Giants Week 1 Offensive Grades: Dart, Likely, Nabers Shine in Dominant Win Over Cowboys

How ‘bout them Giants?

The Dallas Cowboys defense was no match for the New York Giants offense, which exploded for 394 net yards, yards that included their tenth straight rushing effort of 100+ yards.

But numbers aside—and when was the last time a team converted over 80% of its third-down total?—what was particularly impressive about this week was the individual performances that bode well for this team moving forward if it can maintain a level of consistency.

Let’s go ahead and jump into this week’s grades for the offense.

Quarterback

Jaxson Dart

What was there not to like from Dart? The blindside blitz that he missed and nearly took his head off? Anything else? The delay penalty? The near-interception early on? That’s all you got? Which means the rest of it is gravy.

Dart’s numbers tell a wonderful tale: 23-of-29 for 230 yards, 3 TDs, no interceptions. That’s about as efficient as you can get.

Managing this very dangerous offense like he was born to it, let’s start with Dart’s 11 runs for 54 yards (4.9 avg.) on the night on the ground, which included three successful 1-yard quarterback sneaks. That's a lot of positive yardage.

We love that this very smart coaching staff recognized that Dart’s comfort in running situations is something to be exploited. They ran two separate naked quarterback boots for him that went for 22 and 16 yards, completely fooling the over-pursuing Dallas defense both times.

There were also a handful of positive scrambles by Dart. But Dart’s passing game really opened things up, especially on third down, with Dart and company going an incredible 9-of-10.

Dart was accurate the entire night, connecting especially with tight end Isaiah Likely and receiver Malik Nabers. Keep these two on the field, and you can fill in around them easily, especially with Dart reading the defense so well and making so many important and accurate second layer throws to move the sticks.

We must also mention how well Dart finishes off his possessions. Six drives into the red zone resulted in four touchdowns (no settling for field goals), one drive ending in a fumble, and the last drive ending on downs to end the game. This kid really knows how to finish.

He is so versatile and unpredictable that he’s already a great red zone quarterback, something that doesn’t grow on trees.

The time of possession was also telling: a whopping 36:40-23:20 in the Giants’ favor. This team is going to win a lot of games this year on the back of their offense, and Dart is its unquestioned leader.

The coaches put together a great game plan – which included 165 yards on the ground – and Dart orchestrated the whole deal. The opening drive was a master class in game-calling. The night’s final, game-clinching drive was headed for even more points when the final gun went off, and Dart was a big part of that with two big third-down completions to Likely. That’s master class game-calling, but you can’t do it without a quarterback, and the Giants have one of theirs.

Running Backs

Cam Skattebo

Skattebo got the start, and he came right out of the chute showing no signs of last year’s season-ending ankle injury.

He was as tough and physical as he was throughout his shortened rookie season, leading the offense with 18 carries for 81 yards (4.5 avg.) on the ground, plus one fumble that he recovered himself.

He was delivering blows and played his typically violent brand of football from start to finish. He’s especially vicious between the tackles, getting 5 yards a pop on nearly every touch, and he converted several outside counter runs with just enough speed and vision to be successful.

His contact balance showed on several arm tackles he ran through, while his tackle-breaking and running over people started on his first touch and never let up. His 3-yard touchdown run to finish off that first drive was a genius misdirection call, Skattebo jogging into the end zone untouched. Skattebo did not get any targets in the passing game tonight, nor was he asked to pass block at all.

A majority of his snaps were running plays, which is where he helped wear down the Dallas defense with his relentless attack.

We like Skattebo’s workload. His style is so physical, and the collisions are so numerous that we worry how he’ll hold up for 17 games. He’s as fun to watch as he was as a rookie.

Devin Singletary

Getting the early snaps as Skattebo’s caddy, “Mr. Reliable” racked up a mere 16 yards on 6 carries on the ground.

Still, he had a big hand in the team’s fourth scoring drive when he flawlessly executed three checkdowns in the left flat that converted a 3rd-and-9, got 7 yards on a 2nd-and-12, and then the coaches called the very same play on the very next snap, catching the Dallas defense completely unaware.

Singletary took it into the end zone from 9 yards out to give the Giants a 28-14 lead. Singletary also handled his pass blocks sublimely.

Tyrone Tracy Jr.

Trying his best to play himself off this team, Tracy had touches of 6 and 8 yards and looked like an ideal change-of-pace back with his slashing and quickness, but his fumble on the second touch, coming deep in Dallas territory, was a deal breaker.

That Dallas turned the ball over, and the offense scored a touchdown off it, perhaps gets Tracy off the hook, but this style of power football cannot succeed without ball security. Tracy did not see the field again on offense after that.

Receivers

Malik Nabers

The return of Nabers to the field, after having missed most of last year, was a huge boost to the Giants’ offense. Nabers looked sharp and frisky, catching all 6 of the targets that reached his hands for 69 yards.

There were no deep balls, but there were a lot of smart and efficient intermediate routes that moved the chains and opened up the Dallas coverages. A slight slip early nearly led to an interception.

Overall, Nabers looked sharp and physical, while getting his feet under him in the first football that mattered in nearly a year.

His presence backed off the Dallas defense while drawing numerous doubles and attention, which opened up space for others to exploit.

Nabers is a true No. 1 receiver, and every team needs that.

Dart seemed to be on the same page as Nabers most of the night, which certainly bodes well for the future of this offense. A big part of Dart’s big game tonight was throwing to much more talented receivers than he did as a rookie.

This offense has talent at every level. Nabers should be able to top off any defense, judging by how healthy he looked tonight. With him back, along with the other additions, this offense is a tough group to deal with.

Malachi Fields

The rookie caught his first two passes and looked extremely smooth pulling them in.

What we like about this receiver group is that there are no longer any body catchers. This kid caught both balls with his hands.

The rookie moved well and looked like he belonged. He blocked very well, especially on the edges where he looked like a tight end with his physicality.

His first catch came on an easy crosser that went for 19 easy yards. His other catch was a 6-yarder where he boxed out his man on this comeback.

Darnell Mooney

Though he didn’t see the ball much, Mooney got a ton of snaps out of the slot and contributed by catching both of his targets for 27 yards.

His prettiest catch was a deep out that he hauled in at the sideline, doing a neat toe tap to come down with the ball. It was the kind of professional play we haven’t seen much in these parts in the last few years.

Mooney also caught a 9-yard middle throw to convert a first down, showing good field awareness for the sticks.

The group that Jaxon Dart is throwing to this year is night-and-day versus last year’s receiving room. We think he’s going to have a lot of success with Mooney as the third and fourth option.

Odell Beckham Jr.

Getting about a dozen snaps or so throughout, Beckham got no targets as he continued to settle into his role as veteran depth.

Braxton Berrios

Elevated from the practice squad to serve as a return man, Berrios also got a handful of snaps on offense as a motion man without any targets.

Still, he drew attention in the short zones.

Tight Ends

Isaiah Likely

This week’s greatest revelation was watching a Giants tight end ripping apart a defense with his feel for the position and clutch, intelligent play that consistently beat the Dallas defense to the punch.

Likely scored two touchdowns today, both times working his way wide open as the coaches schemed him in numerous ways, none of which seemed too much for him.

He handled anything and everything thrown his way, and rarely left the field. Every one of his eight catches seemed important. There were, of course, the two touchdowns, but also a batch of third-down catches that moved the chains.

Whenever Dart needed a big play, he looked for Likely. The tight end caught every one of his targets, running precise patterns, catching the ball with his hands extended every single time, and even did a great job on one of his shorter catches to get out of bounds with no timeouts left, stopping the clock and preceding his first touchdown catch of the night.

All he seemed to do out there was make smart play after smart play, including his blocking, which was consistently smart and efficient at the second level.

No, he’s not an in-line blocker and never will be. Likely’s lone glitch was not protecting the ball on a short middle catch that was knocked out from behind, but a teammate recovered his fumble.

His two fourth-quarter, third-down catches to keep the final drive going and run out the clock were as important as his two touchdowns.

Likely’s Giants debut was as impressive as any that we can remember.

Theo Johnson

Settling into his role as Likely’s run-blocking caddy, Johnson was his physical self in the pit, catching the lone wide open toss in his direction for 9 yards.

That should be about the extent of Johnson’s contributions in the passing game, though his 45 catches and 5 touchdowns last year harken to a bigger role in the passing offense as defenses attempt to take Likely away.

Chris Manhertz

This physical veteran tight end only got about a dozen or so snaps and did not distinguish himself with his blocks. We spotted two pulls that missed badly and another solo block that was shed too easily.

Manhertz is big enough to hold up in-line, but he needs to be more efficient.

Patrick Ricard

Playing nearly every snap of the game’s spectacular opening drive, and most of the game’s subsequent offensive snaps, Ricard held up extremely well with all of his lead blocks, oftentimes going in motion and finding his target and finishing him off.

This 32-year-old blocker may need to have his snaps managed as the year goes on, but tonight he looked fresh and physical. Ricard also recovered Likely’s fumble, one of those little big plays that often go unnoticed in a game.

Offensive Line

Andrew Thomas

The play of the O-Line was a big positive, and there was no better blocker on that unit than Thomas. His one-on-one pass blocks were dominant.

A communication mix-up led to a hit on the quarterback, but otherwise Thomas’ edge was clean.

It’s his run-blocking that continues to impress. He’s got a great feel for combo blocking, while his go-for-the-throat solo-blocking is as good as it gets.

The offense made a lot of hay running behind Thomas, and for good reason. He was a rock. The Giants averaged 8.0 yards per attempt on rushing attempts behind Thomas, and 6.0 yards after contact, the best numbers of the night. That’s some solid production right there.

Jermaine Eluemunor

The lone glitch in Eluemunor’s night was a huge false start with three minutes left that could have hurt the fourth-quarter offense. Dart, however, shrugged off the flag and proceeded to drill several more nails into the Dallas coffin after the veteran’s flinch.

Other than that play, Eluemunor was rock-solid pass-protecting his edge, and even threw in enough run-blocking shields to contribute to the physical nature of the offense’s total beat-down of the Dallas defense.

Jon Runyan Jr.

The veteran’s early second-quarter false start was a complete phantom call, but his late second-quarter false start was legit.

As was the case with Eluemunor’s flinch, Runyan was fortunate that Dart made a big-time throw for the first down and all was forgiven, except maybe in the film room.

Runyan’s biggest play of the day was alertly recovering Dart’s sack-fumble, also coming late in the second quarter, but it immediately preceded Tracy’s turnover.

On the night, Runyan had some unaccustomed issues with his pass-blocking against defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, but his run-blocking was surprisingly physical and positive. We even spotted him pancaking Williams late in the game on a running play.

Also of note, every one of Jaxson Dart’s short yardage conversions came running behind Runyan, who has accepted the staff’s challenge to be a stronger run-blocker.

Francis Mauigoa

The O-line’s second best player tonight, Mauigoa’s performance was as good a rookie first game performance as you will see.

We had difficulty finding a single glitch in his start-to-finish game. There were no flinches with this kid, there was consistent drive-blocking prowess, there were short pulls that were executed with near-perfection and physicality, and there was a pass-blocking game that was as clean as they come.

This entire group really physically man-handled the Dallas front all night long, and nobody was as physical as this youngster.

John Michael Schmitz

The surprise of the night was how efficiently Schmitz played over the ball. He ran the offense like a charm, consistently picking out the right guy and shielding him, and he even got out wide on several long pulls that not only surprised the Dallas defense but were well executed.

Schmitz was rarely bullied out there, though his footwork came up short on several wide runs. Still, his overall grade has to be rated as solid.

He was the least physical player out there, but he held his own while invariably getting a piece of his man.

It was starting-level center play, a level that you can win with in this league, especially when you’re surrounded by four physical blockers plus a 300-pound fullback.

Schmitz is in a good spot, with good coaches putting him in positive situations. This is his fourth year of being a starter in this league; his experience shows, and if he can crank out 16 more games like this, he’ll make a stronger case for a new contract.

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