2021 New York Giants season

97th season in franchise history

2021 New York Giants season
Owner	John Mara Steve Tisch
General manager	Dave Gettleman
Head coach	Joe Judge
Offensive coordinator	Jason Garrett (week 1-week 11) Freddie Kitchens (week 12-week 18)
Defensive coordinator	Patrick Graham
Home field	MetLife Stadium
Results
Record	4–13
Division place	4th NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Uniform
← 2020 Giants seasons 2022 →

The 2021 season was the New York Giants' 97th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their second and final under head coach Joe Judge. They failed to improve on their 6–10 output from the previous season and missed the postseason for the fifth consecutive year after a Week 16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Following the season, general manager Dave Gettleman announced his retirement and head coach Joe Judge was fired.^[1][2]

Offseason

Free agents

Position	Player	2021 Team	Date Signed	Contract
WR	C. J. Board	New York Giants	March 17, 2021[3]	1 year, $850,000
FS	Adrian Colbert	New England Patriots	May 20, 2021[4]
LB	Devante Downs	New York Giants	March 19, 2021[5]
S	Nate Ebner
LB	Kyler Fackrell	Los Angeles Chargers	March 24, 2021[6]	1 year, $1.5 million
OT	Cameron Fleming	Denver Broncos	May 20, 2021	1 year, $1.67 million
RB	Wayne Gallman	San Francisco 49ers	April 21, 2021[7]	1 year, $990,000
NT	Austin Johnson	New York Giants	March 16, 2021[8]	1 year, $3 million
LS	Casey Kreiter	New York Giants	March 17, 2021[9]	1 year, $1.127 million
RB	Dion Lewis	New York Giants	August 31, 2021
LB	David Mayo	Washington Football Team	March 18, 2021[10]	1 year, $990,000
QB	Colt McCoy	Arizona Cardinals	March 30, 2021[11]	1 year, $1.212 million
RB	Alfred Morris	New York Giants	August 2, 2021[12]
C	Spencer Pulley
LB	Jabaal Sheard
NT	Dalvin Tomlinson	Minnesota Vikings	March 19, 2021[13]	2 years, $22 million
DE	Leonard Williams	New York Giants	March 18, 2021[14]	3 years, $63 million

Player re-signed by the Giants

Player not re-signed by the Giants

Signings

Position	Player	Age	2020 Team	Contract
RB	Devontae Booker	28	Oakland Raiders	2 years, $5.5 million[15]
QB	Mike Glennon	31	Jacksonville Jaguars	1 year, $1.35 million[16]
OLB	Ifeadi Odenigbo	26	Minnesota Vikings	1 year, $2.5 million[17]
WR	John Ross	26	Cincinnati Bengals	1 year, $2.5 million[18]
FB	Cullen Gillaspia	25	Houston Texans	1 year, $850,000[19]
ILB	Reggie Ragland	27	Detroit Lions	1 year, $1.127 million[20]
WR	Kenny Golladay	28	Detroit Lions	4 years, $72 million[21]
CB	Adoree' Jackson	25	Tennessee Titans	3 years, $39 million[22]
OLB	Ryan Anderson	26	Washington Football Team	1 year, $1.12 million[23]
TE	Kyle Rudolph	31	Minnesota Vikings	2 years $12 million[24]
G	Zach Fulton	29	Houston Texans	1 year, $1.2 million[25]
NT	Danny Shelton	27	Detroit Lions	1 year, $1.12 million[26]
TE	Cole Hikutini	26	Dallas Cowboys	1 year[27]
S	Joshua Kalu	25	Tennessee Titans	1 year[28]
CB	Christopher Milton	28	Tennessee Titans	1 year, $990,000[29]
RB	Corey Clement	26	Philadelphia Eagles	1 year[30]
WR	Kelvin Benjamin	30	Kansas City Chiefs (2018)	1 year[31]
RB	Ryquell Armstead	24	Jacksonville Jaguars	2 years, $1.82 million[32]

Draft

Main article:

2021 NFL Draft

2021 New York Giants Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	20	Kadarius Toney	WR	Florida
2	50	Azeez Ojulari	LB	Georgia
3	71	Aaron Robinson	CB	UCF
4	116	Elerson Smith	LB	Northern Iowa
6	196	Gary Brightwell	RB	Arizona
	201	Rodarius Williams	CB	Oklahoma State

Undrafted free agents

Player	Position	College
Brett Heggie	OL	Florida
Jake Burton	OL	Baylor
Raymond Johnson	DE	Georgia Southern

Staff

2021 New York Giants staff

Front office President/CEO – John Mara Chairman/executive vice president – Steve Tisch Senior vice president & general manager – Dave Gettleman Vice president of football operations/assistant general manager – Kevin Abrams Senior vice president of player personnel – Chris Mara Director of player personnel – Mark Koncz Director of pro personnel – Ken Sternfeld Director of college scouting – Chris Pettit Pro scout – Tim McDonnell Director of football operations – Ed Triggs Senior personnel executive – Kyle O'Brien Head coaches Head coach – Joe Judge Assistant head coach/defensive coordinator – Patrick Graham Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Jason Garrett (fired after week 11) Senior Offensive Assistant/Interim Offensive coordinator – Freddie Kitchens Quarterbacks – Jerry Schuplinski Running backs – Burton Burns Wide receivers – Tyke Tolbert Tight ends – Derek Dooley Offensive line – Rob Sale Assistant offensive line – Ben Wilkerson Offensive assistant – Jody Wright Offensive quality control – Nick Williams Offensive quality control – Russ Callaway

Defensive coaches Defensive line – Sean Spencer Linebackers – Kevin Sherrer Assistant linebackers – Anthony Blevins Defensive backs – Jerome Henderson Assistant defensive backs – Michael Treier Senior defensive assistant – Jeremy Pruitt Defensive quality control – Ryan Anderson Defensive quality control – Carter Blount Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Thomas McGaughey Assistant special teams – Tom Quinn Coaching Assistants Special projects & situations – Amos Jones Chief of staff – Ryan Hollern Consultant – Pat Flaherty Strength and conditioning Director of strength and performance – Craig Fitzgerald Assistant strength and performance – Drew Wilson Performance manager/assistant strength and performance – Sam Coad

Final roster

2021 New York Giants final roster

	Quarterbacks 17 Jake Fromm  2 Mike Glennon Running backs 26 Saquon Barkley 28 Devontae Booker 36 Cullen Gillaspia FB 39 Elijhaa Penny FB Wide receivers 19 Kenny Golladay 15 Collin Johnson 12 John Ross 84 David Sills 86 Darius Slayton 89 Kadarius Toney Tight ends 88 Evan Engram 80 Kyle Rudolph		Offensive linemen 68 Ben Bredeson G 79 Korey Cunningham T 71 Will Hernandez G 63 Wes Martin G 69 Billy Price C 67 Matt Skura C 76 Nate Solder T 78 Andrew Thomas T Defensive linemen 98 Austin Johnson NT 91 Raymond Johnson DE 97 Dexter Lawrence DE 75 Danny Shelton NT 99 Leonard Williams DE		Linebackers 47 Cam Brown OLB 59 Lorenzo Carter OLB 48 Tae Crowder ILB 49 Benardrick McKinney ILB 51 Azeez Ojulari OLB 55 Reggie Ragland ILB 95 Quincy Roche OLB 45 Jaylon Smith ILB 53 Oshane Ximines OLB Defensive backs 24 James Bradberry CB 31 Keion Crossen CB 22 Adoree' Jackson CB 20 Julian Love SS 29 Xavier McKinney FS 38 Steven Parker SS 27 J. R. Reed FS 33 Aaron Robinson CB 23 Logan Ryan FS 34 Jarren Williams CB Special teams  9 Riley Dixon P  5 Graham Gano K 58 Casey Kreiter LS		Reserve lists 18 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 37 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 35 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 52 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 43 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 65 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 46 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 30 IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- IRTooltip Injured reserve)  8 IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- IRTooltip Injured reserve) 66 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 54 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 60 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 74 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 21 IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- IRTooltip Injured reserve)  3 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 94 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 82 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 85 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 25 IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad 81 Alex Bachman WR 44 Omari Cobb OLB 83 Pharoh Cooper WR 62 Devery Hamilton T 90 Woodrow Hamilton NT (COVID-19) 72 Jonotthan Harrison C (Injured) 49 Jake Hausmann TE 37 Ka'dar Hollman CB (Injured) 33 Natrell Jamerson SS 28 Dwayne Johnson CB 61 Derrick Kelly T 57 Niko Lalos OLB  6 Brian Lewerke QB 96 David Moa DE 34 Int. ) 18 Clayton Thorson QB 13 Travis Toivonen WR 87 Deon Yelder TE Rookies in italics 49 active, 22 inactive, 14 practice squad (+4 exempt)

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	August 14	New York Jets	L 7–12	0–1	MetLife Stadium	Recap
2	August 22	at Cleveland Browns	L 13–17	0–2	FirstEnergy Stadium	Recap
3	August 29	New England Patriots	L 20–22	0–3	MetLife Stadium	Recap

Regular season

Schedule

The schedule was announced on May 12.

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 12	Denver Broncos	L 13–27	0–1	MetLife Stadium	Recap
2	September 16	at Washington Football Team	L 29–30	0–2	FedExField	Recap
3	September 26	Atlanta Falcons	L 14–17	0–3	MetLife Stadium	Recap
4	October 3	at New Orleans Saints	W 27–21 (OT)	1–3	Caesars Superdome	Recap
5	October 10	at Dallas Cowboys	L 20–44	1–4	AT&T Stadium	Recap
6	October 17	Los Angeles Rams	L 11–38	1–5	MetLife Stadium	Recap
7	October 24	Carolina Panthers	W 25–3	2–5	MetLife Stadium	Recap
8	November 1	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 17–20	2–6	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
9	November 7	Las Vegas Raiders	W 23–16	3–6	MetLife Stadium	Recap
10	Bye
11	November 22	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 10–30	3–7	Raymond James Stadium	Recap
12	November 28	Philadelphia Eagles	W 13–7	4–7	MetLife Stadium	Recap
13	December 5	at Miami Dolphins	L 9–20	4–8	Hard Rock Stadium	Recap
14	December 12	at Los Angeles Chargers	L 21–37	4–9	SoFi Stadium	Recap
15	December 19	Dallas Cowboys	L 6–21	4–10	MetLife Stadium	Recap
16	December 26	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 10–34	4–11	Lincoln Financial Field	Recap
17	January 2	at Chicago Bears	L 3–29	4–12	Soldier Field	Recap
18	January 9	Washington Football Team	L 7–22	4–13	MetLife Stadium	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 1: Denver Broncos at New York Giants – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	10	7	10	27
Giants	0	7	0	6	13

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

• Date: September 12
• Game time: 4:25 p.m.
  Fox): Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth and Shannon Spake
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter No scoring plays Second quarter DEN – Brandon McManus 23-yard field goal, 13:21. Broncos 3–0. Drive: 15 plays, 62 yards, 8:42. NYG – Sterling Shepard 38-yard pass from Daniel Jones (Graham Gano kick), 9:07. Giants 7–3. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 4:22. DEN – Tim Patrick 2-yard pass from Teddy Bridgewater (Brandon McManus kick), 0:13. Broncos 10–7. Drive: 7 plays, 57 yards, 2:17. Third quarter DEN – Albert Okwuegbunam 4-yard pass from Teddy Bridgewater (Brandon McManus kick), 6:58. Broncos 17–7. Drive: 16 plays, 75 yards, 8:12. Fourth quarter DEN – Brandon McManus 36-yard field goal, 12:49. Broncos 20–7. Drive: 10 plays, 69 yards, 5:03. DEN – Melvin Gordon 70-yard run (Brandon McManus kick), 4:48. Broncos 27–7. Drive: 4 plays, 94 yards, 1:48. NYG – Daniel Jones 4-yard run, 0:00. Broncos 27–13. Drive: 8 plays, 64 yards, 1:49. Top passers DEN – Teddy Bridgewater – 28/36, 264 yards, 2 TD NYG – Daniel Jones – 22/37, 267 yards, TD Top rushers DEN – Melvin Gordon – 11 rushes, 101 yards, TD NYG – Daniel Jones – 6 rushes, 27 yards, TD Top receivers DEN – Jerry Jeudy – 6 receptions, 72 yards NYG – Sterling Shepard – 7 receptions, 113 yards, TD

Former Giants head coach turned Broncos Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur returned to MetLife Stadium with Teddy Bridgewater in his first start with the team.

With 2:41 left in the second quarter and the Giants leading 7–3, their offense gave the Broncos the ball and didn't get back on the field until they were trailing 17–7. On the ensuing drive Daniel Jones had a key fumble giving the ball back to Denver, who then kicked a field goal to make it 20–7. Broncos RB Melvin Gordon later broke through with a 70-yard touchdown run, sealing the win for Denver. Shurmur won his revenge game, and the Giants were 0–1 for the fifth consecutive year and eighth time in nine years.

Week 2: at Washington Football Team

Week 2: New York Giants at Washington Football Team – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	7	3	10	9	29
Washington	0	14	3	13	30

at

FedExField, Landover, Maryland

• Date: September 16
• Game time: 8:20 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Rain, 72 °F (22 °C)
• Game attendance: 50,118
• Referee: Scott Novak
• TV announcers (NFLN): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews and Kristina Pink
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter NYG – Daniel Jones 6-yard run (Graham Gano kick), 7:35. Giants 7–0. Drive: 11 plays, 79 yards, 5:55. Second quarter WAS – Terry McLaurin 11-yard pass from Taylor Heinicke (Dustin Hopkins kick), 11:16. Tied 7–7. Drive: 13 plays, 90 yards, 7:01. NYG – Graham Gano 23-yard field goal, 4:09. Giants 10–7. Drive: 10 plays, 73 yards, 4:09. WAS – J. D. McKissic 2-yard run (Dustin Hopkins kick), 0:21. Football Team 14–10. Drive: 12 plays, 84 yards, 3:48. Third quarter NYG – Graham Gano 47-yard field goal, 9:07. Football Team 14–13. Drive: 9 plays, 46 yards, 5:53. NYG – Darius Slayton 33-yard pass from Daniel Jones (Graham Gano kick), 4:41. Giants 20–14. Drive: 7 plays, 65 yards, 2:50. WAS – Dustin Hopkins 49-yard field goal, 1:30. Giants 20–17. Drive: 7 plays, 44 yards, 3:11. Fourth quarter NYG – Graham Gano 52-yard field goal, 13:35. Giants 23–17. Drive: 6 plays, 41 yards, 2:55. WAS – Dustin Hopkins 37-yard field goal, 8:46. Giants 23–20. Drive: 11 plays, 56 yards, 4:49. NYG – Graham Gano 55-yard field goal, 4:50. Giants 26–20. Drive: 8 plays, 38 yards, 3:56. WAS – Ricky Seals-Jones 19-yard pass from Taylor Heinicke (Dustin Hopkins kick), 4:33. Football Team 27–26. Drive: 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:17. NYG – Graham Gano 35-yard field goal, 2:00. Giants 29–27. Drive: 4 plays, 3 yards, 0:16. WAS – Dustin Hopkins 43-yard field goal, 0:00. Football Team 30–29. Drive: 11 plays, 50 yards, 2:00. Top passers NYG – Daniel Jones – 22/32, 249 yards, TD WAS – Taylor Heinicke – 34/46, 336 yards, 2 TD, INT Top rushers NYG – Daniel Jones – 9 rushes, 95 yards, TD WAS – Antonio Gibson – 13 rushes, 69 yards Top receivers NYG – Sterling Shepard – 9 receptions, 94 yards WAS – Terry McLaurin – 11 receptions, 107 yards, TD

Despite a strong performance by Daniel Jones and scoring their season high in points, the Giants were plagued by miscues; a Jones touchdown run nullified by a holding penalty, a wide open touchdown drop by Darius Slayton, and finally an offside penalty by Dexter Lawrence during a missed field goal on the final play of the game, which gave Washington another chance. The Giants dropped to 0–2 for the fifth consecutive year and eighth time in nine years, and broke a five-game winning streak against Washington, losing to them for the first time since 2018. The next day, it was revealed that Lawrence was not offside and in fact jumped when the ball was snapped.^[33] The Giants also lost starting center and team captain Nick Gates for the season.

Week 3: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Week 3: Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	7	0	10	17
Giants	3	3	0	8	14

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

• Date: September 26
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Sunny, 70 °F (21 °C)
• Game attendance: 75,307
• Referee: Adrian Hill
• TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma and Sara Walsh
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter NYG – Graham Gano 25-yard field goal, 6:58. Giants 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 73 yards, 5:16. Second quarter NYG – Graham Gano 31-yard field goal, 8:13. Giants 6–0. Drive: 15 plays, 73 yards, 7:38. ATL – Olamide Zaccheaus 4-yard pass from Matt Ryan (Younghoe Koo kick), 1:33. Falcons 7–6. Drive: 6 plays, 44 yards, 0:36. Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter NYG – Saquon Barkley 1-yard run (Daniel Jones run), 12:53. Giants 14–7. Drive: 10 plays, 71 yards, 5:10. ATL – Lee Smith 1-yard pass from Matt Ryan (Younghoe Koo kick), 4:13. Tied 14–14. Drive: 15 plays, 72 yards, 8:40. ATL – Younghoe Koo 40-yard field goal, 0:00. Falcons 17–14. Drive: 7 plays, 58 yards, 1:50. Top passers ATL – Matt Ryan – 27/36, 243 yards, 2 TD NYG – Daniel Jones – 24/35, 266 yards Top rushers ATL – Mike Davis – 12 rushes, 50 yards NYG – Saquon Barkley – 16 rushes, 51 yards, TD Top receivers ATL – Cordarrelle Patterson – 6 receptions, 82 yards NYG – Kenny Golladay – 4 receptions, 64 yards

The Giants retired Eli Manning's number 10 at halftime. His first career start in 2004 and only home playoff win in 2011 were both against the Falcons.

With 5:07 to go and a 14–7 lead, new cornerback

Adoree Jackson dropped a possible game sealing interception in the end zone, and the Falcons tied the score 2 plays later on a touchdown pass to Olamide Zaccheaus. The Giants got the ball to midfield only to punt it away, and Falcons Pro Bowl kicker Younghoe Koo capped off a 6-play, 59-yard drive with a game-winning 41-yard field goal. For the second time in as many games, the Giants dropped potential game winning passes and lost on the last play of the game. The Giants were dealt another blow after the game when they learned linebacker and captain Blake Martinez

suffered a torn ACL and would miss the remainder of the season.

Week 4: at New Orleans Saints

Week 4: New York Giants at New Orleans Saints – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Giants	0	7	3	11	6	27
Saints	0	7	7	7	0	21

at

New Orleans, Louisiana

• Date: October 3
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
• Game attendance: 69,170
• Referee: Brad Rogers
• TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma and Sara Walsh
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter No scoring plays. Second quarter NYG – John Ross 52-yard pass from Daniel Jones (Graham Gano kick), 8:51. Giants 7–0. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 5:06. NO – Juwan Johnson 15-yard pass from Jameis Winston (Aldrick Rosas kick), 0:23. Tied 7–7. Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 8:28. Third quarter NO – Taysom Hill 8-yard run (Aldrick Rosas kick), 13:24. Saints 14–7. Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:36. NYG – Graham Gano 23-yard field goal, 8:36. Saints 14–10. Drive: 10 plays, 70 yards, 4:48. Fourth quarter NO – Taysom Hill 8-yard run (Aldrick Rosas kick), 12:09. Saints 21–10. Drive: 11 plays, 63 yards, 6:14. NYG – Saquon Barkley 54-yard pass from Daniel Jones (Daniel Jones run), 6:52. Saints 21–18. Drive: 1 play, 54 yards, 0:09. NYG – Graham Gano 48-yard field goal, 0:31. Tied 21–21. Drive: 11 plays, 59 yards, 2:30. Overtime NYG – Saquon Barkley 6-yard run, 4:54. Giants 27–21. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 5:06. Top passers NYG – Daniel Jones – 28/40, 402 yards, 2 TD, INT NO – Jameis Winston – 17/23, 226 yards, TD Top rushers NYG – Saquon Barkley – 13 rushes, 52 yards, TD NO – Alvin Kamara – 26 rushes, 120 yards Top receivers NYG – Kenny Golladay – 6 receptions, 116 yards NO – Marquez Callaway – 2 receptions, 74 yards

The Giants appeared all but down and out after two Taysom Hill rushing touchdowns for the Saints. After a 26-yard punt return, Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley gave the Giants new life on a 56-yard touchdown catch and run, and a 2-point conversion to make it a 21–18 game with 6:52 to play. After a defensive stop, Jones led the Giants on a game-tying drive forcing overtime. The Giants won the toss and immediately scored a touchdown on a 6-yard run by Barkley, winning their first game of the season and stunning the Saints fans in the Superdome.

For his performance, Daniel Jones was selected as the NFC Player of the Week.^[34]

Week 5: at Dallas Cowboys

Week 5: New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	10	3	7	20
Cowboys	3	14	10	17	44

at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

• Date: October 10
• Game time: 4:25 p.m. EDT/3:25 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: None (retractable roof closed)
• Game attendance: 93,476
• Referee: John Hussey
• TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, and Tom Rinaldi
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter DAL – Greg Zuerlein 31-yard field goal, 6:17. Cowboys 3–0. Drive: 10 plays, 44 yards, 4:30. Second quarter DAL – CeeDee Lamb 49-yard pass from Dak Prescott (Greg Zuerlein kick), 11:59. Cowboys 10–0. Drive: 4 plays, 65 yards, 1:59. NYG – Graham Gano 51-yard field goal, 10:10. Cowboys 10–3. Drive: 7 plays, 42 yards, 1:49. NYG – Devontae Booker 1-yard run (Graham Gano kick), 2:51. Tied 10–10. Drive: 12 plays, 88 yards, 5:51. DAL – Amari Cooper 24-yard pass from Dak Prescott (Greg Zuerlein kick), 0:36. Cowboys 17–10. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:15. Third quarter NYG – Graham Gano 51-yard field goal, 11:14. Cowboys 17–13. Drive: 7 plays, 42 yards, 3:46. DAL – Ezekiel Elliott 4-yard pass from Dak Prescott (Greg Zuerlein kick), 7:11. Cowboys 24–13. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 4:03. DAL – Greg Zuerlein 38-yard field goal, 2:02. Cowboys 27–13. Drive: 8 plays, 39 yards, 4:55. Fourth quarter DAL – Ezekiel Elliott 13-yard run (Greg Zuerlein kick), 7:34. Cowboys 34–13. Drive: 9 plays, 98 yards, 4:48. NYG – Devontae Booker 3-yard pass from Mike Glennon (Graham Gano kick), 3:17. Cowboys 34–20. Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:17. DAL – Greg Zuerlein 31-yard field goal, 1:53. Cowboys 37–20. Drive: 8 plays, 33 yards, 1:24. DAL – Anthony Brown 45-yard interception return (Greg Zuerlein kick), 1:28. Cowboys 44–20. Top passers NYG – Mike Glennon – 16/25, 196 yards, TD, 2 INT DAL – Dak Prescott – 22/32, 302 yards, 3 TD, INT Top rushers NYG – Devontae Booker – 16 rushes, 42 yards, TD DAL – Ezekiel Elliott – 21 rushes, 110 yards, TD Top receivers NYG – Kadarius Toney – 10 receptions, 189 yards DAL – CeeDee Lamb – 4 receptions, 84 yards, TD

An already depleted Giants squad lost Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones, and Kenny Golladay in the first half. A bright spot for the Giants was the breakout game for Kadarius Toney, who finished with 10 receptions for 189 yards. Despite the performance, Toney was ejected for punching a Cowboys defender in a skirmish late in the 4th quarter.

Week 6: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Week 6: Los Angeles Rams at New York Giants – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	28	3	7	38
Giants	3	0	0	8	11

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

• Date: October 17
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Partly cloudy, 64 °F (18 °C)
• Game attendance: 73,920
• Referee: Alex Kemp
• TV announcers (Fox): Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth and Shannon Spake
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter NYG – Graham Gano 27-yard field goal, 9:21. Giants 3–0. Drive: 14 plays, 73 yards, 5:39. Second quarter LAR – Robert Woods 15-yard pass from Matthew Stafford (Matt Gay kick), 10:28. Rams 7–3. Drive: 6 plays, 66 yards, 3:05. LAR – Cooper Kupp 3-yard pass from Matthew Stafford (Matt Gay kick), 8:06. Rams 14–3. Drive: 4 plays, 12 yards, 1:17. LAR – Darrell Henderson 2-yard run (Matt Gay kick), 3:36. Rams 21–3. Drive: 4 plays, 14 yards, 1:17. LAR – Darrell Henderson 25-yard pass from Matthew Stafford (Matt Gay kick), 0:33. Rams 28–3. Drive: 6 plays, 73 yards, 1:41. Third quarter LAR – Matt Gay 32-yard field goal, 5:45. Rams 31–3. Drive: 13 plays, 68 yards, 9:15. Fourth quarter LAR – Cooper Kupp 13-yard pass from Matthew Stafford (Matt Gay kick), 11:55. Rams 38–3. Drive: 9 plays, 49 yards, 5:03. NYG – Elijhaa Penny 4-yard run (Daniel Jones-Kyle Rudolph pass), 6:21. Rams 38–11. Drive: 12 plays, 53 yards, 3:27. Top passers LAR – Matthew Stafford – 22/28, 251 yards, 4 TD, INT NYG – Daniel Jones – 29/51, 242 yards, 3 INT Top rushers LAR – Darrell Henderson – 21 rushes, 78 yards, TD NYG – Devontae Booker – 12 rushes, 41 yards Top receivers LAR – Cooper Kupp – 9 receptions, 130 yards, 2 TD NYG – Sterling Shepard – 10 receptions, 76 yards

In a Scorigami game where the Giants honored the 2011 championship team at halftime, they were down 28–3 after surrendering four 2nd quarter touchdowns. Daniel Jones, who cleared concussion protocol to start the game, threw for 3 interceptions.

Rookie Kadarius Toney suffered an ankle injury on the Giants opening drive and did not return to the game.

Week 7: vs. Carolina Panthers

Week 7: Carolina Panthers at New York Giants – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	3	0	0	0	3
Giants	0	5	7	13	25

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

• Date: October 24
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 57 °F (14 °C)
• Game attendance: 71,899
• Referee: Carl Cheffers
• TV announcers (Fox): Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth and Shannon Spake
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter CAR – Zane Gonzalez 45-yard field goal, 8:37. Panthers 3–0. Drive: 13 plays, 46 yards, 6:23. Second quarter NYG – Penalty on Sam Darnold enforced in end zone for a safety, 14:53. Panthers 3–2. NYG – Graham Gano 49-yard field goal, 12:53. Giants 5–3. Drive: 6 plays, 32 yards, 2:00. Third quarter NYG – Dante Pettis 5-yard pass from Daniel Jones (Graham Gano kick), 0:59. Giants 12–3. Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 6:33. Fourth quarter NYG – Graham Gano 53-yard field goal, 12:41. Giants 15–3. Drive: 6 plays, 19 yards, 2:10. NYG – Graham Gano 44-yard field goal, 5:54. Giants 18–3. Drive: 10 plays, 32 yards, 5:32. NYG – Devontae Booker 19-yard run (Graham Gano kick), 4:46. Giants 25–3. Drive: 1 play, 19 yards, 0:06. Top passers CAR – Sam Darnold – 16/25, 111 yards, INT NYG – Daniel Jones – 23/33, 203 yards, TD Top rushers CAR – Chuba Hubbard – 12 rushes, 28 yards NYG – Devontae Booker – 14 rushes, 51 yards, TD Top receivers CAR – D. J. Moore – 6 receptions, 73 yards NYG – Darius Slayton – 5 receptions, 63 yards

The Giants won their second game of the season with dominant defensive play, holding the Panthers to 173 total yards, and benching quarterback Sam Darnold. After surrendering an opening drive field goal, they only allowed 7 first downs over the next 11 drives, 8 of which ended three-and-out. They also totaled a safety, interception, and 6 sacks.

Daniel Jones finished with 247 all purpose yards, including a 16-yard one-handed catch from wide receiver Dante Pettis in the 3rd quarter.

It was later announced that captain and starting safety Jabrill Peppers tore his ACL in the contest and would miss the remainder of the season. He signed with the New England Patriots in the offseason.

Week 8: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week 8: New York Giants at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	10	0	7	17
Chiefs	7	7	0	6	20

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

• Date: November 1
• Game time: 8:15 p.m. EDT/7:15 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 39 °F (4 °C)
• Game attendance: 72,898
• Referee: Jerome Boger
• TV announcers (ESPN): Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Louis Riddick, Lisa Salters and John Parry
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter KC – Tyreek Hill 6-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes (Harrison Butker kick), 6:12. Chiefs 7–0. Drive: 4 plays, 13 yards, 1:25. Second quarter NYG – Kyle Rudolph 1-yard pass from Daniel Jones (Graham Gano kick), 14:14. Tied 7–7. Drive: 9 plays, 85 yards, 4:02. KC – Derrick Gore 3-yard run (Harrison Butker kick), 6:37. Chiefs 14–7. Drive: 11 plays, 68 yards, 5:46. NYG – Graham Gano 23-yard field goal, 2:45. Chiefs 14–10. Drive: 8 plays, 86 yards, 3:52. Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter NYG – Evan Engram 5-yard pass from Daniel Jones (Graham Gano kick), 14:53. Giants 17–14. Drive: 8 plays, 57 yards, 3:34. KC – Harrison Butker 36-yard field goal, 8:53. Tied 17–17. Drive: 14 plays, 57 yards, 6:00. KC – Harrison Butker 34-yard field goal, 1:07. Chiefs 20–17. Drive: 9 plays, 55 yards, 3:34. Top passers NYG – Daniel Jones – 22/32, 222 yards, 2 TD, INT KC – Patrick Mahomes – 29/48, 275 yards, TD, INT Top rushers NYG – Devontae Booker – 15 rushes, 60 yards KC – Darrel Williams – 13 rushes, 49 yards Top receivers NYG – John Ross – 2 receptions, 72 yards KC – Tyreek Hill – 12 receptions, 94 yards, TD

Both teams played a sloppy and undisciplined game on a cold night in Kansas City. The Chiefs opened up with a 13 play drive only to be intercepted at the goal line. Daniel Jones threw a pick two plays later and Tyreek Hill opened the scoring for the Chiefs. The Giants managed to make some stops on defense and made the game competitive with a couple of scoring drives, including Kyle Rudolph's first touchdown with the Giants. Evan Engram scored his first touchdown of the season in the fourth quarter to give the Giants the lead, and the Chiefs tied it with a field goal of their own.

Throughout the game, penalties and clock mismanagement became an issue, especially for the Giants in the 4th quarter. In a 17–17 tie game, fullback Elijhaa Penny had a controversial taunting penalty nullify yardage gained from a first down, and a Patrick Mahomes interception on the next drive was nullified by an offsides penalty from Oshane Ximines. The Chiefs took advantage winding down the clock and kicking a game-winning field goal with 1:07 to play. The Giants didn't have any timeouts, and couldn't muster much of an opportunity to extend the game. With the loss, the Giants fell to 2–6 or worse for the 5th consecutive year.

Week 9: vs. Las Vegas Raiders

Week 9: Las Vegas Raiders at New York Giants – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	7	6	3	0	16
Giants	7	3	7	6	23

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

• Date: November 7
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Fair, 54 °F (12 °C)
• Game attendance: 74,512
• Referee:
  Melanie Collins
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter NYG – Evan Engram 30-yard pass from Daniel Jones (Graham Gano kick), 10:46. Giants 7–0. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 4:14. LV – Hunter Renfrow 2-yard pass from Derek Carr (Daniel Carlson kick), 5:44. Tied 7–7. Drive: 10 plays, 73 yards, 5:02. Second quarter LV – Daniel Carlson 25-yard field goal, 14:48. Raiders 10–7. Drive: 6 plays, 24 yards, 1:21. NYG – Graham Gano 35-yard field goal, 3:24. Tied 10–10. Drive: 9 plays, 43 yards, 5:14. LV – Daniel Carlson 32-yard field goal, 0:06. Raiders 13–10. Drive: 10 plays, 56 yards, 3:18. Third quarter NYG – Xavier McKinney 41-yard interception return (Graham Gano kick), 13:28. Giants 17–13. LV – Daniel Carlson 25-yard field goal, 5:20. Giants 17–16. Drive: 15 plays, 85 yards, 8:08. Fourth quarter NYG – Graham Gano 32-yard field goal, 14:07. Giants 20–16. Drive: 13 plays, 62 yards, 6:13. NYG – Graham Gano 38-yard field goal, 3:21. Giants 23–16. Drive: 6 plays, 30 yards, 1:47. Top passers LV – Derek Carr – 30/46, 296 yards, TD, 2 INT NYG – Daniel Jones – 15/20, 110 yards, TD Top rushers LV – Josh Jacobs – 13 rushes, 76 yards NYG – Devontae Booker – 21 rushes, 99 yards Top receivers LV – Darren Waller – 7 receptions, 92 yards NYG – Evan Engram – 3 receptions, 38 yards, TD

Evan Engram scored a 30-yard touchdown on the Giants opening drive, and Hunter Renfrow responded in kind for the Raiders. After a Daniel Jones fumble in his own end, the Raiders kicked a field goal to lead 10–7. Both teams traded another set of field goals and the Raiders had a 13–10 halftime lead.

On the opening drive of the second half, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was intercepted by Xavier McKinney who scored a touchdown to make it 17–13 Giants. After trading another set of field goals, the Raiders subsequent red zone drive in the 4th quarter was cut short by a 25-yard missed field goal by Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson. McKinney recorded a second interception, and the Giants kicked a field goal after forcing the Raiders to burn their timeouts and led 23–16 for the final drive. Carr marched the Raiders down the field and into the red zone, but was strip-sacked by rookie Quincy Roche, his first in the NFL, which was recovered by Leonard Williams to seal the victory for the Giants. The Raiders outgained the Giants 403–245 in yards and 24–16 in first downs, but the Raiders were 1–6 in the red zone.

The Giants improved to 3–6 with this win heading into their bye week. For his performance, Xavier McKinney was honored as the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.^[35]

Week 11: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Giants were overmatched coming out of the bye in front of a national audience and fell to 3-7 and last place in the NFC East. Their only touchdown was set up by an

The next day, the Giants announced they fired offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

Week 12: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

On the day the Giants retired Michael Strahan's 92, the defense rebounded from their lackluster performance in Tampa and played a masterful game.^[36] After a first quarter field goal, Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was intercepted by Darnay Holmes. The defense preserved the 3-0 first half lead on the last play by stopping an Eagles 15-play, 92-yard drive with a Tae Crowder interception on the goal line, a play that would prove disastrous for the Eagles.

In the third quarter after a fourth down stop, the Giants opened up the scoring when Philadelphia native and Temple University walk-on Chris Myarick made an acrobatic touchdown catch, his first in the NFL, to give the Giants a 10–0 lead. Hurts threw an interception to Xavier McKinney, his third of the day. After that, the Eagles decided to aggressively run the football, rushing for 100 yards in the third quarter alone. Boston Scott got the Eagles on the board in the first play of the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run. After exchanging punts, Kenny Golladay had two critical first-down receptions putting the Giants in field goal range, extending the lead to 13–7 in the closing minutes.

On the next possession with the Eagles driving, Dexter Lawrence forced a Scott fumble, which Julian Love recovered for the Giants with 1:39 to play. The Giants coaches opted to be extra conservative, making the Eagles burn all three timeouts in 23 seconds, giving them the ball back with 1:11 to play.

After three completions from Hurts to rookie RB Kenneth Gainwell for 32 yards, the Eagles drove to the Giants 27-yard line with 37 seconds to play. On first down, Hurts threw a one-on-one ball to the end zone to Jalen Reagor which bounced out of his hands and into the waiting arms of Love, who himself couldn't hold on to the ball, giving the Eagles another chance. On fourth down after two stops, Hurts threw another pass to Reagor on the goal line, which he dropped again, turning the ball over on downs. It was their sixth of the game, and enough for the Giants to escape with the win.

With the win, the Giants improved to 4–7. This was the first time the Giants had a winning streak against the Eagles since they won 3 in a row from 2007 to 2008. Joe Judge also improved to 4–0 at home against division rivals in his last win as Giants head coach. It was also their third home win in a row, the first time they had done so in five years.

Week 13: at Miami Dolphins

After the Eagles game, it was revealed Daniel Jones sprained his neck in the contest and was officially ruled out on December 3. Backup QB Mike Glennon would get his first start with the Giants.^[37]

The story in the first half was about field position. After the Giants were pinned deep and moved the ball to midfield, Glennon was intercepted by Xavien Howard who was touched down at the 3-yard line. A Dolphins three-and-out put the Giants in good field position for their next drive, and kicked a field goal to open the scoring. The Dolphins responded with a field goal of their own, and later capped off a 12-play, 89-yard drive to take a 10–3 halftime lead.

The Giants kicked a field goal on their opening drive of the second half to make it 10–6, and there were 2 combined first down over the next 6 drives for both teams. Near the end of the third quarter after taking a sack, Joe Judge called timeout on 2nd and 23. Glennon was sacked on the following play and followed by a delay of game. This sequence deflated the Giants, who gave the ball back to the Dolphins in advantageous field position and scored to make it 17–6. The Dolphins missed a field goal to ice the game and gave the ball back to the Giants, who made it a one-score game again. The defense couldn't get any stops nor could the coaches keep stopping the clock, so the Dolphins kicked one last field goal and defeated the Giants 20–9, winning their fifth game in a row and reviving their playoff hopes.

The Dolphins became the second team to ever win 5 games in a row after a 7-game losing streak (the first being the 1994 Giants). They snapped a 4-game losing streak against the Giants, defeating them for the first time since 2003, also their first time beating them in Miami. Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle broke Jarvis Landry's franchise record with most catches in a season by a rookie (finished with 84 in 2014) with his 9-catch, 90-yard performance. The Giants fell to 4–8 on the season and backup QB Mike Glennon suffered a concussion in the loss.

Week 14: at Los Angeles Chargers

The injury-ridden 4–9 Giants played against a 7–5 Chargers team in a must-win situation and were blown out. Kyle Rudolph had a career-long 66-yard reception which Elijhaa Penny capped off with his first career touchdown reception, which tied the game at 7–7 late in the first quarter. The Chargers scored 17 points on 4 possessions in the second quarter, including a 59-yard touchdown pass from Justin Herbert to Jalen Guyton. The Giants only gained 29 total yards in the 3rd quarter, and were down 37–7 before scoring two touchdowns late in the game. Saquon Barkley scored his first touchdown since Week 4, and Mike Glennon had his first career rushing touchdown.

Week 15: vs. Dallas Cowboys

The Giants offense was listless for the fifth game in a row. After forcing a Cowboys punt to start the game,

The Giants fell to 4–10 and had their 5th season in a row of 10+ losses, and were swept by the Cowboys for the 4th time in 5 years, and the 6th time in 9 years. The Cowboys improved to 10–4 but failed to clinch a playoff spot when the 49ers and Saints both won later that day.

The next day, the Giants announced they were shutting down starting quarterback Daniel Jones for the last three games of the season.

Week 16: at Philadelphia Eagles

While New York got off to a sluggish start on offense in the first half, only scoring a Graham Gano field goal, the defense would pick up the slack, limiting Philadelphia to a field goal of their own. However, miscues on both sides of the ball for the Giants in the second half would lead to the Eagles blowing the game wide open. Fromm completed 6 of 17 passes for 25 yards and an interception before being benched in the third quarter for Mike Glennon. Glennon would finish 17 of 27 for 93 yards, a garbage-time touchdown to Evan Engram, and a pick-six by Alex Singleton. Lane Johnson had his first career touchdown for the Eagles late in the game.

With the loss, New York failed to improve on their 6–10 record from the year before, and was eliminated from playoff contention for the 5th straight year. This was New York's eighth straight road loss to Philadelphia dating back to the 2014 season, as well as their 90th overall loss to their rivals.

Week 17: at Chicago Bears

Saquon Barkley had his first 100 rushing yard game since his ACL injury (also in Chicago), but the Giants fell to 4-12 and finished the game with -10 net passing yards, the worst by an NFL team since 1998. They also became the first team since 2009 to end a game with negative passing yards.

Robert Quinn set the Bears franchise record with his 18th sack of the season, passing Hall of Famer Richard Dent, and David Montgomery tacked on two rushing touchdowns for the Bears.

Week 18: vs. Washington Football Team

In a near empty MetLife Stadium, the Giants offense only had 78 total yards through the first three quarters, including QB sneaks on back-to-back plays—2nd and 11 on the NYG-2, 3rd and 9 on the NYG-4—in the second quarter, to the chagrin of the fans in attendance. Washington had a 12–0 lead going into the fourth quarter after two first half field goals and a Bobby McCain pick six. Jake Fromm threw his first career touchdown pass to Darius Slayton for the Giants, then Antonio Gibson scored a touchdown for Washington. After a Fromm fumble, Joey Slye kicked his third field goal of the game to close out the 2021 season for both teams.

With the loss, the Giants finished the season 4–13 on a 6-game losing streak, all by double digits, the first such occurrence in franchise history. This was the second time in franchise history the Giants lost 13 games, and the first time the Giants had been swept by Washington since 2011. Joe Judge became the first Giants head coach to lose 13 games in a season. (Ben McAdoo only lost 10 games in 2017, as he was fired before the end of the season).

The Giants recorded just 5 receiving touchdowns by wide receivers all season. Free agent signee Kenny Golladay and first round pick Kadarius Toney both failed to record a touchdown. Slayton's touchdown was the first by a Giants wide receiver since Dante Pettis in Week 7.

The Giants secured the 5th and 7th picks in the

The following day, the Giants announced Dave Gettleman's retirement as General Manager after a 19–46 record over four seasons, and that Judge would remain as head coach in 2022. However, the team went back on that promise and fired Judge the following day, finishing with a 10–23 record.

Notably, this was the last game the Washington Football Team played with their temporary moniker, rebranding as the Commanders ahead the 2022 season after changing their name in 2020.

Standings

Division

Conference

References