Giants Film Review: No Red-Zone Touchdowns, No Defensive Sacks in 12-7 Win Over Titans
Isaiah Likely played 84% of the snaps in a heavier run package, and Cam Ward completed 12 of 16 passes starting with the play on which Brian Burns was hurt.
The Giants beat the Tennessee Titans 12-7 on Sunday without scoring a touchdown or recording a sack. The NFL gamebook shows both of their red-zone possessions ended in field goals, one after a direct snap lost 7 yards and one after two Giants penalties pushed them back from the 2. The defense finished with two quarterback hits, and neither came after Brian Burns left in the fourth quarter.
It was the Giants' first win without a touchdown since a 15-7 victory at Philadelphia on Oct. 27, 2013, according to nflverse play-by-play data. From 2022 through Sunday, NFL teams that failed to score a touchdown won 17 of 157 games.
The box score
Jameis Winston finished 14 of 22 for 118 yards, with no touchdowns, no interceptions and three sacks for 18 yards.
Arvell Reese's tackle total depends on what gets counted. The gamebook credits him with 12 tackles on defense, nine solo and three assisted, plus one tackle on a second-quarter punt return. The Pro Football Reference box score and ESPN list 13 because they combine the two. Coach John Harbaugh said in his postgame news conference that Reese had 14, which the gamebook does not support. The team's instant analysis listed 12 tackles with eight solo. The gamebook has nine solo.
Snap counts
| Player | Week 2 at Rams | Week 3 vs. Titans |
|---|---|---|
| TE Isaiah Likely | 40 (69%) | 54 (84%) |
| TE Chris Manhertz | 18 (31%) | 28 (44%) |
| FB Patrick Ricard | 18 (31%) | 30 (47%) |
| WR Darnell Mooney | 42 (72%) | 28 (44%) |
| RB Cam Skattebo | 34 (59%) | 49 (77%) |
| OLB Brian Burns | 42 (68%) | 25 (42%) |
| OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux | 32 (52%) | 40 (67%) |
| CB Andru Phillips | 30 (48%) | 49 (82%) |
| S Jason Pinnock | 0 | 45 (75%) |
The offense played 64 snaps and used bigger personnel than it did against the Rams. Isaiah Likely played 54 snaps. Chris Manhertz rose from 18 to 28 and fullback Patrick Ricard from 18 to 30. Darnell Mooney fell from 42 snaps to 28. Malik Nabers played 50 and Malachi Fields 44. All five offensive linemen played every snap.
Cam Skattebo played 49 snaps with Devin Singletary inactive. Najee Harris played 14 snaps and ran nine times for 52 yards. Tyrone Tracy Jr. played one snap, a 3-yard run on third-and-2 that kept the second field-goal drive alive. Winston's Week 2 baseline is partial: he played 51 of 58 snaps against the Rams after Jaxson Dart was hurt on the opening drive.
The defense played 60 snaps. With safety Tyler Nubin inactive with a calf injury, Jason Pinnock played 45 after playing no defensive snaps in the first two games. Ar'Darius Washington, who started, played 16. Andru Phillips played 49 snaps after 30 in Week 2. Darius Alexander played 23 snaps after none against the Rams, and Josh Tupou, who played 26 in Week 2, was inactive.
Burns came in questionable with an ankle injury, did not practice all week and did not start. Kayvon Thibodeaux played 40 snaps, his highest share this season, and Abdul Carter played 58 of 60.
After Burns left
Burns was hurt on a 1-yard completion early in the fourth quarter, on the Titans' touchdown drive. NFL Network and ESPN reported Monday that he is believed to have torn his ACL. The Giants had not confirmed it as of Monday afternoon. Our report has the details.
Carter and Thibodeaux were the only outside linebackers other than Burns to play a defensive snap, so nearly all the edge snaps from that point went to them. Thibodeaux's 40 and Burns' 25 add up to more than the 60 defensive snaps, so the two shared the field at times before the injury.
The Giants had no sacks and two quarterback hits, one by Burns in the second quarter and one by Tremaine Edmunds on the fourth-down stop at the 7 in the third. Shelby Harris sacked Titans quarterback Cam Ward on the snap before Burns was hurt, but Harris was called for a face mask on the play. The penalty erased the sack and gave Tennessee 15 yards.
Starting with the play on which Burns was hurt, Ward completed 12 of 16 passes for 104 yards. Before it, he was 11 of 20 for 77. Pro Football Reference had not published pressure totals by rusher for the game as of Monday afternoon.
“We didn't get as many sacks as we want, but the pressure started to be good there,” Harbaugh said after the game.
The four field goals
Dominic Zvada made all four kicks.
- 39 yards, first quarter. The Giants started at their 29 after a punt. Skattebo's 30-yard catch on third-and-7 put them at the Tennessee 38. The drive stalled at the 26: Nabers caught a pass for no gain on second-and-8 and one for 5 yards on third-and-8. Zvada kicked on fourth-and-3 from the 21.
- 27 yards, second quarter. From their 47, the Giants ran nine times on 10 plays. Najee Harris carried five times for 36 yards, the last an 11-yard run to the 5. On first-and-goal, a direct snap to Skattebo lost 7 yards. Skattebo gained 4, and Winston's third-and-goal pass to Nabers from the 8 lost 1.
- 39 yards, end of the first half. Joey Slye missed a 59-yard try, and the Giants took over at their 49 with 41 seconds left. Nabers converted a third-and-10, Mooney caught a 7-yard pass, and two Skattebo runs around the Giants' timeouts reached the 21. Zvada kicked on second-and-2 with 3 seconds left. The clock ended this drive.
- 30 yards, third quarter. The Giants opened the half at their 30. A 15-yard Winston scramble, Mooney's 13-yard catch on third-and-11 and Skattebo runs of 13 and 7 set up second-and-goal at the 2. An illegal shift moved the ball to the 7, and a holding call on Jermaine Eluemunor moved it to the 17. After an incompletion and a 6-yard Skattebo run, Zvada kicked on fourth-and-goal from the 11.
The Giants finished 0 for 2 in the red zone and 0 for 2 in goal-to-go situations, with 10 penalties for 88 yards. “You get the ball down there inside the 5, inside the 10, and we penalize ourselves out of scoring position,” Harbaugh said.
Holland's interception and the last two drives
Jordan Stout's 64-yard punt, a muffed catch and a Tennessee holding penalty left the Titans at their 9 with 12:43 to play. Ward completed all eight of his passes on a 13-play, 91-yard drive that included the Harris face mask. He threw a 4-yard touchdown to Wan'Dale Robinson on third-and-goal to make it 12-7 with 5:35 left.
The Giants took over at their 42 after a Titans face-mask penalty on the kickoff return. They picked up one first down, on a 12-yard catch by Nabers, then threw incomplete on third-and-5, took a delay-of-game penalty and punted. A fair-catch interference penalty on Elijah Campbell moved the Titans to their 23 with 3:03 left.
Tennessee reached the Giants' 7 in 12 plays. The Titans converted 4 of 5 third downs in the fourth quarter, and an encroachment penalty on Edmunds on fourth-and-1 at the 24 gave them a first down with 50 seconds left. Elic Ayomanor's 11-yard catch set up first-and-goal at the 7, and the Giants used their last timeout with 24 seconds left.
On the next snap Ward left the pocket and threw for Ayomanor. Jevón Holland intercepted it in the end zone for a touchback, his third interception in three games. Carter was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after the play, and Winston knelt to end it. Tennessee held the ball for 9:54 of the fourth quarter, and the Giants had one first down in the period.
What it means for Arizona
Harbaugh said Sunday that he expects Winston to start next week. On Monday the Vikings announced they had traded J.J. McCarthy to the Giants for a 2027 fifth-round pick, pending a physical. The Giants had not announced the trade as of Monday afternoon.
Arizona is 1-2. It has allowed 384 yards on 83 run plays, including 162 against Seattle and 141 against San Francisco, according to nflverse play-by-play. It scored 26 points at the Chargers and 30 at San Francisco.
The run-first, field-position plan fits an Arizona defense that has given up 4.6 yards a run play, 10th-most of 32 teams against a league average of 4.33. The 12-7 margin also depended on a Titans offense that had no first down until the final 90 seconds of the first half. The team has not announced Burns' MRI result.
The Giants host the Cardinals at 1 p.m. Oct. 4.