Giants win over the Chargers 21-18

"It was an exciting day for the fans at MetLife Stadium. Everyone was anxious to see if rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart could live up to what the coaching staff thought he could do. This was his first start and things went very well with the Giants scoring on their first opening drive, and it wasn't just a field goal. It was a 7 point touchdown! The Giants saved the field goal for their first drive in the second quarter. That came after Dexter Lawrence threw his hands up and intercepted a pass from quarterback Justin Herbert.
Dex is out there all the time working away probably thinking - You guys can double block me, but you can not stop me. If so he was almost right, returning the ball 37 yards to the Los Angeles 3-yard line, and that's when Lawrence was stopped. He was just short of the goal line tackled by, of all people, Herbert who had thrown the intercepted pass.
Getting back to that field goal, the offense could have done better with their opportunity. It was disappointing to see them on the 3-yard line, then quickly moved back to the 8 when they drew a 5-yard false start penalty. Dart kept the ball and ran for 1 yard, Cam Skattebo gained 4 before losing a yard on his next try. Kicker Graham Gano had been placed on injured reserve, and Jude McAtamney, off our practice squad, was in to replace him. McAtamney kicked a 22-yard field goal to make the score Giants 10 - Chargers 0.
The Chargers came up with a field goal on their next drive, and the Giants added another as well, but it was a real long crazy drive. Dart was sacked, and Bellinger's third down 13-yard catch was ruled short of a first down, then reversed on a challenge. Then Malik Nabers 7-yard catch was reversed when challenged by Los Angeles. Nabers was injured trying to catch a deep pass, and had to be carted off the field. He waved to the crowd, but the replay did not look good.
The Chargers drew a 5-yard offsides penalty, and the Giants gave the 5 yards right back with a delay of game. They were at midfield and Dart took off on a 3rd-and-10 and ran 11 yards. Dart's pass to Darius Slayton drew a 12-yard pass Interference call. Dart was sacked again, and we hit the two minute warning. Two plays later, McAtamney came in to kick that 31-yard field goal. Things were looking pretty good for a change, with the Giants up 13-3 closing in on halftime.
The defense had held Herbert pretty much in check for what he could do. They had been bringing constant pressure, and now with the time constraints, it was all passes.
At the 38 seconds mark, Herbert had his team at the Giants 41-yard line facing a 4th-and-2. It was great to see the snap fumbled, and when Herbert recovered the ball and flung it downfield Deonte Banks had an interception! However, there was a penalty that gave the Chargers a first down, with better field position for a field goal. Herbert was looking for more, and he got it on the next snap completing a touchdown pass to Quentin Johnston. The score at halftime was 13-10, and even though the Giants still had the lead, I wasn't as confident as I was just a few minutes earlier.
The third quarter started and the Giants had the ball for the opening drive. They ran Skattebo four straight times for two first downs, and then Dart ran for another. After an incompletion, despite limping on the sidelines earlier, Dart took off for 39 yards, but there was an offensive holding penalty so it didn't count. The refs said Dart was injured during that play, and he had to leave the field.
Russell Wilson came in. Wilson took a sack, completed a pass to Wan'Dale Robinson, and then the Giants had to punt. I was concerned about the Giants defense, and though they did give up an 18 yard run, they kept the pressure up. The Chargers line committed two back to back false starts, and they were soon off the field. After kickoff return penalties, the Giants were at their own 4-yard line. Dart was back in, but didn't look too good, fumbling the ball on the first snap, but Andrew Thomas was there to recover it. The offense was off the field soon after, but right back at it three plays later. Phillips came up with an interception and he ran it back 56 yards to the Los Angeles 3-yard line!
Two plays later, Dart threw a shovel pass to tight end Theo Johnson, and the Giants had a touchdown. They went for two, and Skattebo ran it in for the Giants to have a more comfortable 21-10 lead. Who am I kidding? There is no comfort for the Giants, or their fans, as three plays later the Chargers top runner Omarion Hampton took off for a 54-yard touchdown, and their two point conversion worked. Both teams had no success trying to advance the score on their next drives, and when the Giants next had a shot, they got down to a 1st--and-goal at the Los Angeles 4-yard line. Skattebo tried to run it in and picked up 3 yards. He got nothing on his next run, and lost 2 on the next.
On fourth down, Dart threw an incompletion, and I was surprised they tried that instead of kicking an easy field goal that would put the Giants up by six points. It looked like a mistake when the Chargers took over, and Hampton soon torched the Giants with a 29 yard run. They were close to midfield on third down when Brian Burns later evened things up a bit with a 16-yard sack on Herbert. The Giants couldn't close things out on their next drive, but they left the Chargers with just 18 seconds. Two desperate pass plays later, the Giants had a 21-18 win! It would be great to see the Giants come up with another one when they play the New Orleans Saints next week."

"Brian Daboll made the move, and Jaxson Dart got what every young drafted quarterback looks forward to, a chance to get out there and lead the team all the way down the field and score a touchdown. Dart did that on his first opening drive in dramatic fashion, running with the ball 15 yards into the endzone. The next time they were in the redzone, the scoring wasn't as glorified when a penalty and three rushing attempts had them losing a yard. Still, a field goal had the Giants surprisingly up 10-0 over the undefeated Los Angeles Chargers.
Both teams added field goals, and it sure looked like the Giants would be headed into the halftime locker room with a 13-3 lead. The Chargers had a fourth down with 38 seconds left, and Justin Herbert threw a long pass that was intercepted by Deonte Banks. However, Abdul Carter drew a penalty for jumping offsides. Herbert did much better on his next throw, hitting Quentin Johnston with a 36 yard touchdown pass. It was the biggest play of the half, and cut the Giants lead to three points.
It was a costly penalty followed by poor coverage as Banks and safety Dane Belton were nowhere near the Chargers top receiver when he caught that touchdown ball. Despite the pressure the defense was bringing on Herbert, they continued to hurt themselves. Earlier, linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux had sacked Herbert, sticking him with a 3rd-and-19. On the next play, Herbert took off, and had a 24-yard run for a first down.
At the half the Giants were up 13-10, and Dart had completed 7 of his 10 passes for 59 yards. He had taken 3 sacks, and run with the ball 6 times for 44 yards, and the Giants only touchdown. That had him second to Cam Skattebo with 10 carries for 46 yards. You have to wonder what points the Giants might have added in this game if Malik Nabers wasn't injured early on.
The connection between him and Dart was looking good, and Nabers was still the top receiver at the half, catching 2 of 3 passes for 20 yards. No other receiver had caught more than one pass.
The defense up front was all over Herbert, and Dexter Lawrence had that one interception he came close to returning for a touchdown. Thibodeaux had one sack, and Abdul Carter pressured Herbert enough to cause an intentional ground call on a redzone third down. That limited the Chargers to kicking a field goal.
In the third quarter Dru Philips intercepted a pass, and took it back 56 yards to the Los Angeles 3-yard line. Dart threw the first touchdown of his career with a shovel toss to Theo Johnson, and Skattebo followed up with a 2-point conversion rush to put the Giants up 21-10. That's when the defense took the field and did their thing. Actually didn't do their thing, allowing running back Omarion Hampton to break away with a 56-yard touchdown run. The Chargers also converted on a 2-point conversion attempt, and cut the score to 21-18.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Giants had a first down on the Los Angeles 4-yard line. After three attempts, Brian Daboll did his thing, going for it on fourth down. Sure, a touchdown would be great if it worked, but it didn't. Now the Chargers had plenty of time left to tie the game up on one, or maybe two of their last drives in this game. Luckily though the defense gave up a big 29 yard running play, and the Chargers were stopped on a 3rd-and-9 when Brian Burns put a 16-yard sack on Herbert.
With 2:34 left in the game, the Giants took the field, and at one point Dart completed a 10 yard first down pass to Johnson. It kept their drive going, and clock moving almost long enough to end the game. After the punt the Chargers were at their 16-yard line with 18 seconds left. They weren't able to come up with any big plays to save the game, and the Giants had a 21-18 win. Both of the Giants units put it together enough to get them their first win over the unbeaten Los Angeles Chargers. If the Giants can avoid giving up the big plays and make a few of their own, they will have a good chance against the struggling New Orleans Saints next Sunday."

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