Running on Empty

If you were at MetLife Stadium yesterday afternoon to watch the Giants play the New Orleans Saints, you got a special treat: you saw three games for the price of one.

There was game one, in which the Giants forced the Saints to punt on their first three possessions and went up 10-0 late in the second quarter. 

There was game two, in which the Giants turned the ball over four times - one on a fumble - and the Saints scored 34 unanswered points to take a 34-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.

And then there was game three, in which the Giants mounted a furious comeback, scoring 17 straight points to pull within 34-27 with 2:04 left in regulation, and were seconds away from possibly tying the game.

In the end, though, the rally fell short and New York lost a very winnable game against an opponent that started the day 1-4. With the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys both losing to fall to 2-4, Big Blue blew a golden opportunity to take a commanding lead in the NFC East.

There was plenty not to like about this game.

The fumble by Charlie Jones on a kickoff return with 1:18 remaining in the second quarter and the Giants up 10-3, completely changed the trajectory of this game. The Saints scored the tying touchdown with one second left in the half and then scored the next 24 points to take a commanding lead. You can't turn the ball over like that and expect to win in the NFL. At the very least, the Giants should've taken a seven point lead into the locker room. At the most, they could've extended their lead.

Jameis Winston finally came back down to Earth. After two very impressive starts in which he threw for 576 yards with 6 touchdowns and two interceptions, he transformed back into a pumpkin. His two picks in the second half, one of which was thrown directly at the defender, were inexcusable, but sadly predictable. This is what you get with Winston: a quarterback who can thrill you with incredible pass plays but can also frustrate you with inexplicable interceptions. You literally get the good with the bad with him. 

And finally there was the run game, or lack thereof. The Giants managed only 84 yards against a Saints team that had allowed an average of 157 yards on the ground in their last three games. Cam Skattebo, whose fumble in Washington last week would've resulted in a loss had Jayden Daniels not had the brain fart of the decade, had zero carries. John Harbaugh said it had nothing to do with sending a message, but nobody seriously believes that. The real question wasn't why Skattebo didn't touch the ball but why Matt Naggy abandoned the running game so early. After they went up 10-0 late in the first half, the Giants ran the ball only seven more times the rest of the game, and one of those rushes was a 28 yard scramble by J.J. McCarthy on their final possession.

The Saints defense could not believe their good fortune; they teed off on Winston and McCarthy, sacking them five times for a loss of 18 yards. It is axiomatic, even in today's NFL, that you need to be able to run the ball in order to keep defenses honest. Otherwise you get what happened yesterday. Harbaugh can say all he wants that no one has stepped up in that room, and that's certainly true. But even if you're only gaining 2 to 3 yards a pop, that's still better than throwing an incomplete pass, which is what Winston did a lot of yesterday. I'd rather have a third and a manageable five than a third and long any day.

Case in point, on their first scoring drive, the Giants ran a total of 12 plays: 7 runs for 34 yards and 5 passes for 59. It was by far their most effective possessions of the game. Why on Earth would you stop doing that, especially with a quarterback that moves about as fast as a glacier in Greenland? It literally made no sense to anyone who was watching. 

So instead of being 4-1-1, the Giants are 3-2-1 going into Houston to play a Texans team that has won two in a row and is clicking on all cylinders. Unlike the Saints, the Texans can actually play defense, and they have a pretty damn good quarterback. C.J. Stroud is second in the league with 1,714 yards and is playing like he did his rookie season when he threw for over 4,100 yards. According to ESPN Analytics, Houston has an 85 percent chance of winning. Normally, I don't pay much attention to predictions, but it's hard to argue with this one.

If I'm Harbaugh, I've seen enough of Winston. It's time to turn the page and hand the reigns over to McCarthy. His 243 passing yards in the fourth quarter yesterday were the most ever by a quarterback in NFL history. How much of that was because of McCarthy and how much of it was because the Saints went into a prevent defense is anyone's guess. But regardless, the Giants aren't going anywhere with an immobile and erratic signal caller under center. With the division wide open, Harbaugh has no choice but to roll the dice. As I wrote in an earlier piece, he didn't acquire him to sit on the bench. He clearly knows enough of the playbook to start.

McCarthy gives the Giants something they haven't had since Jaxson Dart went down in week two: a dual-threat quarterback. Naggy was brought here to design an offense around Dart. While no one is suggesting that McCarthy is as good as Dart, it's clear from the evidence that Winston ins't. He's the perfect backup, as long as you don't need him to actually play.

Week six is in the books; week seven is up next.

A "Likely" Win

The night started out good and it ended even better. The New York Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys 28-20 at MetLife Stadium in front of 83,286 fans, most of whom were rooting for the home team. It was the most impressive win Big Blue has had in over a decade, and only the third time since they won Super Bowl 46 that they started the season 1-0; the other two times - 2016 and 2022 - they made the playoffs.

Cam Skattebo led the ground attack for the Giants with 81 yards on 18 carries, including a touchdown on New York's first drive. Jaxson Dart was brilliant all game. He was 23/29 for 230 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. He finished with a passer rating of 134 and a QBR of 81.6. Going into the season, the one lingering question was how he would play under center. Based on what we saw last night, I'd say that question was answered satisfactorily. 

But it was Isaiah Likely who stole the show. The tight end had 8 receptions for 78 yards, including two touchdowns. He also had two key third-down receptions late in the game that allowed the Giants to keep possession of the ball and run out the clock. Of all the offseason signings by John Harbaugh, Likely could prove to be the most consequential.

There were so many keys to this game, but I'll concentrate on three.

One: It was obvious from the opening kickoff that the Giants were the more physical, better prepared team. The grueling practice sessions in training camp paid off. Unlike past seasons, when they would run out of gas late in games, this team looked fresh in the fourth quarter. Indeed, it was the Cowboys who looked gassed.

Two: The Giants had seven possessions in the game and they scored a touchdown on four of them. No settling for field goals; no three and outs; and only one punt. The two TD drives they had in the second half took more than 16 minutes off the clock. When the Jints got the ball back with 5:21 left in the game, they never gave it up. Dallas was limited to only two possessions over the final two quarters. Overall, New York dominated the time of possession 36:40 to 23:20. 

Three: Remember last year in Dallas when James Hudson committed four penalties on one possession, one of which cost the Giants a touchdown? Four penalties on one drive before Brian Daboll finally benched him. Well, after Tyrone Tracey fumbled the ball late in the second quarter with the Giants in field goal range, Harbaugh had seen enough. He benched Tracey the rest of the game. The message could not be clearer. Careless mistakes will not be tolerated. There's a new sheriff in town, and he means business. 

But as wonderful as the night was for New York, there were still some red flags. Even with the bad officiating, Dak Prescott had his way with the Giants secondary. Dru Phillips, in particular, was brutal. Going into the season, my main concern with this team was its secondary, especially the cornerback position. Nothing I saw last night did anything to allay that concern. If this team is going to go anywhere, it's clear the front seven will have to carry the lion's share of the load defensively. While they did an excellent job against the run - Dallas averaged just 3.8 yards per rush attempt - they did not have a single sack on Prescott the whole game, even though they managed eleven hurries.

The fact is the Giants won this game because their offense kept the Cowboys offense on the sidelines most of the night. But that won't be the case every time. Sooner or later the pass rush and the coverage will have to pull its weight. It'll be up to Dennard Wilson to make the necessary corrections and adjustments. 

In the meantime, Big Blue can enjoy the fruits of their labor. They're 1-0. They earned the win; they were the better team. Now it's on to L.A. to play a Rams team that was embarrassed by the 49ers in Melbourne Australia. You can bet the ranch Sean McVay will have his team ready by Monday. After that come two very winnable games against the Titans and Cardinals, both at MetLife. Tennessee lost to the Jets 23-10 at home. They might be the worst team in the NFL. Guess who their offensive coordinator is. Yep, that guy.

3-1 has a good ring to it, doesn't it?