Perhaps inspired by the return of defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, the Falcons’ defense did a credible job against the Giants until a near late collapse.
The unit play strong enough to allow the offense to build a 20-6 lead by controlling star rookie running back Saquon Barkley, sacking the quarterback four times and coming up with a goal-line stand.
The Falcons held on to post a 23-20 victory on Monday Night Football at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Jarrett, who had missed the two previous games with an sprained ankle, finished with six tackles, two sacks, two tackles for losses and two quarterback hits.
He was the disruptive force the Falcons (3-4) were missing in a loss to Pittsburgh and in a cliff-hanger win Tampa Bay.
“It felt good to be back out there with my boys,” Jarrett said. “I really missed being on the field. Being out will really teach you not to take things for granted.”
Barkley, the Giants rookie running back, finished with 43 yards on 14 carries. He also caught nine passes for 51 yards.
Barkley added a 2-yard touchdown, but the Giants two-point conversion attempt failed in their furious fourth-quarter rally that came up short.
“(We were) just getting a lot of hats to the ball,” Jarrett said. “You saw guys out there hunting in the pass game and run game. He’s a back, you have to give him his due respect. We haven’t ever seen anything like that. Just somebody who could really do it all. Big and fast. We had to pay him his respect.”
On the Giants’ first possession of the game, Jarrett blew by rookie guard Will Hernandez on first-and-10 from the Falcons’ 44 and dropped Eli Manning for a loss of seven yards. After two plays that netted only 11 yards, the Giants were forced to punt.
Defensive tackle Jack Crawford and defensive end Takkarist McKinley added sacks number two and three.
On third-and- 6 from the Falcons’ 9-yard line late in the second quarter, Jarrett had his second sack. He tackled Manning for a 4-yard loss and the Giants were forced to kick a field goal.
“I feel like we came out with the mentality to attack and guys did that all across the board,” Jarrett said. “Even guys who did not get to the quarterback were a big part of the play that was made.”
The Giants did get moving and eventually amassed 433 yards of offense. There were several breakdowns in the Falcons’ secondary as Odell Beckham Jr. got loose for eight catches and 143 yards and a touchdown.
Also, wide receiver Sterling Shepard had five catches for 167 yards.
“In the second half, I felt like the ball was coming out a little faster,” Jarrett said. “We were still getting there and getting pressure. We knew against Eli we definitely had to get there and get some good hits on him.”
The Falcons finished with nine quarterback hits.
“It’s hard when you are a leader of a unit and you cannot go out there with your boys,” Jarrett said. “Me coming back, I definitely wanted to show how much I cared about this team and this defense.
“Whether that is if I make a play or not, I just wanted to lead and be vocal. When you are on the sideline you can be vocal all you want, but when you are in the action it is a completely different thing. I definitely felt that I owed it to (the team) to come out here and do my best.”
Jarrett’s return was also an inspiration to the offense.
“Grady getting him back on defense was big,” wide receiver Julio Jones said. “His energy. He’s a leader is what he brings to the defensive line. Even for me, when he goes out there and gets sack, it fires me to want to go out there and play.”
It wasn’t an defensive masterpiece, but the injury-ravaged unit did make enough plays.
With the Falcons up 10-3, the defense made a goal-line stand on the Giants’ first possession of the second half.
The Giants, on the strength of an 53-yard pass play from Manning to Shepard, drove down to the Falcons 1-yard line.
On third-and-goal, defensive tackle Deadrin Senat and defensive Brooks Reed stopped Barkley for no gain.
The Giants elected to go for it on fourth-and-goal, but Manning tried to force a pass into tight end Scott Simonson that was incomplete.
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