PFF takeaways from win over Panthers

PFF takeaways from Week 2 win over Panthers

The Giants picked up another hard-fought victory when they defeated the Carolina Panthers, 19-16, in the home opener.

Trailing in the second half for the second consecutive week, the Giants mounted a late comeback as Daniel Jones led two drives that resulted in a pair of Graham Gano field goals from 50+ yards out in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

“Good, hard-fought game,” Coach Brian Daboll said after the win. “Another 60-minute game. Thought our guys competed well. I thought they were prepared; had a good week of practice, and these are the games in the National Football League. There’s certainly a lot of things we need to do better, but I’m happy for the guys. Graham made all his kicks. (There were) some big kicks there at the end for us, and DJ led the team down to get some extra points there, which was a huge difference. (I) thought the defense played well; started out fast. Wish we could’ve gotten more points on the board early on after those two turnovers, but all-in-all a good team win. And (we’ll) get ready for next week.”

Here are Pro Football Focus takeaways from the big Week 2 win.

*Andrew Thomas was the highest-graded player on offense in Week 1. Against the Panthers, Thomas was the highest-graded player on the field for either team as he picked up an elite 87.5 overall grade. On 73 snaps at left tackle, the 23-year-old earned an incredible 90.8 run block grade in addition to his 79.0 pass block grade.

*Thomas is not only the highest-graded offensive tackle in the NFL this season, but he is also the highest-graded offensive lineman overall, and by a significant margin. He has received an 89.1 overall grade after the first two games, while the next highest lineman has an 83.4. Thomas’ 88.3 run block grade ranks third among tackles, while his 82.8 pass block grade is the sixth-highest at the position.

*Staying on the offensive line, both Ben Bredeson and Josh Ezeudu received strong marks in pass protection after splitting time at left guard. Bredeson (56 total snaps, 33 pass block snaps) earned the highest mark in pass protection on the team with his 81.6, while Ezeudu (17 total snaps, 13 pass block snaps) was not far behind with his 72.3.

*Rookie right tackle Evan Neal received a very solid 73.9 pass block grade in Week 2, which helped raise his season grade to 67.3. This is the second-highest pass block grade among the team’s offensive linemen and the highest among rookie tackles.

*Richie James was…