Written by Jeremy Bergman at NFL.com
In arguably the most stunning result of the young season, the New York Giants (1-5) earned their first win of the season at Mile High, beating the Denver Broncos (3-2), 23-10, in a Week 6 prime-time game. Here’s what we learned from the decisive upset:
1. Who are these New York Giants and where have they been for the first third of the season?! Winless and decimated by injuries, and with their fans ready to tank, Big Blue put together their most complete performance of the season against one of the league’s fiercest defenses and in one of the league’s toughest venues.
How did the Giants do it? Ben McAdoo handed play-calling duties over to offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan, a strategy that McAdoo told reporters he will revisit this week, but called “a pretty good plan.” Sullivan leaned on the running game, which, paced by the underrated Orleans Darkwa (21 carries, 117 yards) in the absence of Paul Perkins, finally broke out. Sans Odell, Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard, Eli Manning looked to rookie hybrid Evan Engram (five receptions, 82 yards), who lived up to the draft hype as a mismatch in the slot and split out wide on safeties. New York’s pass rush, led by Jason Pierre-Paul’s three sacks, raced by Denver’s sketchy offensive line, and their run defense woke up from its season-long slumber.
2. The Broncos lost this one in the trenches. Denver’s emerging running game with Jamaal Charles was ineffective against a previously underwhelming Giants run defense (29th in NFL); the Broncos finished with a season-low 46 rushing yards. The Giants’ offensive line, mainly right tackle Justin Pugh, kept Von Miller and Denver’s lauded defense at bay for the most part; New York should be happy to surrender only three sacks.
It also didn’t help that Trevor Siemianfell into bad habits early, throwing two first-half interceptions and looking uncomfortable in the face of New York’s pass rush. As Denver’s run game faltered, Siemian failed to pick up the offense. If Denver is to contend later on, Siemian will need to carry the team when not everything is clicking.
3. Janoris Jenkins was victimized routinely on Sunday night, but got the last word against Demaryius Thomas. Jackrabbit played most of the night on Thomas (10 receptions, 133 yards), who had his first 100-plus-yard receiving game of the season. But Jenkins was involved in the two biggest takeaways of the evening. Jenkins’ second-quarter pick-six extended New York’s lead to two scores going into the half. Then, on a fourth-down conversion in the third quarter, Jenkins had a crucial strip of Thomas just as the wideout crossed the first-down marker.
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