Giants news, 9/23: Giants win first game, Malik Nabers, Devin Singletary, more headlines

Good morning, New York Giants fans!

From Big Blue View

Other Giant observations

Describe the game in two words: Great resiliency. The Giants fumbled the opening kickoff and allowed a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. They didn't flinch. They still managed to go into halftime with a 21-7 lead by dominating on offense and defense. It was a first-half masterpiece by quarterback Daniel Jones, play-caller Daboll, defensive coordinator Shane Bowen (who surprisingly blitzed a lot) and rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers.

Motor seals the deal

Motor takes off

: FOX pic.twitter.com/napfsKZ36s — New York Giants (@Giants) September 22, 2024

Theoretically, although a touchdown would have put the Giants up at least 27-15 and would have made it a two-score game with no timeouts remaining for the Browns, Cleveland still would have had enough time to potentially to earn those scores, however unlikely they may have been. Instead, Singletary sliding down at the one allowed the Giants to kneel out the clock, giving them their first win of the season and a bad beat for OVER bettors.

The Giants brought the pressure and sacked Deshaun Watson three times in the first quarter alone and eight overall. Here is the list of Giants with sacks:

(2.0) DL Dexter Lawrence

(1.5) OLB Azeez Ojulari

(1.0) OLB Brian Burns, DL Elijah Chatman, S Jason Pinnock

(0.5) ILB Bobby Okereke, ILB Micah McFadden, DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches

During practice last week, Malik Nabers approached Brian Daboll with an idea.

Nabers had seen something intriguing while studying film of Browns cornerback Martin Emerson: He often tries to undercut routes at the top of the end zone.

Nabers first touchdown coming right at you

After getting basically no pressure and mostly terrible coverage in their first two games under new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, the Giants defense showed up big time in Week 3. They were all over Browns QB Deshaun Watson, sacking him eight times, forcing two turnovers and holding the Browns to just 217 yards. Even better, for a team that insisted it was going to generate most of its pressure from its front four, nine different players had at least half a sack. It was more than just Dexter Lawrence (two) and Brian Burns (one), though they got plenty of pressure on their own.

Azeez Ojulari got his first extended snaps of the year and he made the most of them. He had one sack and then recovered a huge fumble midway through the fourth quarter as the Browns were threatening.

Nabers had eight catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday in a 21-15 victory over the Cleveland Browns. At 21 years, 54 days, he's also the youngest wide receiver in NFL history with multiple receiving touchdowns in a single game, surpassing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Mike Evans (21 years, 73 days).

"The kid's special," Giants outside linebacker Brian Burns said. "He's showing you week in and week out he's special."

Nabers impact on the offense can not be overstated

Malik Nabers was targeted 12 times on 34 routes for 8 receptions, 78 yards and 2 touchdowns, accounting for 56.9% of the Giants team air yards.

Nabers is the only receiver in the NFL to account for over half of his team's air yards (57.6%) this season.

Powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/4H42o4zASW — Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 22, 2024

Incredibly gutsy move by Brian Daboll to go for it on his own 43-yard line, down 7-0, midway through the first quarter and his boldness was rewarded. Daboll’s play-calling was expertly diverse in the first half and you could tell he was feeling it.

Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen ratcheted up the pressure on Watson and it definitely rattled the veteran quarterback. Grade: A-minus

This week’s opponent

The afternoon was tough for Dak Prescott and a clearly-at-times frustrated CeeDee Lamb. Under pressure throughout, the quarterback was frequently off target but still threw for 379 yards with two scoring tosses for a 91.9 rating. The Ravens bullied their way through a Cowboys defense that continues to struggle to stop the run. Derrick Henry racked up 151 rushing yards and two touchdowns with Baltimore as a team totaling 274 rushing yards, averaging of 6.1 yards per carry.

The Cowboys kicker nailed a 65-yarder in the first quarter, his 14th in a row without a miss beyond 50 yards. It is the second-longest field goal in NFL history next to the 66-yarder by Baltimore’s Justin Tucker against the Lions in 2021.

Around the league

Saquon Barkley, Eagles pull out 15-12 win in New Orleans | Pro Football Talk

Eagles' DeVonta Smith, Lane Johnson exit with concussions | ESPN.com

Eagles’ C.J. Gardner-Johnson calls out Saints after handing former team first loss: ‘Top what?’ | NFL.com

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is off and running | Andscape

Justin Fields, Steelers improve to 3-0 after win vs. battered Chargers | The Athletic

Skylar Thompson exits Dolphins' loss to Seahawks with chest injury | ESPN.com

Sam Darnold throws four touchdowns in 34-7 rout of Texans | Pro Football Talk

Rams stun 49ers despite Jauan Jennings’ Jerry Rice-like stats | The Athletic

Panthers 36 Raiders 22: Andy Dalton shows us what the Panthers offense should look like | Cat Scratch Reader

Bo Nix lands first NFL win as Broncos cruise past Buccaneers 26-7 | The Athletic

Anthony Richardson’s goal-line shove was Colts’ secret weapon vs. Bears | SBNation.com

Malik Willis gets his revenge as the Packers beat the Titans 30-14 | Acme Packing Company

Panthers QB Bryce Young expected to start again this season | NFL.com

Bengals WR Tee Higgins (hamstring) off injury report, set to play vs. Commanders on Monday night | NFL.com

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