Andrew Thomas needed to be picked up by teammates off the turf on Sunday, when he wasn’t limping in between performs or slowly rising off his knees himself.
“I knew Drew was actually hurting on the market,” middle Jon Feliciano mentioned.
The Giants’ left deal with tweaked his twice-surgically-repaired left ankle a pair instances within the first half. However he by no means got here out of the sport.
And within the fourth quarter, he sprinted 40 yards downfield to information Ravens nook Marcus Peters out of bounds on an interception that got here again attributable to a Baltimore penalty.
Why are the Giants 5-1? Nicely, it doesn’t damage that their captain on Daniel Jones’ blind facet is enjoying the very best ball of his profession, and is setting a gutsy instance for the group.
“It simply begins once we discuss what you’re enjoying for,” Thomas advised the Every day Information after Sunday’s 24-20 win. “The most important factor with this group, the rationale why we combat so laborious, is simply because we play for one another. There’s not likely selfishness.
“No person’s like: I’m not getting the ball,” Thomas added. “Everyone’s working laborious. Receivers are blocking within the run sport. Everyone’s placing their physique on the road. It’s simple to combat by one thing like that when persons are preventing for you, too.”
Thomas, a third-year professional, is the one Giants offensive participant who has not missed a snap but this season. He has performed all 396.
He's additionally Professional Soccer Soccer Focus’ highest-graded offensive lineman this season (90.2). He has not allowed a sack but. He has allowed solely 9 QB pressures in six video games. And he's PFF’s No. 7 O-lineman in zone run blocking (89.4).
Feliciano had performed 100% of the Giants’ snaps by 5 weeks, too, till he tweaked his groin in Sunday’s second half. Nonetheless, he solely missed 4 snaps contained in the blue tent earlier than returning. One other instance of a big-name group chief gutting it out.
“Yeah,” Feliciano mentioned with a smirk. “I wasn’t gonna miss a lot time.”
After which there was Saquon Barkley within the fourth quarter, shaking out his injured proper shoulder, leaving the sport for a snap, doubled over in ache on the sideline.
He returned one play later and leapt into the tip zone for the go-ahead landing, regardless that his shoulder was so tender, he couldn’t even rejoice along with his teammates.
(Take a look at the replay, proper guard Mark Glowinski provides Barkley a playful shove on his shoulder, and Barkley recoils and jogs away).
Thomas, by the way in which, made the important thing block on Barkley’s landing, crashing down and pushing Ravens edge Jason Pierre-Paul into one other dimension.
Rookie proper deal with Evan Neal, the bookend to Thomas on the Giants’ offensive line, mentioned it units a tone when gamers like Thomas, Feliciano and Barkley are grinding by ache.
“It makes an enormous distinction,” Neal mentioned. “It makes you need to combat to your teammate that a lot tougher, as a result of he’s on the market busting his ass and he doesn’t really feel one hundred pc. It simply exhibits the grit these guys have and makes me need to play that a lot tougher.”
WHERE WAS WARD?
Giants edge rusher Jihad Ward has been one of many group’s finest gamers this season and considered one of its emotional leaders. So it was curious to see him sidelined for the ultimate two drives of Sunday’s fourth quarter towards his former Ravens group.
Of the eight snaps Ward sat, Kayvon Thibodeaux performed seven of these snaps at edge, Oshane Ximines performed six and undrafted rookie Tomon Fox performed three.
“That’s the package deal we had in,” head coach Brian Daboll mentioned on Zoom Monday. “Simply our rotation.”
Ward didn’t complain after the sport. However he didn’t dismiss a query about his absence, both.
“Hear, benefit from all of your alternatives on the market,” Ward mentioned. “I don’t make choices on any of that stuff. They did a hell of a job teaching. So with that being mentioned, benefit from all of your alternatives. I don’t sit round right here and cry about why I’m not in there. I want them guys and so they want me. So I benefit from all my alternatives. I’ve been doing that every one my entire profession.”
Ward is an effective teammate. He was pumped up on the sideline as Julian Love and Thibodeaux pressured game-changing turnovers.
“Kayvon for President,” Ward mentioned with a smile.
It simply didn’t add as much as see one of many group’s most impactful gamers idle on the sideline for eight defensive snaps with the sport on the road.
It didn’t seem like damage associated, or Daboll would have mentioned so. Ward had obtained a veteran relaxation day on Thursday to get his physique proper. However he was a full apply participant on Friday and had began Sunday’s sport.
STAYING FOCUSED
Vast receiver Darius Slayton mentioned Monday on Zoom that it gained’t be laborious for the Giants to disregard their 5-1 report and maintain grinding as a result of they've a lot apply attempting to neglect their report in earlier years.
“We've expertise of ignoring our report for dangerous causes,” Slayton mentioned. “So that have might be gonna repay, if we proceed this development and simply ignore it and maintain enjoying good ball.”
Slayton was requested if it’s higher to disregard a superb report or a nasty report.
“Significantly better to disregard a superb one,” he smiled. “I can attest.”
ODDS AND ENDS
Ximines mentioned Monday that he tweaked his quad on the Love interception play, however he’ll be OK … Ward clamored on Sunday for Jackson to get his large contract from Baltimore: “Pay that man. Pay Lamar Jackson please!”
()