On Sunday night, the Giants faced the Bengals at MetLife Stadium and were unable to run the ball in the first half.
A week after rookie Tyron Tracy ran for 129 yards in Seattle, the Giants entered the game ranked 29th in the league in run defense and were stopped cold on the ground in the first half by a Bengals defense that allowed 151.4 yards per game. Ta.
The Giants managed just 47 rushing yards, 37 of which came from Daniel Jones.
Eric Gray ran twice for 7 yards. Tracy was the star of the 29-20 win over the Seahawks, gaining just three yards on three rushing attempts.
In the second half, the tide changed. The Giants didn't give up a run on their third-quarter drive, which lasted 16 plays and covered 79 yards.
Tracy stole the ball eight times on the drive for 29 yards.
He also caught one pass for 10 yards.
There was nothing special about this, but the Giants were finally able to gain some positive yards on the ground.
He got a first down on a fourth-and-2 on a Jones pitchout and finished the first with a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7.
Tracy has emerged as the likely option after starting running back Devin Singletary missed his second consecutive game with a groin strain.
However, the Giants were unable to build any momentum and lost 17-7.
Tracy had 17 rushing attempts and 50 yards.
“I felt like we were more aggressive in the second half and got into the flow,” Tracy said. “Once you get first downs and start moving the ball a little bit, everyone starts to get into things.”
Ymir Smith-Marsette suffered a foot injury in the second quarter, forcing Adoree' Jackson to serve as punt returner.
Smith-Marsette was able to return.
In the third quarter, WR Darius Slayton was diagnosed with a concussion and was ruled out.
The Giants held the Bengals to 17 points, but averaged 11 points less than they scored in the first five games.
They also limited the Bengals to 13 first downs and sacked Joe Burrow four times.
“We played well,” defensive end Brian Burns said. “There's still a lot we can do and some opportunities we have to take advantage of to change the game. From an overall perspective, we've played well.”
Rookie wide receiver Malik Nabors participated in the game and watched from the sideline.
He missed his second straight game due to concussion protocol.
He is expected to be able to return next Sunday against the Eagles.
Other inactive players for the Giants were Singletary, P Jamie Gillan, CB Tre Hawkins, G Jake Kubas, and WR Bryce Ford Wheaton. Tommy DeVito was the third quarterback.
At halftime, the Giants honored their 2007 and 2011 Super Bowl championship teams as part of the ongoing 100th anniversary of the season.
The first 25,000 fans received a Tom Coughlin bobblehead.
Matt Haak, the Giants' newest addition to Sunday night's game against the Bengals, was a full-time punter in the NFL for the sixth straight year.
He went undrafted out of Arizona State in 2017 and earned a starting spot for the Dolphins as a rookie.
He was hired by the Bills in 2021 after serving as Miami's starting punter for four seasons. There his career intersected with head coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schon, who were working in Buffalo at the time.
After one year with the Bills, Haak punted in all 17 games for the Colts in 2022.
Other than appearing in one game with the Browns, he was largely out of league action in 2023.
He hadn't been in the NFL this season until he was selected by the Giants in a punt tryout this Friday after hurting his left foot (kicking) during practice earlier in the day.
Gillan missed the first game of the season and Haak was called up for the game against the Bengals.
This was Haak's 100th career NFL game. In his first 99 games, Haak punted 432 times for an average of 44.5 yards, including 160 punts inside the 20-yard line.
