The New York Giants improved to 2-1 after their 12-7 victory in the rainy conditions at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. The Giants’ special teams helped secure the win, with Jordan Stout averaging 53 yards on five punts and rookie kicker Dominic Zvada booting all four of his attempts for the 12 points the Jameis Winston-led offense scored. Winston didn’t prove he should be the Giants’ quarterback for the rest of the season, but he did enough to secure the win.
The Giants possessed the football for nine
more minutes than the Titans, and the Giants were penalized ten times for 88 yards. The Titans ended up outgaining the Giants 262 yards to 238. Both offenses were inefficient on third down; the Giants went 4 of 13 and the Titans 5 of 13 — all five in the second half.
Arvell Reese led the Giants with 12 tackles, with Dru Phillips recording 11 and Tremaine Edmunds recording 10. However, the vaunted Giants’ pass rush lost Brian Burns midway through the game to a right knee injury, and the Giants did not sack Ward once in the game. The defense bent badly in the second half after a hot start. It’s something to monitor moving forward. The Giants were lucky enough to escape with a win against the Titans, and here are five plays that were crucial for one reason or another.
Play 1: Jevon Holland!
Holland has an interception in each game so far this season — none bigger than this game-sealing pick:
Holland’s patience and vision were exceptional on this play against the second-year signal caller. Holland started to close width on Ward, who was scrambling to the boundary, but the safety read the quarterback’s eyes and sank underneath the route breaking behind him. Holland intercepted the pass and secured the Giants’ second win of the season. Holland is having a fantastic season for the Giants.
Play(s) 2: FIVE three-and-outs to start
Brian Daboll’s return did not go as planned in the rainy, windy conditions of East Rutherford, N.J. New York’s defense shut down Tennessee’s rushing attack, holding them to 13 first-half rushing yards, an average of 2.2 yards per carry. The first Tennessee drives resulted in three-and-outs, resulting in 32 total yards. Wan’Dale Robinson failed to secure two catchable passes, and the offense struggled to do anything against the Giants until the two-minute drill.
The Titans did respond well in the second half. Brian Daboll started attacking the Giants on quick out routes, which allowed Cam Ward to get into a rhythm. The Titans finished the day with a twelve-play drive and two thirteen-play drives. Unfortunately, for Tennessee, it resulted in just one touchdown and the aformentioned Jevon Holland — game-sealing — interception.
Play 3: 59-yard field goal try
Tennessee drove the football to the Giants’ 41-yard line, and Robert Saleh opted to kick a 59-yard field goal, down 6-0. Joey Slye missed the kick, and the Giants took over with 41 seconds left in the first half. Jameis Winston threw two incompletions and then found Malik Nabers on a quick slant that converted the third-and-10. He then found Darnell Mooney for 7yards to help set up Dominic Zvada’s third field goal, a 39-yarder that gave the Giants a two-possession lead.
Play(s) 4: Fourth-down stop
The Titans had a 12-play, 62-yard drive that yielded zero points after Cam Ward sailed this ball incomplete. The Giants’ defense bent through the drive, surrendered a 20-yard completion to Carnell Tate and a 12-yard run by Tony Pollard. Still, the Giants defense clamped down with deceptive pressure looks in the red area that resulted in two incomplete passes. Ward missed an open Tate in the end zone on the third-and-goal play.
Play 5: Cam Skattebo the receiver
Points were hard to come by in this sloppy, weathered game, but the Giants broke the 0-0 tie after this third-and-seven conversion by Jameis Winston to running back Cam Skattebo. Matt Nagy called a familiar 3×1 look with the pivot/corner to the three-receiver side and the running back releasing toward the lone receiver side; Skattebo does a great job extending his route downfield, and Winston took a SHOT as he released to the open back. In patented fashion, Skattebo finishes the play with tenacity.
