Isaiah Likely — Week 3: Five Targets, Thirteen Yards
2026 NFL Season · Half-PPR Scoring · Monday, Sep 28
Likely was thrown to 5 times, second on the Giants, and caught 2 for 13 yards; the 10-yarder to the Tennessee 28 on the opening scoring drive was his only first down. Four of the five targets came before halftime, and all three incompletions came in the first half, in a 12–7 win over the Titans.
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Nothing to nothing, nine 17 left in the first quarter, first and 10 at the Tennessee 38, one snap after Cam Skattebo's 30-yard catch. Jameis Winston threw short left to Isaiah Likely, who was pushed out at the 28 after 10 yards and a first down. +0.6 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position. It was the best of his five targets and his only first down, and the drive ended in a 39-yard field goal.
The line: five targets, two catches, 13 yards, one first down, −1.1 expected points on the targets, 21 air yards. The incompletions: short left on first and 20 on the opening possession, which had started at the Tennessee 37 after a Titans fumble on the kickoff; short left on first and 10 from the New York five later in the first quarter; and short right on second and 10 from midfield with 36 seconds left in the half. The other catch was three yards on second and eight from the New York 22 early in the fourth quarter. Four targets before halftime, one after. No third-down targets.
Five targets were second on the team to Malik Nabers's six, 24 percent of Winston's 21 throws that had a receiver, and he was the only Giants tight end thrown to. It was Winston's first start of the season, with Jaxson Dart on injured reserve, per the Giants' team site, and New York's hundred net passing yards were the fewest of the 28 teams that had played by Sunday night.
Back in June the preview leaned against Likely: a 40-million-dollar contract for a job he had never held, a career high of 42 catches, and a test — five or more targets a game means a new identity, three means the old one. Week 1 was eight targets, eight catches and two touchdowns. Week 2 was 10 targets for 33 yards. Sunday was five, right on the line the preview drew. Three games: 23 targets, 15 catches, a hundred 24 yards, two touchdowns, nearly eight targets a game. The volume test is passing so far; the yards have come down each week. New York is home to the Cardinals on Sunday the fourth.
_Data via nflverse._
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