WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT THE OFFENSE
By the time last week’s home loss to the Vikings ended, the Giants were without 60 percent of their starting offensive line. Left tackle Andrew Thomas (hamstring) and center John Michael Schmitz (finger) went down with injuries after left guard Jon Runyan was inactive due to the birth of his child. Runyan returned this week, but the Giants will finish the season without Thomas and Schmitz, who were placed on injured reserve.
The Giants also played without second-year tight end Theo Johnson, who did not make the trip due to an illness.
From left to right, the Giants’ starting offensive line in Las Vegas consisted of rookie Marcus Mbow, Runyan, Austin Schlottmann, Greg Van Roten, and Jermaine Eluemunor.
A week after Jaxson Dart did not have an official pass attempt until 11:58 remaining in the second quarter (and did not complete one until under two minutes remaining in the first half), the rookie quarterback connected with wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson on the first play of the game. It was a sign of things to come.
Robinson entered Sunday needing 99 receiving yards for the first 1,000-yard season of his career. The fourth-year pro achieved the milestone early in the third quarter, finishing the game with 11 catches (tied his career-high) for 113 yards.
Dart completed 22 of 30 passes for 207 yards and ran for two touchdowns. Dart now has 22 total touchdowns (13 passing, nine rushing) in 11 starts. With one game to go, the No. 25 overall draft pick trails only Charlie Conerly (27 in 1948) and Daniel Jones (26 in 2019) for the most total touchdowns in Giants history by a rookie quarterback.
According to NFL Research, Dart moved ahead of Buffalo’s Josh Allen (eight in 2018) for third-most rushing touchdowns by a rookie quarterback in NFL history. Carolina’s Cam Newton holds the record with 14 in 2011. Next is San Francisco’s Billy Kilmer with 10 in 1961.
Running back Devin Singletary scored the first points of the game on a one-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first quarter. Defensive lineman Elijah Chatman, who was signed off the practice squad this week, was the lead blocker.
With three on Sunday, the Giants now have 21 rushing touchdowns, tied with the 1950 and 2022 teams for second in franchise history since 1950.
