ATLANTA – Notes and statistics from the Giants' 23-20 loss Monday night to the Atlanta Falcons:
*The Giants lost their fourth consecutive game and fell to 1-6. They close the first half of their season Sunday at home against NFC East rival Washington, their final game before the bye.
*The Giants gained a season-high 433 yards – one more than they had in the loss at Carolina on Oct. 7, and their highest total since they finished with 504 yards vs. Philadelphia on Dec. 17, 2017.
*The Giants' 372 net passing yards was also the second-highest total of the season; they threw for 382 yards against the Panthers.
*Atlanta's 423 total yards and 356 passing yards were each the second-highest figure for an opponent this season; the Houston Texans gained 427, including 368 through the air, in the Giants' victory on Sept. 30.
*The first quarter ended with a 0-0 score, the first time a Giants game was scoreless after the opening period since last Thanksgiving in Washington.
*The Giants trailed at halftime, 10-3. It was the third time this season they did not score a first-half touchdown; they trailed in Dallas at the half, 10-0, and kicked two field goals while falling behind Philadelphia after two quarters, 24-6.
*The Giants did not commit a turnover, and forced one. It was the first time they had a superior turnover differential (plus-1) but lost the game since Nov. 12, 2017 at San Francisco.
*The game in Atlanta was the second this season in which the Giants had no offensive turnovers. They also did not give away the ball at Houston on Sept. 23. They had last lost a game in which they committed no turnovers on Oct. 1, 2017, at Tampa Bay.
*Eli Manning completed 27 of 38 passes for 399 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions for a passer rating of 113.8. The 399 yards was the 10th-highest total of his career and his highest since he threw for 424 yards against Philadelphia last Dec. 17.
*It was Manning's second 300-yard game of the season (326 at Carolina) and the 47th of his career. The Giants are 19-28 in regular-season games in which Manning throws for at least 300 yards.
*Each of Manning's last five 300-yard passing games has been on the road. The Giants lost each one of those games. Manning last threw for at least 300 yards at home – and in a game the Giants won – on Oct. 16, 2016 vs. Baltimore.
*Odell Beckham, Jr. caught eight passes for 143 yards, including a 51-yarder and a one-yard touchdown with five seconds remaining, and Sterling Shepard added five receptions for 167 yards, including a game-long 58-yarder.
*This was the first game in which the Giants had two receivers gain at least 100 yards apiece since Dec. 28, 2014, when Beckham finished with 185 yards and a touchdown on 12 catches, and Reuben Randle had 158 yards on six receptions.
*Beckham's fourth 100-yard game this season set a Giants franchise record; it was his 23rd game with at least 100 receiving yards. Beckham had been tied with Amani Toomer. Beckham has played in 54 regular-season games. Toomer played in 190.
*The Giants are 8-15 when Beckham has at least 100 receiving yards.
*Beckham's 143 yards increased his career total to 5,073, in his 54th game. He is the second-fastest player to reach 5,000 receiving yards in NFL history, and the fastest in the 53-season Super Bowl era. Atlanta's Julio Jones held the previous Super Bowl era record at 56 games:
PLAYER | TEAM | GAMES TO REACH 5,000 RECEIVING YARDS |
---|---|---|
Lance Alworth^ | San Dieg | 52 |
Odell Beckham, Jr. | Giants | 54* |
Julio Jones | Atlanta | 56 |
Charley Hennigan | Houston Oilers | 59 |
Randy Moss^ | Minnesota | 59 |
^Pro Football Hall of Famer |
*Beckham's touchdown was the 40th of his career. He is the fifth player in history to catch at least 40 touchdown passes in a Giants uniform.
*Shepard had his first 100-yard game of the season and first since he had 139 yards on 11 catches against Philadelphia on Dec. 17, 2017. It was his fifth career 100-yard game. The Giants are 1-4 when Shepard has at least 100 receiving yards.
*Beckham's 51-yarder and Shepard's 58-yarder was each their longest reception of the season. Shepard's was also the Giants' longest catch of the year; Saquon Barkley had a 57-yarder – thrown by Beckham – at Carolina. Barkley also had a 55-yarder vs. Philadelphia.
*Wide receiver Bennie Fowler, signed last week, had one catch for 11 yards and was a gunner on the punt team in his Giants debut. Fowler, who played his first three seasons with the Denver Broncos, became the fourth player to catch a regular season pass from both Peyton and Eli Manning – and the second this season. Cody Latimer, who was replaced by Fowler when he went on injured reserve, caught six Eli Manning passes this season after playing his first four years in Denver. The first two players to catch passes from each Manning brother were Jim Finn and Brandon Stokley.
*Tight end Evan Engram returned to action after missing three games with a knee injury and caught two passes for 16 yards and had a 10-yard run.
*Barkley rushed for 43 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, and caught a team-high nine passes for 51 yards. The 94 yards from scrimmage marked the first time this season he failed to finish with at least 100. That ended Barkley's streak of six consecutive games with 100 or more scrimmage yards. He fell one game short of tying Kareem Hunt's record of seven in a row to start a career, set in 2017.
*Barkley has scored at least one touchdown in each of the last five games.
*The Giants made another change on their offensive line, as Spencer Pulley started for the first time this season, at center, and John Greco moved from center to right guard. Patrick Omameh, who started the first six games at guard, was inactive with a knee injury.
Pulley joined the team on Sept. 2, one day after he was waived by the Los Angeles Chargers, for whom he started all 16 games at center in 2017. Greco made his 46th career start at right guard – his highest total at any position – and first since Nov. 27, 2016 for the Cleveland Browns…against the Giants.
*The Giants' defense sacked Matt Ryan three times, all in the first quarter. Kerry Wynn picked up his first full sack of the season, cornerback B.W. Webb got his first career sack – in his 56th game – and rookie linebacker Lorenzo Carter got his second of the year.
*Landon Collins again led the Giants in tackles with eight (seven solo).
*Coach Pat Shurmur won a replay challenge with 5:39 remaining in the third quarter. Ryan threw a pass to Julio Jones that was ruled incomplete. Shurmur challenged, claiming it should have been ruled a completed pass, because Jones took several steps with the ball. After review, Tony Corrente overturned the call on the field and ruled it a completed catch and a fumble.
Janoris Jenkins forced the fumble and Eli Apple recovered it, the first time each was credited with that statistic since Oct. 15, 2017 at Denver.
*Shurmur is 1-1 in replay challenges this season.
*The Giants won the coin toss for the fifth time this season and for the fifth time, Shurmur deferred taking possession of the ball until the second half.
*Ryan completed 31 of 39 passes for 379 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown to Marvin Hall. The 379 yards was the second-highest total by a Giants opponent this season; Houston's Deshaun Watson threw for 385 yards on Sept. 23.
*Ryan's 79.5 completion percentage was the highest by a Giants opponent since Sept. 13, 2015, when Dallas' Tony Romo hit 80% of his passes (36 of 45). In the Giants' most recent visit to Atlanta prior to Monday night, Ryan completed 81.2% of his throws (23 of 28).
*Long-snapper Zak DeOssie played in his 179th regular-season game, tying former offensive lineman Greg Larson for eighth on the Giants' career list.
*Fowler was one of four players who made their Giants debuts, including two who played in their first NFL regular-season games. Fowler played for the first time since Dec. 31, 2017, when he started for Denver against Kansas City and caught four passes.
Linebacker Ukeme Eligwe had last played in that same game – starting for the Chiefs at outside linebacker and recording three tackles, including a sack. He played on the punt team Monday night.
Defensive back Grant Haley made his NFL debut on the punt return team and played in the secondary when Apple briefly left with an ankle injury.
Quadree Henderson, signed off the practice squad on Sunday, returned two punts for 29 yards, and averaged 20.5 yards on four kickoff returns in his first NFL game.
*Aldrick Rosas kicked field goals of 31 and 36 yards for the Giants.
*New Falcons kicker Giorgio Tavecchio, subbing for injured former Giant Matt Bryant, booted field goals of 40, 50 and 56 yards. He was the first Giants opponent to kick two field goals of at least 50 yards in a game since Dallas' Dan Bailey on Sept. 11, 2016 (field goals of 56 and 54 yards). Tavecchio's 56-yard was the second-longest field goal kicked against the Giants this season, after Graham Gano's infamous 63-yarder to win the game at Carolina. Tavecchio's kick is tied for the fourth-longest field goal ever kicked against the Giants.
*The Giants fell to 24-39-1 on Monday night, including 15-29-1 on the road. They have one more Monday night game remaining, on Nov. 12 in San Francisco.
*The Falcons lead the regular-season series, 13-11. The Giants are now 8-5 in Atlanta.
*The Giants' inactive players were guard Patrick Omameh (knee), wide receivers Jawill Davis (concussion) and Russell Shepard (neck), defensive tackle John Jenkins, defensive backs Mike Jordan and Kamrin Moore, and quarterback Kyle Lauletta.
*Rookie offensive lineman Evan Brown was in uniform for the first time, but did not play. Nor did backup lineman Brian Mihalik.