Takeaways from New York Giants' 21-20 Win Over Titans

The Giants began their 2022 season on an upbeat note with a big 21-20 win over the Titans.

George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

The New York Giants didn't want to hear that they had no business being on the same field as the reigning No. 1 AFC playoff seed, and they especially didn't want to hear that they had any business winning that game.

So the new look Giants, filled with optimism and fully brought into the program head coach Brian Daboll has been selling them since he arrived in East Rutherford, went out there on the Nissan Stadium field and took care of business, upsetting the Titans 21-20.

And yes, while an argument could be made that had Titans kicker Randy Bullock hit that walk-off field goal attempt, we'd all be singing a different tune, the fact is that Daboll's Giants are playing with a certain swagger and attitude that we haven't seen in quite some time.

They believe in themselves, and it's showing not just behind the scenes, as prior head coaches have tried to tell the masses now for several years, but on the field as well.

"It was an exciting one for us to come back there at the end of the game," said quarterback Daniel Jones.

"It wasn't perfect. The first half wasn't great, especially from an offensive standpoint. So, to stick with it, fight down the stretch, and come out on top was exciting for us. We’ve played a lot of close games these past few years, so it feels good to finish one, to come out on top, and be able to celebrate in the locker room."

It certainly was. And now for a few other leftover thoughts from a very big win.

1. Stay in your lane! One of the biggest and consistent issues with the Giants in the preseason was the performance of the special teams coverage units, which initially I thought was a result of coordinator Thomas McGaughey having different guys on any given coverage assignment.

Unfortunately, the problem has continued into the regular season, and the biggest culprit by far is lane integrity. How many times did we see players leaving their lanes to enter into another player's territory/ Too many is the answer, and that's why suddenly you see huge holes for opposing players to exploit.

Special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey will no doubt place a heavy emphasis on lane integrity this week in practice, as if the Giants don't get that cleaned up quickly, special teams WILL cost this Giants team a game.

2. The Daniel Slide. In the spring, I asked quarterback Daniel Jones whether he had worked with a baseball coach to learn how to slide. He said he hadn't, but lo and behold, there was Jones sliding feet first with halfway decent form.

Now that doesn't mean that Jones worked with a baseball coach, but how much relief was it to see him finally stop leading with his head on those designed runs and exposing himself to potential injury?

Could he get hurt sliding feet first? Sure. And there were times when Jones might have started his slide a little prematurely only to come up short of the sticks. But make no mistake about it. This is a big step forward for the quarterback in his development in that he's not being as reckless as he was in the past.

3. Saquon Shines. Tip of the cap to Saquon Barkley, who all spring and summer long spoke of how good he felt and how he was itching to get back to being the player he knew he could be. When given a chance, Barkley put his money where his mouth is and delivered the third-best rushing performance of his NFL career, going for 164 yards on 18 carries with one rushing touchdown.

There was much to like from Barkley, starting with his patience in reading blocks. If you saw the game, you didn't see him looking for that escape hatch as he's done in the past. He showed patience, and it paid off for him in a big way.

I've said it before and will say it again. This team will need to ride its running game until the passing offense jells.

4. Good news, bad news. The inside linebackers look like they will be a problem all season. But the good news is with the safeties this team has, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale should be able to mask some of the weaknesses that group poses in coverage.

5. Overlooked but appreciated. In case you missed it, punt returner Richie James returned five punts for 62 yards, with a long of 22 yards. That's a 12.4 yards per return average, folks. And while it's just one game, James' showing is probably the best the Giants have had out of a punt returner since Dwayne Harris was in his heyday.

6. Jekyll and Hyde. I thought the Giants' offensive line, which is still using that rotation tactic while the coaching staff figures out who their full-time left guard will be, had a Jekyll-and-Hyde type of showing.

The run blocking was solid. Rookie Joshua Ezeudu, in particular, stood out in that regard. The pass blocking? Still a work in progress. The Giants gave up five sacks (though it can be argued that maybe a couple of them were more on Jones than the line itself). And the line gave up eight pressures.

Speaking of the offensive line, according to the postgame snap counts, Edzeudu and Ben Bredeson split the reps at left guard. Much like when Joe Judge did the o-line rotation, that suggests that the coaching staff isn't fully sold on who their left guard is going forward while Shane Lemieux sits on injured reserve.

Let's hope they figure it out sooner than later, as any offensive line coach will tell you that in an ideal world, you have the same five guys out there play after play, week after week.

7. Kadarius Toney's Play-time. If you're like me, you're probably scratching your head over the allocation of snaps at wide receiver in which Kadarius Toney, a first-round draft pick, only received seven snaps all game long, the fewest of the receivers.

Yes, even when rookie Wan'Dale Robinson, a slot receiver like Toney, had to leave the game early, Toney didn't see an increase in snaps. So naturally, that was a question for Daboll after the game.

Here's what Daboll said:

We had personnel groups for all our receivers. We'll do that for every game. Maybe it's more, maybe it's less. It just depends on what we're calling and what Mike (Kafka)’s calling and what we see. And he's in plenty of them. Obviously, we didn't get to some of them. I thought the plays that he was in on, he did his job. Made a good decision on the one play down there at the end of the drive there, I think was – to take care of the football and get four, five, six yards, or whatever it was.

I think what Daboll isn't saying with this quote is that snaps have to be earned. Certainly, Toney, who missed a lot of practice time in the summer, didn't help himself toward earning snaps, but again, one might have thought that with Robinson having to check out of the game early, the next man up might have been Toney.

8. Overreaction Monday. I wrote about this last week, how it was important for people not to let the outcome of this week's game influence their perception of the Giants upcoming season either way.

This wasn't meant to take the joy out of a potential win because a win sure does feel good after all the lousy football games we've seen. But this was just one game, a small sample size of what this team can do. And tucked within were some ongoing issues (the inside linebackers, the pass protection, special teams coverage) that still need to be cleaned up.

"We're trying to build something," Daboll said. "We're a long way away, but it was nice to get the first W."

Indeed.

9. A special win. The last time Brian Daboll coached a game against the Titans in Tennessee was in October last year.

Before that game, Daboll, raised by his grandparents, learned that his grandfather had passed away, which meant he had to work that game with a heavy heart, the mourning having to wait until after the work was done.

“That was weighing heavy on me after the game,” Daboll admitted. “When (Randy Bullock) missed (the kick), I thought about them. I don’t come from much. Those two people helped me get to where I am.”

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