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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Dan Benton

Stock up, down after Giants’ 30-12 loss to 49ers

The New York Giants dropped to 1-2 on the season following a 30-12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Thursday night.

It was another ugly prime-time showing for the Giants, whose schedule isn’t going to let up any time soon. They now have 10 days of rest before a Week 4 battle with the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football.

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Whose stock is up and whose is down after the Week 3 loss? Let’s take a look.

Stock up: Micah McFadden

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Linebacker Micah McFadden was downright awful in a Week 2 victory over the Arizona Cardinals but rebounded nicely on Thursday night. He was far from perfect, missing a few tackles, but it was night and day compared to his performance just a few days earlier. He led the team with 10 tackles and four tackles for a loss.

Stock down: Darren Waller

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Tight end Darren Waller, the Giants’ best offensive weapon with Saquon Barkley out, did not tip the scales in Week 3. In fact, he had the opposite effect, dropping two passes including one that was intercepted. This is not what the Giants envisioned when they acquired Waller in an offseason trade.

Stock up: Leonard Williams

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

People will point to the Giants being gashed in the running game as a reason defensive lineman Leonard Williams shouldn’t make the “stock up” list, but he had his best performance of the season nonetheless. He made a few standout plays, finishing the game with six tackles, two QB hits, and 0.5 sacks.

Stock down: Brian Daboll

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

The Giants are short on personnel and the talent gap between them and the top-tier teams is significant, but Brian Daboll’s team has looked uninspired in two of the three games this season. He was completely out-coached on Thursday night and had absolutely no answers on offense or defense.

Stock up: Jamie Gillan

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Once again, the fact that a punter makes this list speaks volumes about how poorly the Giants have been playing. With that having been said, Jamie Gillan provided some reasons for optimism on Thursday night as he was booming punts, leaning on directional kicks, and displayed a hang-time improvement. Ideally, the Giants wouldn’t have to use these improving skills but here we are.

Stock down: Tre Hawkins

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Forget anything you saw from Tre Hawkins in coverage — it was his tackling that landed him in this spot. He made one of the worst whiffs against the run that you may ever see. There are bound to be rookie mistakes but… Yeesh.

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