The New York Giants managed to find a new rock bottom on Sunday, falling to the Las Vegas Raiders, 30-6, in a game that also saw quarterback Daniel Jones suffer an apparent season-ending injury.
Despite mass turnover within the Raiders organization and an unproven rookie starting at quarterback, the Giants never stood a chance. They had the doors blown off them from the opening kickoff on.
With the loss, the Giants fall to 2-7 on the season and they must now begin to turn their attention to the 2024 NFL draft.
Here’s a look at some of the studs and duds (and studly duds) from the team’s latest loss.
STUD: RB Saquon Barkley
There were precious few bright spots for the Giants on Sunday but running back Saquon Barkley was one.
Even with the Raiders able to stack the box and load up to stop Barkley, he rushed for 90 yards (5.6 ypc) and added another 23 yards on three receptions.
DUD: LB Kayvon Thibodeaux
After several impressive weeks that briefly caused his critics to fall into silence, linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux vanished in Week 9.
Not only did Thibs generate absolutely no pressure, he hardly factored into the game at all. He recorded just one tackle and was otherwise invisible against an offensive line that should have allowed him to feast.
STUD: WR Wan'Dale Robinson
Second-year wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson continues to quietly put solid play on tape. He recorded four receptions on five targets for 35 yards and scored the Giants only touchdown on Sunday but that wasn’t all.
Robinson has impressive field awareness and does a lot right — a lot that goes overlooked. He’s a solid blocker despite his size and against the Raiders, recovered a Jalin Hyatt fumble.
DUD: Brian Daboll
After starting last season 6-1, head coach Brian Daboll has compiled a 6-14-1 record including the playoffs. He’s gone from Bono to Bozo in a hurry.
This week, Daboll elected to carry two kickers on the gameday roster (one on the 53-man and one elevated from the practice squad) instead of a third quarterback. That not only hurt the Giants after Jones’ injury, but it proved to be completely pointless.
The Giants attempted neither a field goal nor a PAT on Sunday.
Now there are rumblings that a rift is growing between the coaching staff and players. Yeehaw.
STUD: WR Gunner Olszewski
The Giants were a disaster at punt returner before Gunner Olszewski’s arrival. He hasn’t broken one for a touchdown but he’s more than capable and turned a team weakness into a strength. He fields the ball well and averaged 11.0 yards per return against the Raiders. It could have been more but he was tackled by his own teammate on one of his three returns.
DUD: OL Evan Neal
Right tackle Evan Neal returned from a right ankle sprain on Sunday only to exit the game with a left ankle sprain. He’s likely out for several more weeks.
If the injury isn’t frustrating enough, his play should be. He was clearly rusty but beyond that, he was completely dominated by the Raiders average pass rush. At one point, he caught a punch to the chest and simply folded over like a wet piece of paper.
STUDLY DUD: QB Tommy DeVito
Rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito was put into an unwinnable situation for the second time in as many weeks and it wasn’t pretty. At one point in the first half, he had tossed more interceptions (2) than he had completions (1) but he kept battling.
It’s not DeVito’s fault he’s been thrown to the wolves. And it’s not his fault he’s had to be “the guy” in consecutive games due to poor personnel management.
Despite all of that, he still completed 15 of his 20 passes for 175 yards to go along with his first career touchdown pass.
It could have been a lot worse for a guy who’s taken a grand total of zero first-team reps in practice.
Other STUDS:
- P Jamie Gillan
- LB Micah McFadden
- CB Cor’Dale Flott
Other DUDS:
- OL Andrew Thomas
- NT Dexter Lawrence
- WR Isaiah Hodgins
