It happened last week for the first time all season. Not once, but twice. A Giants tight end got into the end zone and actually secured the football for a touchdown.
There was a 1-yard scoring pass to Kyle Rudolph in the second quarter and a 5-yarder to Evan Engram early in the fourth quarter. The Giants ended up losing 20-17 at Kansas City despite Daniel Jones finally connecting with his tight ends for point production.
“Before the game we actually predicted three touchdowns from the tight ends, so we were one short,’’ Engram told The Post. “We’ve been working our butts off to get in the end zone, help the team out so it felt good.’’
The plan, Engram said, was to get one touchdown apiece for himself, Rudolph and Kaden Smith.
“We’ll run it back this week, see if we can get it done,’’ Engram said, referring to Sunday’s game against the Raiders at MetLife Stadium.
Evan Engram (left) and Kyle Rudolph (right) celebrate their respective touchdowns against the Chiefs. AP (2)“I love tight ends,’’ offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said, emphasizing Rudolph and Engram notching their first touchdowns of the season was an important step.
“Those are nut-cutting plays down in the end zone. Really love those guys and love their approach and how they’re handling and taking advantage of the opportunities they do get.’’
The Giants did not put RB Saquon Barkley on injured reserve after he went down with a low ankle sprain Oct. 10 in Dallas because they believed he would be able to beat the three-game minimum he would have to miss on IR.
That assessment proved to be incorrect.
Barkley’s ankle did not heal as quickly as anticipated and as a result he will miss a fourth consecutive game.
With the bye week ahead, Barkley will have had six weeks to heal before the Nov. 22 Monday night game in Tampa.
How about this personnel deployment by defensive coordinator Patrick Graham? He put DB Keion Crossen on the field on defense for two snaps against the Chiefs. Crossen spied QB Patrick Mahomes and both snaps resulted in sacks, one by Crossen.
It is difficult to take the ball away from the Raiders. They only have five giveaways this season, tied for second-fewest in the league.
Derek Carr is fifth in the NFL with 2,269 passing yards and, in keeping with the Raiders’ long-standing penchant for the deep ball, Carr’s 48 pass attempts of 20 or more yards are tops in the league. Carr has completed 37 passes of 20 or more yards, also No. 1 in the NFL. The frequency of long-distance passing could be reduced with the loss of Henry Ruggs III, who was released earlier in the week after his speeding car caused a crash that resulted in the death of a 23-year-old woman. Ruggs was averaging a team-high 19.5 yards on his 24 receptions.
Second-year CB Darnay Holmes has experienced more downs than ups this season as a slot corner. Rookie Aaron Robinson, a third-round draft pick, made his NFL debut last week with nine snaps, mostly as the nickel corner. Holmes and Robinson will be challenged by Hunter Renfrow, one of the NFL’s top slot receivers. Renfrow leads the Raiders with 38 catches and has two touchdowns.
Three players were added to the Giants roster on Saturday and will be available to play against the Raiders. Rookie LB Elerson Smith was activated off injured reserve and WR/kick returner Pharoh Cooper and LB Trent Harris were elevated from the practice squad.
Smith, a pass rusher from Northern Iowa, was a fourth-round pick. He has not played in a game in nearly two years, since Dec. 13, 2019. Cooper, a six-year NFL veteran, was signed on Wednesday.
