Fanpage
Team Giants

Fanpage

 

Giants - Denver
Mikefan - Gamegirl Reviews

Sept 12, 4:25 PM Broncos at Giants
Game 1
 1st2nd3rd4thFinal
Denver01071027
Giants070613
Game PreviewESPN ScoresESPN RecapESPN Stats

Giants lose to the Broncos 27-13

"I was excited at the start of the game, but then my hopes faded. When Daniel Jones handed the ball off to Saquon Barkley on the first play of the game, and he gained 5 yards, I thought he was back, but that wasn't the case. Every run after that in the first half was for less yardage. Devontae Booker didn't do any better, though he did have a 6 yard catch on the drive that Jones finished off with a 37 yard touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard.
That put the Giants up 7-3. Denver kept moving the ball on the Giants defense, and they got down to the Giants 10-yard line. Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater completed a pass, but Logan Ryan caused his receiver to fumble, and Ryan recovered the ball.
With four minutes left in the quarter, I was hoping the Giants could get something going or at least close out the half with their lead. They went 3-and-out, and the defense let Bridgewater complete every one of his passes until his touchdown toss put Denver up 10-7.
The Broncos got the ball to start the third quarter, and even though Bridgewater was sacked once on the drive, on a 4th-and-1 from the Giants 4-yard line, he completed a touchdown pass. That gave Denver a 10 point lead. The quarter was more that halfway over before Jones got his hands on the ball. Once again things started with an encouraging 5 yard run from Barkley. There were two long passes to Shepard, and soon the Giants had a first down at the Denver 22 yard line. Jones took off with the ball, ran a few yards, and fumbled it away. When the Broncos added another field goal to make it 20-7 in the fourth quarter, it forced the Giants to go for it when they had a 4th-and-Goal from the Denver 6-yard line. Jones pass to Kenny Golladay was incomplete. The Giants defense let up one first down before Broncos running back Melvin Gordon broke free with a 70 yard touchdown run. With four and a half minutes left, no one was thinking the Giants were going to pull this one out.
Once again the Giants had to go for it on a fourth down, and once again Jones pass to Golladay was incomplete. Denver killed some time on their next possession before allowing the Giants a so-what touchdown. Jones had a four yard run into the endzone on the last play of the game. Not many fans saw that, and it was sad to see them leave early. They hadn't seen the Giants play first hand in MetLife stadium for over a year, and were expecting so much more."

"Some will say it looks like the same old Giants, and after this outing it would be hard to argue that. It seemed clear that Saquon Barkley was not at full strength, or that the Giants didn't want to put him to the test. Daniel Jones tried everything he could, throwing passes to eight different receivers in the first half, looking for a weak spot. That's quite a lot considering he threw only 12 passes during that time, and he did complete 9, including a 37 yard touchdown to Sterling Shepard.
The Giants defense made some good plays and held the Broncos to just 10 points, but they couldn't get them off the field. Teddy Bridgewater was highly effective completing 19 of his 22 passes for 171 yards and 1 touchdown. The Broncos ran 34 plays using up 19 minutes of clock time. All that, and still the score was 10-7 in Denver's favor at halftime.
The Broncos continued to dominate the clock from the start of the third quarter when their 16 play drive took over eight minutes, and ended with a touchdown pass. Then when the Giants offense showed some life, Jones killed their drive when he scrambled up the middle and fumbled the ball. He wasn't supposed to make those mistakes any more. The Giants had a shot at that point, but that squashed their chances. The Giants ended up with a 27-13 loss.
Denver went on to score a field goal and a touchdown, and the Giants scored a touchdown on Jones run into the endzone. That made him the leading rusher for the Giants with 27 yards. Barkley had 10 carries for 26 yards. Devontae Booker carried the ball 4 times for 7 yards, so the team total was 20 carries for 60 yards against a Denver team that was ranked 25th against the run last year.
Obviously better protection from the offensive line would have helped the running and passing game. Nate Solder started at right tackle, his first start since 2019, and Will Hernandez started for the first time in his career at right guard. You also have to remember that Barkly was working his way back in after a serious injury. Wide receiver Kenny Golladay, tight end Kyle Rudolph, and rookie Kadarius Toney, all missed time in training camp due to injuries.
Shepard had a good day catching 7 of Jones 9 passes for 113 yards and 1 touchdown. Darius Slayton's 42 yard catch was the longest of the day, giving him a total of 65 on 3, and Kenny Golladay caught 4 of 6 for 64 yards. This was the first game of the season, and it looks like the Giants will need a bit more time to make things work. Time is tricky, because they will be taking a quick trip to Washington for a Thursday night game."

First Quarter

NONE

Second Quarter

BRONCOS - FIELD GOAL
Play: Brandon McManus 23 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 15 plays, 62 yards, 8:42
Denver 3-0

GIANTS - TOUCHDOWN
Play: Sterling Shepard 37 Yd pass from Daniel Jones (Graham Gano Kick)
Drive info: 7 plays, 75 yards, 4:22
Giants 7-3
BRONCOS - TOUCHDOWN
Play: Tim Patrick 2 Yd pass from Teddy Bridgewater (Brandon McManus Kick)
Drive info: 7 plays, 57 yards, 2:17
Denver 10-7

Third Quarter

BRONCOS - TOUCHDOWN
Play: Albert Okwuegbunam 4 Yd pass from Teddy Bridgewater (Brandon McManus Kick)
Drive info: 16 plays, 75 yards, 8:12
Denver 17-7

Fourth Quarter

BRONCOS - FIELD GOAL
Play: Brandon McManus 36 Yd Field Goal
Drive info: 10 plays, 69 yards, 5:03
Denver 20-7

BRONCOS - TOUCHDOWN
Play: Melvin Gordon III 70 Yd Run (Brandon McManus Kick)
Drive info: 4 plays, 94 yards, 1:48
Denver 27-7

GIANTS - TOUCHDOWN
Play: Daniel Jones 4 Yd Run
Drive info: 8 plays, 64 yards, 1:49
Denver 27-13


Notes:

Daniel Jones led the Giants with 27 rushing yards, including a 4 yard touchdown run.

Sterling Shepard has caught at least one pass in 55 consecutive games.

Sterling Shepard had his 10th career 100-yard game.
Next Games:
Sept 18 Giants at Washington
Sept 26 Atlanta at Giants
Click on the Team Giants logo to be informed of all Giants game previews, reviews and off season football news.

Stop in and visit "Mike's Keys to the Internet" at  MikesKeys.com