Make New York Post a Preferred Source If the Giants are not going to allow first downs, Jameis Winston is not going to throw interceptions, Cam Skattebo is going to run through tackles and Dominic Zvada is going to be perfect on field goals, maybe the Giants can survive without Jaxson Dart.
Of course, it would help if Robert Saleh and Brian Daboll – the two fired New York head coaches calling plays for the Titans – were on the other sideline every game.
The Giants forced five punts, made two key red-zone stop late in the second half — and allowed just 262 yards in an ugly (who cares?) 12-7 victory against the Titans at a rain-soaked and 60-percent-full MetLife Stadium.
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Jevon Holland, who is off to an All-Pro-caliber start, sealed the victory with an end-zone interception of Cam Ward with 17 seconds remaining. The Titans were threatening to steal a soul-crushing victory before Holland’s third interception in as many games.
In the first game since Dart underwent season-ending knee surgery, Winston didn’t generate much confidence that the Giants don’t need to add a quarterback who can challenge him for the starting job but he avoided the kind of catastrophic mistakes that will the underdogs on this soft part of the schedule to steal games.
Dennard Wilson, the former Titans defensive coordinator, had all the answers for Ward and an offense called by the former Giants head coach Daboll.
The most notable situation was on fourth-and-goal at the 7-yard line.
Wilson brought pressure – including Brian Burns, who was getting through an ankle injury – and flushed Ward to his left, where his off-balance pass sailed through the end zone. Dru Phillips dropped a second-down interception but was able to shrug it off when Ward missed an open Carnell Tate for a touchdown on third down.
The Titans netted 22 yards on and never moved the chains on their first five offensive possessions – all resulting in punts. And that’s not including the game-opening lost fumble on a kickoff return.
It was the fourth game since 1991 that the Giants allowed one or fewer first downs in a half. And that one first down did more damage than help to the Titans because it prompted Saleh to make the questionable decision to attempt a 59-yard field goal (wide left) and leave the Giants with the good starting field position, three timeouts and 41 seconds needed to score three points and head to the half with a 9-0 lead.
You really can’t be worse than the Titans were, and yet the Giants let them hang around with just three Dominic Zvada field goals (39, 27 and 39 yards) on their end.
A holding penalty by center John Michael Schmitz took the Giants out of field-goal range on one drive.
For the second straight week the, Giants refused to throw the ball into the end zone with Winston over three plays after first-and-goal at the 5-yard line, so they settled for three points. But that gift was handed back by the Titans’ missed field goal.
The Giants opened the second half with a 12-play, 59-yard, eight-minute drive to push their lead to 12-0. Again, they survived an untimely offensive line penalty (holding on right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor) that took the ball off the 7-yard line.
Of course, the Giants still made it interesting by allowing a 13-play, 91-yard touchdown drive capped by Ward-to-Wan’Dale Robinson, who made the sliding four-yard touchdown catch against his former team with 5:35 to play.
The Giants reportedly offered a future first-round pick to trade up from No. 3 to draft Ward at No. 1 in 2025 but wound up drafting Abdul Carter and trading into the end of the first round for Dart.
