The New York Giants won on Sunday, shellacking the Las Vegas Raiders, 34-10. They also lost, dropping from No. 1 to No. 2 in the 2026 NFL Draft order. Which makes this an interesting ‘Kudos and Wet Willies’ review.
‘Kudos’ to …
Wan’Dale Robinson — For three years the Giants told us what Robinson “could” do. Sunday, and pretty much for the entirety of the 2025 season, Robinson has shown us what he “can” do.
Robinson needed 99 yards to reach 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career. He got 113 and tied his career-high with 11 receptions.
At 5-foot-8 Robinson has always seemed like a good, but limited player. The rarity of what he accomplished this season was pointed out by Associated Press Giants’ reporter Stephen Whyno:
There was also this:
Bobby Okereke — All season there have been whispers that Okereke, 29, is not the player he once was. Over the last two weeks, he has made an effort to put that narrative to bed. Okereke had 13 tackles and a pass defensed a week ago. Sunday, he blunted a Las Vegas scoring opportunity with an interception inside the Giants’ 10-yard line, returning the ball to the Raiders’ 44-yard line to set up a touchdown. He added seven tackles (one for loss), and a pass defensed.
Jaxson Dart — Yup, the rookie quarterback has regressed alright. One week after the worst game of his rookie season, a 7 of 13, 33-yard effort in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Dart played like the future star who had fans excited earlier in the season.
Dart completed 22 of 30 passes for 207 yards with no interceptions. He never put the ball in harm’s way. He ran for two scores and a couple of first downs on designed runs, and the only time he really sought contact was on his 12-yard scoring run. Dart finished with 48 rushing yards on nine carries.
This was the kind of game that, to me, makes the talk of trading him and drafting Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza silly.
By the way, am I the only one who thinks Dart plays with more freedom and confidence when using his legs is part of the game plan?
Deonte Banks — Yup. I am absolutely going to go here. After the Raiders crept within 20-10 and made everyone (well, at least me) think about all those double-digit leads the Giants have blown this season, Banks clarified who was going to win by taking the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to push the lead back to 17 points.
Banks was in coverage on the 4-yard Geno Smith to Tyler Lockett touchdown pass that got Las Vegas within 10 points, but he played pretty well defensively. He tackled well enough and had a pass defensed on a corner blitz.
Brian Burns — The Pro Bowl edge defender’s outstanding season continued on Sunday with 1.5 sacks a tackle for loss and three quarterback hits. Burns now has 16.5 sacks on the season.
Abdul Carter — The No. 3 overall pick continued to respond to interim coach Mike Kafka benching him twice in three weeks. Against the Raiders, Carter had a half-sack, two tackles for loss, and four quarterback hits. In their early, unofficial stat count Pro Football Focus credited Carter with seven pressures. He has 3.5 sacks in his last four games, and now has 4.0 on the season.
Ben Sauls — The rookie placekicker did not do anything spectacular. He kicked field goals of 32 and 23 yards, and made an extra point from 48 yards after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Giants. Maybe I am just appreciating the fact that Sauls seems to be calming down the Giants’ volatile placekicker situation.
Darius Alexander — The rookie defensive tackle had a sack and a pair of quarterback hits. The third-round pick seems to be steadily improving.
Mike Kafka — I have to give the Giants’ interim head coach his flowers. This was his first victory as an NFL head coach, and he earned it. Kafka took the shackles off Dart in this game, and allowed him to use all of his considerable skill.
Kafka also gets some credit for getting the Giants to continue to play hard, for trying to establish some accountability, for making some needed changes to the coaching staff, and for getting the Giants to show some improvement despite the losing.
Charlie Bullen — I wanted to scream at the defensive coordinator when he rushed only three on fourth-and-goal at the 4-yard line, a decision that led to the Raiders scoring a touchdown to pull within 20-10. Bullen, though, pushed a lot of the right buttons on Saturday.
The Giants’ defense with him in control is far more aggressive than it ever was under Shane Bowen. They twist and stunt, blitz from the defensive backfield, and seem to have a plan for how to maximize Carter’s talent. Bullen also gets props for the fact that the Giants got two interceptions and competent secondary play without Cor’Dale Flott and Tyler Nubin, and losing Jevon Holland for the second half.
Oh, and the Raiders averaged just 3.2 yards rushing (63 yards, 20 carries).
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‘Wet Willies’ to …
Every Giant who contributed to the victory — That’s just a sympathetic nod to all of you who are mad that the Giants might have cost themselves the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
‘Kwillies’ to …
Jermaine Eluemunor — This was a really nice game for the veteran right tackle, except for those two false start penalties on the Giants’ opening drive. Eluemunor is one of those tackles who seems to try to get an edge by starting his backpedal as early as he can get away with. Sometimes, too early.
Marcus Mbow — The rookie offensive tackle was the Giants’ worst pass protector on Sunday. Pro Football Focus charged Giants’ blockers with allowing six pressures of Dart, and Mbow was charged with allowing five of those. His early pass-blocking efficiency score of 91.9 is not sustainable as a full-time starter. Maybe we shouldn’t be hasty in shoving Eluemunor out the door.
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