Packers @ Giants
Final Score: Giants 24, Packers 22
Adam Nardelli (@adamnardelli on Twitter)
On a 38 degree night in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the playoff-hopeful Packers met the New York Giants, fresh off a bye week and two straight wins. Two turnovers by Packers QB Jordan Love in the first half brought this offense back down to earth a bit after three straight wins. Outside of a Giants possession highlighted by a 32-yard Wan’Dale Robinson run, Tony Soprano, sorry I mean Tommy DeVito, and the Giants offense struggled to finish drives. Despite the Packers’ sloppiness, the Giants’ inability to sustain possessions put the Packers up 10-7 at the halftime break. Both teams were far from perfect in the second-half and had their share of mistakes, but each offense found a bit more success as the game went on. Jordan Love showed some resilience in spite of his struggles and helped put the Packers in the lead late in the game when they took advantage of a Saquon Barkley fumble, but Tommy DeVito orchestrated a drive into field goal range. Kicker Randy Bullock put the ball through the uprights as time expired, giving the Giants their third-consecutive win. The fairy tale of local legend Tommy DeVito continues.
Three Up
- Wan’Dale Robinson – by far his best game of the season, involved in rushing attack as well
- Tommy DeVito – displayed impressive mobility
- Jayden Reed – not a ton of receivers out there that touch the ball 12 times in a game
Three Down
- Jordan Love – came back down to earth a bit after a strong three-game stretch
- Jalin Hyatt – still boom or bust; tonight was a bust
- AJ Dillon – slow going for Dillon in the run game, averaging less than 4 ypc
Green Bay Packers
Quarterback
Jordan Love: 25/39, 218 yards, TD, INT, 2 sacks | 2 carries, 2 yards, fumble (lost)
After leading a seven-play, 62 yard touchdown drive resulting in a Jayden Reed rushing touchdown, the first-year starter had Green Bay in Giants’ territory again. Love found rookie WR Dontayvion Wicks for 19-yards, but a few plays later Giants outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux ripped the ball out of Love’s hands and was recovered by Giants’ Safety Xavier McKinney. Love followed that up with another turnover after he threw a duck that was intercepted by Giants Safety Jason Pinnock. Packers WR Dontayvion Wicks may have been interfered with and wind was a possible factor in how poor the throw was, but regardless it was a bad decision by Love that ended up looking like Jason Pinnock was catching a fly ball. Love didn’t completely wither away, as he led two fourth-quarter drives resulting in a field goal and a touchdown respectively. He led a nine-play 36-yard drive late in the fourth-quarter resulting in a six-yard Malik Heath touchdown, putting the Packers up 22-21. For fantasy purposes, it of course wasn’t Love’s best game by any stretch, but on a night where he had some costly mistakes, he showed that he has a short memory and still put the Packers in position to win.
Running Back
AJ Dillon: 15 carries, 53 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 25 yards
Dillon took a short pass and rumbled and stumbled for 35-yards in the first quarter, as Chris Berman would say. After that, it was a rather uneventful night for Dillon as he averaged 3.5 yards per carry. In the absence of Aaron Jones and against a Giants defense that was 29th in rushing yards allowed per game, it was a disappointing outing for the pending free agent.
Patrick Taylor: 4 carries, 30 yards, 2 targets, 2 receptions, 22 yards
When given the opportunity, Taylor made the most of it as he averaged 7.5 yards per carry. He also was utilized a bit in the passing game, compiling 22 receiving yards, but the lack of volume makes Taylor’s fantasy prospects cloudy at best. In a game where the Packers were trailing for most of it and AJ Dillon was struggling to get anything going in the running game, Taylor may have been able to give them a bit of a spark considering how efficient he was with his touches.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jayden Reed: 10 targets, 8 receptions, 27 yards | 4 carries, 38 yards, TD
Reed took a handoff from Jordan Love and walked in with ease for a 16-yard rushing touchdown for the Packers’ first touchdown of the day. It’s another example of head coach Matt LaFleur getting the rookie involved in different ways other than just the passing game. Later on in the third-quarter Reed took an end-around for 22-yards, helping to give the Packers offense some life. While the Michigan State product was one of the few bright spots for the at times sluggish Packers offense, Reed’s night could’ve looked even better if he was able to connect with Jordan Love in the endozone. On a redzone drive in the third-quarter, Love was trying to find Reed for a touchdown, but for some reason it looked like Reed couldn’t find the ball in the air. Whatever the reason was behind the botched play, it was a good summation of how the Packers offense was just off tonight. Of course, Christian Watson‘s absence helped increase Reed’s touches, but it’s clear Reed is becoming more of an emphasis in this offense and obviously should be owned in all fantasy leagues.
Tucker Kraft: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 64 yards
The rookie Tight End filled in nicely for the other rookie Tight End, Luke Musgrave, who is on injured reserve. In the middle of the fourth-quarter, Love found Kraft for 43-yards in the middle of the field, helping jump start a drive that resulted in a field goal. During the television broadcast it was discussed how head coach Matt LaFleur mentioned that Kraft is the most improved player from the beginning of the year until now, If you have a share of Kraft in dynasty, it’s nice to know the arrow seems to be pointing up for the South Dakota State product.
Romeo Doubs: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 32 yards
Outside of a 14-yard connection with Jordan Love later in the game, it was a mostly underwhelming night for Doubs, who more was expected out of with Christian Watson’s absence. Doubs may have been an unfortunate victim of Jordan Love’s struggles for most of the night.
Samouri Toure: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 22 yards
Dontayvion Wicks: 6 targets, 2 receptions, 20 yards
After a few solid outings it was thought Wicks would take on some more share of the passing game with Christian Watson out. Two receptions later, an early exit from the game due to a an ankle injury and that idea went out of the window. His injury concerns should of course be closely monitored as he’s been providing helpful stat lines for any fantasy manager who fell for the 2023 rookie.
Malik Heath: 2 targets, 1 reception, 6 yards, TD
Heath linked up with Jordan Love for the go-ahead touchdown, putting the Packers up 22-21 with 1:23 left. For fantasy purposes he’s of course a guy that is hard to rely on, considering he’s only had one game of over 40 receiving yards, tonight included.
New York Giants
Quarterback
Tommy DeVito: 17/21, 158 yards, TD | 10 carries, 71 yards
The cutlet king finally completed a pass beyond the line of scrimmage with just under 14 minutes left in the second quarter, finding Isaiah Hodgins for 14 yards. While the first quarter was slow going for DeVito, he did show off some mobility, picking up 21 rushing yards early on in the game. After the Packers muffed a punt early in the third quarter, DeVito took a read option for 26-yards, getting the Giants to the 1-yard line. Anyone that follows the Giants might remember Daniel Jones earning the nickname “Vanilla Vick” for his rushing ability. Tommy D might need another nickname similar to this one for how elusive he can be with the ball. On the final drive of the game, with the Giants down 22-21, the Cedar Grove, New Jersey native made an absolutely perfect throw to Wan’Dale Robinson for 32 yards, getting the Giants well into field goal range. DeVito did most of his damage on the ground tonight, but when the Giants needed DeVito to step up with his arm, he did just that. For an undrafted rookie quarterback, one of the most impressive things about DeVito is his decision-making. He always seems to avoid the head-scratching mistake, which is a big reason why the Giants are winning games.
Running Back
Saquon Barkley: 20 carries, 86 yards, 2 TDs, 4 targets, 3 receptions, 15 yards
The game plan was pretty clear early on; feed Saquon. Can you argue it? The 2023 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee touched the ball eight times by the middle of the second quarter, one of them being a five-yard rushing touchdown for the Giants’ first score. After Tommy D ran for 26-yards and got to the 1-yard line, Saquon punched it in for his second score of the night. It was by far from Barkley’s most efficient night, but fantasy owners will never apologize for touchdowns. Saquon was finally heating up on a drive late in the fourth quarter when he broke runs of 17 and 34-yards. On the 34-yard run Barkley uncharacteristically fumbled as he fell to the ground, which ultimately led to the Packers go-ahead touchdown. Despite the fumble, Saquon likely helped push many fantasy managers into the playoffs.
Matt Breida: 2 carries, 16 yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Wan’Dale Robinson: 7 targets, 6 receptions, 79 yards | 2 carries, 36 yards
The television broadcast noted it’s almost exactly a year since the second-year receiver had surgery for a torn ACL Robinson suffered last November. It was almost like Robinson was celebrating his surgery anniversary because he came out firing. The Kentucky native exploded for a 32-yard run on a handoff from Saquon Barkley. He followed it up with a difficult 13-yard catch along the sidelines in the second-quarter. Robinson’s strong night continued after he connected with DeVito on a 25-yard flea flicker play in third-quarter. Wan’Dale made an impressive adjustment back to the ball and got the Giants into the redzone, ultimately resulting in a touchdown. I know this isn’t the start/sit article, but Robinson hasn’t had a game with over 50+ receiving yards since week 6 before tonight. It was encouraging to see how productive Robinson can be, but 36 rushing yards from a receiver can be hard to follow up.
Isaiah Hodgins: 2 targets, 22 receptions, TD
Similar to week 12, Hodgins had a quiet day, except when he found himself in the endzone. DeVito hit Hodgins for an 8-yard touchdown in the third-quarter to extend the Giants lead to 21-13. Even with scoring touchdowns in the last two games, Hodgins’ overall lack of involvement in the passing game makes his difficult to roster, let alone be put in lineups for most leagues.
Daniel Bellinger: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 15 yards
Darius Slayton: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 14 yards
Jalin Hyatt: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 13 yards
The roller-coaster of a season for Hyatt’s rookie year continues. The Tennessee product is just two weeks removed from over 100 receiving yards, but Hyatt’s big-play ability doesn’t always come to fruition, which was the case tonight. Hyatt is the true perfect best ball draft pick, but for our season-long purposes, tonight shows how hard it is to rely on Hyatt in lineups as the fantasy playoffs are about to begin.