when Williams and Lorenzo Carter pressured Darnold into an intentional grounding penalty from the end zone.
They were awarded a safety, and on the ensuing possession, the Giants marched downfield, but settled for a Graham Gano 49-yard field goal and the lead.
On offense, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones made an incredible one-handed catch of a pass from Dante Pettis on a trick play, and it went for 16 yards.
Then, six plays later, Jones threw a 5-yard touchdown to Pettis, ultimately for a 12-3 edge.
The walking wounded added another when Sterling Shepard was declared inactive before Sunday's game, meaning the Giants had to play without Saquon Barkley, Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney, Shepard and left tackle Andrew Thomas, who was placed on injured reserve earlier this week and will miss a minimum of three games.
Shepard was listed as questionable after aggravating his hamstring injury in practice Thursday. He went through an early workout with Giants brass watching, and managed just four routes before they shut it down.
There was plenty of attention given to Giants coach Joe Judge and Matt Rhule, who was considered a favorite to become the next Giants coach in January 2020 before he canceled his interview at the 11th hour, signing with the Panthers.
Judge emerged as a serious candidate the previous day, and his presence in the process led the Giants to pull back on their pursuit of Rhule when it appeared he was ready to accept the job in Carolina.
Art Stapleton is the Giants beat writer for NorthJersey.com.