Giants Country

Giants Hold 13-11 Halftime Lead Over Jaguars

The Giants are trying to win their first-ever game at Jacksonville and improve to 6-1 on the season.

Patricia Traina

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
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The New York Giants hold a 13-11 halftime lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars in their Week 7 game at TIAA Bank Field.

The Jaguars, looking to limit the Giants' running game in the first half, did just that, holding New York to 61 rushing yards on 14 carries, of which Saquon Barkley has 18 yards on nine carries.  

Quarterback Daniel Jones, who has only thrown for 200+ yards once this season (against the Packers in Week 5), finished the first half 15 of 22 for 168 yards and one touchdown, his leading receiver being rookie Wan'Dale Robinson, who caught six of eight pass targets for 50 yards.

The Giants drew first blood on their opening drive, capping a 9-play, 75-yard scoring drive with a 32-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Daniel Jones to receiver Darius Slayton. 

The drive--the Giants' first opening-drive touchdown of the season and one that snapped an NFL-long 14-game drought with no opening-drive touchdowns--featured two big third-down conversions, one on a 14-yard scramble by Jones and the other a pass to running back Saquon Barkley in the flat.  

The Jaguars responded with a touchdown of their own to cap a 6-play, 70-play drive in which they faced no third downs. Running back Travis Etienne scored his first career touchdown on a 7-yard rush.

After the Giants were called for illegal formation on the extra point, which the Jaguars made, Jacksonville decided to go for two, which they made when Etienne carried it in to give his team an 8-7 lead with 6:58 left in the first quarter.

Jacksonville made it 11-7 on Riley Patterson's 27-yard field goal to cap another 70-yard drive (this one on 12 plays) after the Giants defense settled down. 

The Giants made it 11-10 on Graham Gano's 33-yard field goal with 7:31 left.

The Jaguars threatened to score with 3:26 left in the half after Etienne took the handoff from the Giants' 17-yard line. The ball was punched out by Giants safety Xavier McKinney and rolled into the end zone. 

Safety Julian Love alertly recovered the ball for the Giants' ninth takeaway this year and quickly got out of bounds for the touchback, ending the Jaguars' threat. 

The Giants had three notable injuries in the first half. Left guard Ben Bredeson suffered a knee injury in the first quarter, for which he was carted off to the locker room. Bredeson was ruled out of the rest of the game and was replaced in the lineup by rookie Joshua Ezeudu.

Rookie Evan Neal was injured in the second quarter following a 4-yard run by Barkley up the middle when his left knee was rolled up into. Neal declined to be carted off and hobbled off to the sideline. 

He was eventually carted off to the locker room for further evaluation and was later ruled out. Tyre Phillips replaced him.

Tight end Daniel Bellinger appeared to be poked in the eye by Jaguars cornerback Tre Herndon with 1:09 left and left the field on a cart. Bellinger was later taken to a local hospital for observation.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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