Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here’s a look at some potential bargains for daily fantasy from the New York Giants-Kansas City Chiefs Week 8 game on Monday.
The New York Giants (2-5) head to Kansas City this Monday night to face the Chiefs (3-4) in an interesting interconference matchup.
Here is a quick rundown of the fantasy options in the Week 8 game.
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and kicker Graham Gano each etched their names into the history books in Week 7.
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The New York Giants upset the Carolina Panthers, 25-3, on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium largely on the back of quarterback Daniel Jones.
Jones completed 23 of his 33 pass attempts for 203 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed the ball eight times for 28 yards and hauled in one impressive reception for 16 yards.
The spread-out performance was a rarity in the NFL. In fact, Jones became only the third quarterback in league history with 200+ passing yards, 25+ rushing yards and 15+ receiving yards in a single game.
Here’s a look at some of the other records and stats from Sunday’s Week 7 game:
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Darius Slayton, Daniel Jones and Azeez Ojulari were the highest-graded New York Giants in a Week 7 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
The New York Giants stormed back after a slow start on Sunday and eventually cruised to a 25-3 victory over the Carolina Panthers. It was their first win at MetLife Stadium this year and the first in front of fans in nearly two years.
It’s also a reprieve for the organization. Had they lost again and fallen to 1-6 on the season, heads would have rolled. And while 2-5 isn’t much better, 2-2 over their previous four games is an easier pill to swallow.
Leading the charge in Week 7 was wide receiver Darius Slayton, who earned a Pro Football Focus grade of 84.8 in his return from injury. Just behind him was quarterback Daniel Jones, who earned the team’s second-highest grade at 80.4.
Other notable offensive grades include wide receiver Dante Pettis (75.1), left tackle Matt Peart (61.0) and running back Devontae Booker (55.6).
The lowest-graded Giants on offense was wide receiver David Sills (44.3).
Defensively, it should come as little surprise that rookie edge rusher Azeez Ojulari led the way with an 80.3 (min. 20 snaps). Linebacker Benardrick McKinney earned a 90.6 on 11 snaps.
Elsewhere on defense, notable grades include cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (77.9), defensive end Leonard Williams (72.4) and cornerback James Bradberry (70.8).
The lowest-graded Giants on defense were linebacker Reggie Ragland (50.5) and cornerback Darnay Holmes (43.9).
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Here are the winners, losers and those in between from the New York Giants’ Week 7 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
For just the second time this season, the New York Giants picked up a victory — this time, a 25-3 upset victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Things didn’t look good early, but the Giants weathered the storm and came out strong in the second half. In what felt like the blink of the eye, they were rolling on both sides of the ball and up big on the scoreboard.
Joe Judge & Co. didn’t take their foot off the gas and sailed to their first home win of the year.
Here’s a look at the winners and losers (and those in between) from Week 7.
“I don’t think that was him as a person and everything,” Booker said of Gruden.
While a trove of leaked e-mails no doubt showed an ugly side to former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, New York Giants running back Devontae Booker says he never experienced that side of Gruden.
When asked about the situation, Booker, who played for Gruden last year with the Raiders, says the e-mails don’t paint the picture of the man he knows.
“I don’t know, honestly. I heard it and I just felt like I don’t think that was him, just me personally,” Booker said. “I don’t think that was him as a person and everything. I was only there with him a year, but that’s just my take on it. Everybody else can do whatever or say whatever about him, but I didn’t get that from him when I was there.”
Booker noted that Gruden gave him an opportunity in Las Vegas, and without it he might not be with the Giants right now. He also said “absolutely” when asked if he enjoyed playing for the former head coach.
“Absolutely,” Booker said. “He gave me an opportunity there. I probably wouldn’t be here right now without the opportunity he gave me.”
Two Giants lead the list of the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 6.
The first five weeks of the 2021 NFL season has seen a slew of injuries, and it has gotten so bad that it’s tough to keep up with them all.
In Week 5, we saw the New York Giants lose a trio of key players to injury, including running back Saquon Barkely, quarterback Daniel Jones, and wide receiver Kenny Golladay.
The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t come out of their game unscathed, either, as running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire looks like he could miss time after coming down with a knee injury on Sunday night versus the Buffalo Bills.
As a result of those injuries alone, there are a few running backs to target, but we’ve also got some intriguing options at the wide receiver and tight end positions to consider.
With all of that said, here’s a look at the best players from each position to target on your fantasy football waiver wire for Week 6.
Following a relentless wave of injuries, the New York Giants have been reduced to fielding what looks like a “preseason” roster.
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The New York Giants entered a Week 5 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys relatively thin due to injury.
They were without wide receivers Sterling Shepard (hamstring) and Darius Slayton (hamstring), safety Jabrill Peppers (hamstring), guard Ben Bredeson (hand) and left tackle Andrew Thomas (foot). That was to go along with several other players already lost for the season: linebacker Blake Martinez, center Nick Gates, guard Shane Lemieux and tight end Levine Toilolo.
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Let’s not discuss rookies Elerson Smith and Aaron Robinson, who have yet to even suit up for the Giants.
Unfortunately, the negative injury trend continued for the Giants on Sunday as player after player dropped.
Running back Saquon Barkley sprained his ankle, quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a terrifying concussion, wide receiver Kenny Golladay hurt his knee, rookie cornerback Rodarius Williams also injured his knee, and wide receiver Kadarius Toney endured multiple injuries before being ejected.
Ultimately, the clown car full of the walking (and not walking) wounded left the Giants looking like a preseason team.
“Yeah, it was [like a preseason team],” running back Devontae Booker told reporters after the game. “All the guys going down, this is what we prepare for. I am pretty sure all the guys prepared like this as if they are the starter. Backup guys, third stringers, whoever. That is just our mentality. One guy goes down, next man up. You have to go out there and perform when an opportunity comes to us.”
The problem the Giants are experiencing is that they’re running out of men to be the next up. Had quarterback Mike Glennon been hurt, for example, punter Riley Dixon would have served as the emergency QB.
Meanwhile, along the offensive line, they had one reserve remaining before potentially being forced to insert an already injured Andrew Thomas back into the lineup.
They are running out of bodies. And they are running out of money to sign reinforcements.
“I guess it was just the guys who played in preseason to a certain extent. I think we handled it well. Those guys stepped in and did well,” quarterback Mike Glennon said.
A preseason roster is not what you want to field heading into an extended stretch against some of the NFL’s best teams, but that’s the storm the Giants must weather for now. It’s unlikely many reinforcements are on their way in Week 6 so head coach Joe Judge will have to find a way to navigate things with mostly backups — especially on the offensive side of the ball.
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Here are the winners, losers and those in between from the New York Giants’ Week 1 loss to the Denver Broncos.
The New York Giants played host to the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon in front of the first packed house since 2019.
However, just as it was in 2019 and again last season without fans, there wasn’t much to cheer for. There was, however, a lot to boo over. And boo the fans did.
Teddy Bridgewater and the Broncos dominated the Giants from the open whistle until the final whistle. The 27-13 score doesn’t actually represent just how one-sided the game actually was.
Let’s take a look at the winners and losers (and those in between) from the latest and all too familiar Giants loss.
WR Damion Willis and LB Blake Martinez earned the New York Giants’ highest offensive and defensive grades in a loss to the Patriots.
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The New York Giants dropped their preseason finale to the New England Patriots, 22-20, and there were plenty of reasons to come away concerned. We’ll get to those.
Before we do however, there were also several reasons to feel optimistic. Case in point: linebacker Blake Martinez demonstrating a significant improvement in coverage — if even just for a day.
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Martinez led the Giants defense with a Pro Football Focus grade of 91.7. He was followed by defensive back Julian Love (89.5), and defensive linemen Elijah Qualls (80.7) and Austin Johnson (76.2).
Other notable defensive grades include linebacker Lorenzo Carter (74.3), cornerback Sam Beal (69.7) and cornerback Rodarius Williams (59.8).
The lowest-graded Giants defenders on Sunday were linebackers Trent Harris (29.9) and Niko Lalos (24.3).
On the offensive side of the ball, wide receiver Damion Willis led the way with a PFF grade of 92.5. He was followed by guard Will Hernandez (92.2), offensive tackle Jackson Barton (78.7) and tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart (74.7).
Fullback Eli Penny earned a 73.7, while quarterback Daniel Jones graded out at 53.8.
The Giants’ lowest-graded offensive players were running back Devontae Booker (42.1) and wide receiver Darius Slayton (41.4).
Offensive tackles Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart earned grades of 53.4 and 48.5, respectively.
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New York Giants OL Brett Heggie and DB Quincy Wilson earned the team’s highest Pro Football Focus grades in Week 2 of the preseason.
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The New York Giants rested the majority of their starters on Sunday afternoon against the Cleveland Browns, giving way to reserves and back-end of the depth guys.
The result was a mixed bag — as it usually is — but there were more positives than negatives this week. Several players showed up in big ways and displayed impressively unique versatility.
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Pro Football Focus didn’t necessarily see it that way, however.
PFF gave wide receiver Matt Cole, who got thrust into action at cornerback, a grade of just 54.9 on offense and 47.5 on defense despite not allowing a reception (two targets) and making one stop to force a field goal.
Cole did fare better on special teams, earning the team’s second-highest unit grade at 76.2. Unsurprisingly, linebacker Cam Brown topped that list (82.3).
Offensively, backup center Brett Heggie led the way with a grade of 82.8. He was followed by running back Devontae Booker (77.1) and fullback Eli Penny (75.6).
Other noteworthy offensive grades include offensive lineman Jonotthan Harrison (70.7), wide receiver David Sills (68.6) and tight end Kaden Smith (67.2).
On the defensive side of the ball, safety Quincy Wilson led the way with a grade of 81.7. Just behind him were linebacker Oshane Ximines (80.2) and safety Julian Love (73.1).
Rookie cornerback Rodarius Williams also took a step in the right direction with a 64.4.
The lowest-graded players on the Giants were defensive lineman Willie Henry (27.1), linebacker Trent Harris (35.3) and linebacker Cam Brown (37.3). Wide receiver Alex Bachman earned the team’s lowest offensive grade at 43.8.
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