Sep 122021
 
Daniel Jones, New York Giants (September 12, 2021)

Daniel Jones – © USA TODAY Sports

DENVER BRONCOS 27 – NEW YORK GIANTS 13…
The New York Giants got crushed by the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, losing 27-13 in a game that was not as close as the final score. The Giants start the season 0-1. This is the 10th time in the past 11 seasons the Giants have started off 0-1.

The Broncos out-gained the Giants in first downs (24 to 19), total net yards (420 to 314), net yards rushing (165 to 60), net yards passing (255 to 254), and time of possession (35:08 to 24:52). Both teams turned the football over once. Denver was 7-of-15 (47 percent) on 3rd-down conversions and 3-of-3 (100 percent) on 4th-down conversions.

The game was actually close in the first half. The Giants received the football to start the game. On 3rd-and-5, quarterback Daniel Jones connected with wide receiver Darius Slayton on a 42-yard completion to the Denver 30-yard line. However, two negative-yardage plays pushed New York back, resulting in a punt into the end zone.

After both teams exchanged punts, Denver put together a long, 15-play drive that gained 62 yards, taking almost nine minutes off of the clock, but only resulting in a 23-yard field goal early in the second quarter. The Broncos led 3-0.

The Giants impressively responded with a 7-play, 75-yard drive that was aided by a defensive pass interference penalty on 3rd-and-7. Four plays later, Jones hit wide receiver Sterling Shepard for a 37-yard run-and-catch play for a touchdown. For a moment, the Giants held their only lead of the game, 7-3.

It appeared that the Broncos would easily regain the lead on their next possession, gaining 71 yards and reaching the Giants’ red zone. But safety Logan Ryan forced the tight end to fumble after a 6-yard gain to the New York 4-yard line, also recovering the ball in the process. However, it was only a temporary stay as the New York offense only gained three yards before punting. With 2:25 left before the half, Denver easily drove 57 yards in seven plays and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to give the Broncos a 10-7 halftime advantage with just eight seconds left on the clock.

The roof collapsed on the Giants in the second half. Each team had four second-half drives.

Denver:

  1. 16 plays, 75 yards, 4-yard touchdown pass.
  2. 10 plays, 69 yards, 36-yard field goal.
  3. 4 plays, 94 yards, 70-yard touchdown run by Melvin Gordon.
  4. 3 plays, 4 yards, punt.

New York:

  1. 10 plays, 60 yards, fumble by Jones at the Denver 13-yard line.
  2. 14 plays, 69 yards, turnover on downs at the Denver 6-yard line.
  3. 7 plays, 31 yards, turnover on downs at Denver 21-yard line.
  4. 8 plays, 64 yards, touchdown with no time left on the clock.

A close game at halftime quickly turned into a blowout with a meaningless New York touchdown at the end.

Jones finished 22-of-37 for 267 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and one killer fumble. His leading receiver was Shepard, who caught seven passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. Jones was also the leading ground gainer for the Giants, with just 27 yards on six carries and a touchdown. Running back Saquon Barkley was held to 26 yards on 10 carries.

Defensively, the Giants not only allowed 165 yards rushing, but Bridgewater was able to complete 28-of-36 passes for a 115.7 quarterback rating.

Video lowlights are available at Giants.com.

PRACTICE SQUAD ACTIVATION, INACTIVES, AND INJURY REPORT…
WR C.J. Board was activated from the Practice Squad for this game.

Inactive for the game were TE Evan Engram (calf), WR Collin Johnson, LB Quincy Roche, LB Justin Hilliard, CB Sam Beal, and CB Josh Jackson.

The Giants reported no injuries from the game.

POST-GAME REACTION…
Transcripts and video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Joe Judge and the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Joe Judge and select players will address the media by conference call on Monday.

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Eric Kennedy

Eric Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief of BigBlueInteractive.com, a publication of Big Blue Interactive, LLC. Follow @BigBlueInteract on Twitter.

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