Giants grades vs. Raiders: More failing marks all around
Giants head coach Brian Daboll watches during the first half of an NFL game against the Raiders on Sunday in Las Vegas. Credit: AP/John Locher
F OFFENSE
Even with Daniel Jones in the game, the Giants couldn’t do much of anything. Their first two possessions ended with attempts on fourth-and-1s in which the Giants were much more tush than push: Evan Neal was called for a false start on the first one and they wound up punting, and Jones was stuffed on the second (with Saquon Barkley momentarily sidelined). At least the Giants let Tommy DeVito throw the ball in this game, unlike last week, even though it resulted in back-to-back interceptions late in the second quarter that led to 10 Raiders points. The second one went right through Darius Slayton’s hands. A 9-yard TD pass from DeVito to Wan'Dale Robinson early in the fourth quarter avoided the embarrassment of a shutout.
F DEFENSE
A rookie quarterback and a rookie offensive coordinator handed it to a Giants defense that had been looking like a legit group. Nope. Aidan O’Connell didn’t even have to target All-World receiver Davante Adams until the final minute of the first half to build a 24-0 lead at the break. The newly installed starter was 16-for-29 passing for 209 yards. Running back Josh Jacobs plowed through and over the Leonard Williams-less defensive line for 98 yards and two touchdowns. The two standouts for the D the previous few weeks, Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux, must have thought the Raiders still played in Oakland and mistakenly flew there instead.
C SPECIAL TEAMS
All that hullabaloo and roster wrangling to get a kicker active for this game, and in the first half, practice-squad call-up Randy Bullock never even stepped on the field. He at least kicked off twice in the second half. Two of Gunner Olszewski’s fake fair catches inside the 10 finally bounced into the end zone and worked out for the Giants (yes, that is what constitutes highlights these days). Parris Cambell looks competent as a kickoff returner. Those two combined elements make it all the more damning that rookie Eric Gray was handling both jobs earlier this season.
F COACHING
Tough question for you: Who left this game feeling more interim, Antonio Pierce or Brian Daboll? There wasn’t much Daboll could have done after Jones left the game . . . and he hit that mark. More concerning is that this should have been defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s time to shine — and potentially make his case to Mark Davis that he be considered as the next head coach of the Raiders — but instead he was the one who plunged into a Black Hole. Mike Kafka might be better off playing as a backup quarterback for the Giants than serving as the coordinator of the league’s worst offense.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
