NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Giants rotated the six wide receivers they activated for Sunday’s game on and off the field and it was a surprise that Richie James ended up as Daniel Jones’ favorite target in a 21-20 comeback victory over the Titans at Nissan Stadium. 

It was even more surprising that Kadarius Toney played only seven snaps and was not thrown at even one time. 

“We had personnel groups for all our receivers,” coach Brian Daboll said. “We’ll do that every game. Maybe it’s more, maybe it’s less. [Toney] is in plenty of ’em. Obviously we didn’t get to some of ’em. I thought the plays he was in on he did a good job.” 

Toney had two rushing attempts for 23 yards. One one play, he looked to throw the ball but decided not to and instead pulled the ball in and ran. 

“Made a good decision on the one play down there at the end of the drive, to take care of the football,” Daboll said. 

Sterling Shepard, playing in his first game since rupturing his Achilles back in December, had two receptions for 71 yards and helped inject life in his team with a 65-yard touchdown in the third quarter. 

“I wasn’t going to be denied on that one,” Shepard said. “It has been a long time coming, a long road for me so I just thank God, man. It was some dark times going through recovery.” 

The NFL debut for rookie WR Wan’Dale Robinson did not last long, as he did not make it to halftime of his first game. Robinson was ruled out in the second quarter with a knee injury.

Daboll could be seen shouting at Jones, who was seated on the bench, after Jones’ poorly thrown pass to Saquon Barkley in the end zone was intercepted in the fourth quarter. Daboll said he “wasn’t talking to Daniel — I was talking on the headset to some of the coaches.” 

That did not seem to be the case, as Daboll had removed his headset before laying into Jones. 

“I just said, ‘What’d you see?” Daboll said “He thought he could potentially back-shoulder it. And I said, ‘That’s not what I saw, but you got the ball in your hands, so you’re going to get the ball back at some point.’ ” 

The Giants limited Derrick Henry to 82 rushing yards, an average of only 3.9 yards per attempt. 

“When you have a target like that, one of the best backs in the league, you’re going to sleep at night thinking ‘What are we gonna do to stop him?’ ” safety Julian Love said. “We were just running to the ball and getting after him and putting hits on him the best we could.” 

Ben Bredeson started at left guard but split time with rookie Josh Ezeudu. Austin Calitro started as one of the inside linebackers but was replaced by rookie Micah McFadden for the third series. … Special teams cornerback Nick McCloud left the game in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury. 

Rookie OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (knee) wore a black compression sleeve on his right leg as he participated in a light workout a few hours before the game. He was inactive, along with OLB Azeez Ojulari (calf), RB Antonio Williams, S Dane Belton (clavicle), CB Justin Layne and OL Tyre Phillips. WR Darius Slayton was also inactive. 

Saquon Barkley

Who else? He is entering his fifth year with the Giants and does not have a contract for 2023. He ran with purpose and showed game-breaking burst en route to 164 rushing yards, needing only 18 carries to pile on the yards. He also caught six passes for 30 yards and scored on the two-point conversion shovel pass. What a way to start a new season. 

Titans kicker Randy Bullock

The Titans put him in position to hit the game-winning field goal, which would have allowed last year’s top seed in the AFC to escape with a home victory. Instead, Bullock sent his 47-yard attempt wide left. 

Sterling Shepard played in his first game since tearing his Achilles tendon last December. He only caught two passes, but one of them was a 65-yard touchdown when he got past the Titans’ defense and refused to get pulled down by cornerback Kristian Fulton. 

3 of 11 Tennessee’s success rate on third down, as the Titans picked up only two first downs on running plays. That is remarkable for a team that hands the ball to Derrick Henry as often as it does. 

“I was hoping the son of a bitch would miss it.’’ — Giants coach Brian Daboll on his thoughts when Bullock was lining up for his kick in the final seconds.