Eli Manning got his career record as a starting quarterback back to .500 Sunday as he and the New York Giants routed the Miami Dolphins 36-20 in Week 15 action.
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Final Score
New York Giants 36, Miami Dolphins 20
New York Giants
Quarterback Eli Manning played in front of the home crowd for the first time in months and his performance resembled his career at large, as he had an up-and-down afternoon. Manning made some outstanding big-time throws downfield, but he also had a couple head-scratching interceptions as he misread the coverage.
Second-year running back Saquon Barkley found his old form against the Dolphins as he rushed for more than 100 yards in this game. Barkley looked like his old self as he kept extending runs and breaking multiple tackles. His highlights of the afternoon came against Dolphins cornerback Nik Needham, as he stiff-armed Needham once and juked past him on another run.
Rookie defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence had one of the best games of his young career against Miami. Lawrence collapsed the pocket on multiple times and wreaked havoc in the middle of the Dolphins offensive line. In addition, while he did not record a sack in the game, he made his presence felt in rushing the passer as well.
Rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker continued his recent form and played well against the Dolphins. Baker got the best of Miami wide receiver DeVante Parker and also made multiple pass breakups on the day.
Miami Dolphins
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick put together another solid performance against the Giants. Fitzpatrick was vicitmized by multiple dropped passes, but still had decent stats and completed 23 of his 41 pass attempts. The veteran quarterback also made things happen on the ground once again, though he also turned the ball over once with a fumble on a scramble.
Wide receiver DeVante Parker was unable to continue his recent form as he exceeded 50 receiving yards only with his late touchdown reception in garbage time. In addition, Parker lost multiple of his battles with rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker and also had a dropped pass.
Dolphins edge defender Vince Biegel was one of the few Dolphins defenders playing well against the Giants. Biegel had an interception as he stepped in the passing lane to catch the pass of Eli Manning. In addition, Biegel successfully set the edge all afternoon and made multiple plays against the running game.
Miami linebacker Jerome Baker stood out in coverage as he made multiple good plays in pass defense, the biggest coming as he intercepted Manning and returned it to set up the Dolphins scoring a field goal. Baker also led the team in tackles as he made his presence felt against the running game.
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