After spending Thanksgiving in Dallas, the Giants returned to the Quest Diagnostics Training Center this week to begin preparations for Sunday's game against the Saints.
The Giants' comeback bid fell short against the Cowboys on Thursday, as their 10 fourth quarter points were not enough to overcome the early deficit. They ended up losing 27-20 to mark their seventh consecutive defeat. On the other side, the Saints were outscored 14-8 in the fourth quarter as they lost to the Rams, 21-14. This was New Orleans' first loss since interim head coach Darren Rizzi took over prior to their Week 10 matchup.
Sunday's matchup will be the first of two consecutive home games for the Giants. The Ravens come to town in Week 15 before the Giants wrap up their home slate with a Week 17 matchup against the Colts.
Here are five storylines to follow heading into Week 14.
Lock to start
After starting the Giants' first game out of the bye in Week 12, quarterback Tommy DeVito missed the Thanksgiving matchup in Dallas due to an injury to his right forearm. Drew Lock started his first game for the Giants, while veteran Tim Boyle was his backup and DeVito served as the emergency third quarterback. While DeVito is improving from the injury to his throwing arm, coach Brian Daboll announced Wednesday that Lock will get the first-team reps at practice this week and be the team's starting QB against the Saints on Sunday.
"Tommy's improving," the head coach said. "He'll throw out here today, probably do some show team reps. Drew's going to take all the reps with the ones today, and he'll be the quarterback this week. And if Tommy is well enough to be the second quarterback, he will be, and if not, it'll be Tim. But I think he's trending in the right direction. We'll see where he is today."
In his first start with the Giants, Lock completed 65.6 percent of his passes (21 of 32) for 178 yards, no touchdowns and one interception for a 66.9 passer rating. Lock was efficient on the ground, gaining 57 yards on just four carries (14.3 avg.) while finding the end zone once and setting the Giants up with a first-and-goal from the one-yard line on another drive. However, the veteran signal-caller did lose a fumble in addition to his interception, which was returned for a touchdown.
"I'd say Drew did some good stuff in Dallas," Daboll told the media Wednesday. "He also did some things that he can improve on. I want to give him a full week of preparation, practice, to let him go out there and play this week."
Daboll later added, "He's been preparing since he's been here in terms of understanding the plays, but he made some good plays. He made some loose plays, plays with his feet, made some loose plays throwing the ball down the field when he was stepping up or getting pressured and then keeping his eyes down the field. Have to correct some of those turnovers. Those are big things, but we'll give him the whole week here to prepare for this game."
View photos of the Giants on the practice field at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
Next man up
The Giants received some tough injury news earlier this week, when Pro Bowl defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence was placed on injured reserve due to the dislocated elbow he suffered against the Cowboys. Lawrence's season ends with a career-high nine sacks to go with 16 quarterback hits, eight tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one pass defensed and 44 tackles (23 solo). Additionally, ESPN's Matt Bowen recently named Lawrence, with his 32 percent run stop win rate this season, as the NFL's best run-stopper.
While Lawrence's injury is the biggest blow, the Giants have a few guys banged up on the interior defensive line. Veteran Rakeem Nunez-Roches missed Wednesday's practice with a neck injury, while D.J. Davidson (injury) and Jordon Riley (injury) were both limited. The defense is going to have to rely on some of its younger players to step up in Lawrence's absence, starting this Sunday.
"You can't replace Dexter," Daboll said. "I'd say we have a number of injuries on the defensive line right now, so we have a lot of young players that are going to have to, they've been working hard to continue to improve. (Defensive line coach Andre Patterson) Dre's done a nice job with them, but you're never going to replace Dexter, and we'll see where Nacho is, DJ, too. We've got some guys injured in that spot. These young guys are going to have to do a nice job of doing the best they can."
Following all of the injures in Dallas, undrafted rookie Elijah Chatman played the most snaps of his rookie season last Thursday. Chatman was on the field for 63 percent of the team's defensive snaps (48 snaps) and had two tackles (one solo). While he had been used more as a pass rusher this season, Chatman, along with some of the defensive linemen on the practice squad, will likely be called upon more moving forward.
"We've used him more, I'd say, in passing situations," Daboll said about the undrafted rookie. "Obviously, the last game we had to use him a bunch. He's got quickness. Obviously, a shorter guy, but quickness, powerful. He's going to have to do a good job, both in the run and pass, as all those guys. Riley, we'll see where he's at, he'll be limited. D.J. Davidson, then you've got guys on the practice squad, Casey (Rogers), (Elijah) Garcia and (Cory) Durden that we just signed. So, a lot of young guys that are going to have to step up."
Stopping the run
Regardless of who ends up suiting up this weekend, the Giants' defense faces a tough challenge on Sunday. The unit will attempt to slow down Alvin Kamara and the Saints' rushing attack that has found plenty of success this season. The run game has been the strength of New Orleans' offense this season, ranking inside the top 10 across the NFL in rushing attempts, yards, yards per attempt, and touchdowns.
In last week's loss to the Rams, the Saints totaled 143 yards on the ground on 31 total carries, good for an average of 4.6 yards per carry. In their last game prior to their Week 12 bye, the offense totaled a whopping 214 yards and three touchdowns on just 28 rush attempts (7.6 avg.). The Saints' offense did take a hit last week as versatile offensive weapon Taysom Hill suffered a season-ending knee injury. Hill ranked second on the Saints with 278 rushing yards this season, while his six rushing touchdowns tied Kamara for the most on the team. Kamara leads the way on the ground with 206 rush attempts for 894 yards (4.3 avg.).
The Giants' defense has struggled against the run this season. The unit currently ranks 29th in rushing yards allowed per game, although their 5.1 rushing yards allowed per attempt is the highest in the league. During last week's game in Dallas, Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle ran for a career-high 112 yards on 22 carries (5.1 avg.).
Rookies contributing
A lot has been made about the contributions the Giants have received from their rookie class this season. Heading into Week 14, wide receiver Malik Nabers finds himself among the league leaders in several receiving categories, despite missing two games due to a concussion. Meanwhile, running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. ranks second among rookies in rushing yards, while safety Tyler Nubin has nine more total tackles than any other rookie. The Giants have also received some strong play from cornerback Dru Phillips and tight end Theo Johnson.
Throughout the entire season, the Giants have been at or near the top of the list in terms of snaps played by rookies. While the five first-year players mentioned above are all still developing, their head coach has been very encouraged by their growth during their first season in the NFL.
"All five of those guys have contributed in a positive way," Daboll told the media. "They're young players. We have a young team. I think they're improving in a lot of areas. Nubin's played a lot of football, had a lot of tackles. Dru been productive in some of the things. Obviously, Malik's been productive. Theo was coming on and Tracy's done a nice job. All things we still need to work on, but good young class."
Injury & roster updates
Daboll announced that several players would not be participating in Wednesday's practice – tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (quad), tackle Evan Neal (hip), cornerback Deonte Banks (rib), defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches (neck), and inside linebacker Bobby Okereke (back).
Quarterback Tommy DeVito (right forearm), wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton (injury), and defensive linemen D.J. Davidson (injury) and Jordon Riley (injury) were all limited on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, the Giants placed tight end Theo Johnson on injured reserve after he suffered a season-ending foot injury against the Cowboys. Daboll told the media Wednesday that the rookie already underwent surgery on his foot.
"He had surgery on his foot, so it'll be some time here, which is too bad," the head coach said. "He was really doing a nice job. Great young man. Worked extremely hard. Feel terrible for him. Tough. I mean he did it towards the end of the game, he kept playing through it. He didn't really know anything was wrong until after the game when he got looked at."
Finally, the Giants designated inside linebacker Dyontae Johnson for return from injured reserve on Wednesday.
Johnson, who turned heads in training camp before he sprained his ankle in the preseason opener, spent the entire 2023 season on the Giants' practice squad after joining the team as an undrafted rookie from Toledo, where he played in 57 games across five seasons. He has yet to appear in a regular-season game in the NFL.
View photos from the all-time series between the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints.
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