LONDON — The Giants have shown remarkable grit and determination this season when playing in the United States. They took that fighting spirit overseas and showed an international audience — and the Packers, from Green Bay, Wisc. — that this is a new and quite improved Giants operation.
The Giants trailed 17-3 in the second quarter and 20-10 at halftime against Aaron Rodgers and it looked as if this would not be a fruitful trip across the pond for coach Brian Daboll’s club. What transpired in the second half was stunning. The Giants on defense pitched a shutout. Daniel Jones gutted out yards and points. Saquon Barkley was forced out with a shoulder injury and returned, not wearing a cape but playing like Superman.
Barkley scored the game-winning touchdown with 6:08 remaining and then turned the game over to their largely no-name defense. Rodgers moved the Packers to the Giants’ 7 yard line but on fourth down his pass was deflected up and into the air by blitzing safety Xavier McKinney. The ball fell harmlessly to the grass at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with 1:11 remaining and soon after the Giants secured an improbable 27-22 comeback victory.
The Giants remain undefeated in the United Kingdom. They came over here 2-0 on foreign soil. They beat the Dolphins in 2007 in the first-ever International Series game, played at Wembley Stadium, a famed English soccer pitch and defeated the Rams in 2016 in a game played at Twickenham Stadium, a rugby venue.
Barkley ran 13 times for 70 yards. Jones, playing despite a sprained left ankle, was incredibly resilient. He completed 21 of 27 passes for 217 yards and ran 10 times for 37 yards. The Giants limited the damage and Rodgers was held scoreless in the second half.
The Giants took a safety with punter Jamie Gillan with 10 seconds remaining. The Packers got the ball back with seven seconds to go, Rodgers rolled out for one of his patented Hail Mary heaves and Oshane Ximines was there to deck Rodgers, ending one of the most emotional Giants’ victories in years.
The Giants are 4-1. The Packers are 3-2.
Make no mistake, this was a road game for the Giants, with the crowd composed mostly of Packers fans — it was their home game. By the end though, the Giants fans who made the transAtlantic journey were in full-throat mode.
Barkley had 68 yards on 12 rushing attempts when he left the game with 3:15 remaining in the third quarter. Barkley caught a pass and was dragged down by linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, with Campbell landing on Barkley and Barkley immediately motioning that something was wrong. He came off the field, headed into the medical tent and when he emerged out of the tent his helmet was taken away from him. Eventually, he got it back.
The Giants were down 17-10 when Barkley departed and Jones was left with a remarkably makeshift collection of skill players around him. Yet Jones persevered. He put together a 15-play, 91-yard drive that took 8:07 off the clock, handing the ball to Matt Breida and throwing it to practice squad call-up Marcus Johnson and rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger and backup tight end Chris Myarick and wide receiver David Sills. It was fitting that Gary Brightwell, a seldom-used running back, muscled his way into the end zone on a bullish 2-yard run to pull the Giants even at 20-20 with 10:08 remaining.
Next, the Giants got big defensive plays from Nick McCloud and Fabian Moreau — yeah, who? — to force a three-and-out and took over on their own 40-yard line. What followed was wild. Barkley returned to the field, caught a short pass and raced 41 yards. Brieda followed with an 11-yard run. Jones took a big hit from safety Adrian Amos on a 4-yard gain. Rasul Douglas threw down Darius Slayton for a penalty that put the Giants on the 2-yard line. Barkley took a direct snap out of the Wildcat formation and was not stopped, beating every Packers defender to the right corner of the end zone. It was 27-20 with 6:08 left.
This was the 32nd game the NFL has played in London and it was the first time the two teams arrived with winning records.
The Giants trailed 17-3 when Rodgers found a wide-open Marcedes Lewis for an easy touchdown toss midway through the second quarter. It was looking like a quiet day for the Giants on offense. They started Sills and Johnson at wide receiver. Jones, playing despite a sprained left ankle that knocked him out of last week’s victory over the Bears, was not nearly as mobile as usual in the first half. He ran the ball only one time in the first half and picked up only three lumbering yards before he was shoved out of bounds and sent tumbling by Campbell.
Rodgers stepped up in the pocket on third down and found Randall Cobb for a 35-yard gain but the Giants limited the damage on the opening Packers drive when rookie safety Dane Belton on a blitz forced Rodgers to get rid of the ball, leading to Mason Crosby’s 47-yard field goal and a 3-0 Packers lead.
After a pair of uninspiring three-and-outs on offense to start the game Jones and Co. awakened, a bit. A 26-yard completion from Jones to Slayton — a rare downfield connection to a wide receiver this season — and an 11-yard pass to Bellinger set up Graham Gano’s 48-yard field goal for the Giants’ only points of the first half.
Slayton helped the Giants to more points on the next possession. Barkley on a direct snap rumbled for 40 yards and Slayton then caught passes for gains of 10 and 9 yards. From the Green Bay 3-yard line, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka came up with perhaps his most inventive call in the first five games. Jones pitched the ball to Barkley, who flipped it to Bellinger on a double-reverse. Bellinger scored to make it 17-10 with 1:15 left in the second quarter but Rodgers hooked up twice with Cobb and the Packers added a field goal as time expired in the first half to go ahead 20-10.
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