Darnell Mooney — Week 3: Thirteen on Third and Eleven
2026 NFL Season · Half-PPR Scoring · Monday, Sep 28
Mooney caught 2 of 3 targets for 20 yards and ran once for 9 and a first down on the opening possession. His 13-yard catch on third and 11 from the Tennessee 45 with 11:29 left in the third, up 9–0, was the second-best Giants play by expected points and led to a field goal, in a 12–7 win over the Titans.
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Nine to nothing, Giants, 11 29 left in the third quarter, third and 11 at the Tennessee 45. Jameis Winston threw short left to Darnell Mooney, 13 yards to the 32 and a first down. +2.5 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position — and 4.6 points of win probability, the chance of winning the game after the play against before it. Only Cam Skattebo's 30-yard catch in the first quarter was a better Giants play by expected points. Malachi Fields caught a 10-yarder on the next snap, Skattebo ran to the two, and the drive ended in a 30-yard field goal.
The line: three targets, two catches, 20 yards, one first down, +1.7 expected points on the targets; one carry, nine yards, a first down. The run came on the Giants' second snap, second and nine at the Tennessee 36 after the Titans fumbled the opening kickoff, around right end and out of bounds at the 27. That possession went backward from there — an 11-yard Skattebo run wiped out by holding, an incompletion, a one-yard loss — and ended with an incompletion to Mooney on third and 21 and a punt. The other catch was seven yards short middle with 24 seconds left in the half, first and 10 from the Tennessee 41 to the 34, on the drive that ended in a 39-yard field goal as the half ran out. Two targets before halftime, one after; two on third down, one caught and converted.
Three targets were fourth on the team behind Malik Nabers's six, Isaiah Likely's five and Skattebo's four, 14 percent of Winston's 21 throws that had a receiver. His targets came out second-best on the team by expected points, behind Skattebo's.
Back in June the preview's read on Mooney was trust the targets and wait for the touchdowns — 72 targets and one score in Atlanta last season, a total the preview called weather rather than the player — and it named his September target share as the thing to watch. Week 1 was two targets, Week 2 three, and that episode said the volume the call needed had not grown. Sunday was three again. Three games: eight targets, six catches, 95 yards, no touchdowns, and his targets came out positive by expected points in all three. Efficient, and small. New York is home to the Cardinals on Sunday the fourth.
_Data via nflverse._
When Darnell Mooney's week moves the numbers, you'll know — every episode, in one weekly email.
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