Giants, Week 2 — What Repeats: Last of 32 in Catchable Throws

The Giants threw 32 passes in Los Angeles on Monday night, and the charters marked 14 of them catchable. That is 44 percent, the lowest rate of the 32 offenses this week, with the league median at 73. One week earlier the same offense put 76 percent of its throws in catchable spots, tied for ninth in the league, and across all of last season it was 70. The Recap had Jaxson Dart leaving in the first quarter, and Jameis Winston threw 27 of the 32. 11 of his 27 were catchable, 41 percent. On his own 66 charted throws last season, the figure was 70.

Here is what the charting rules out. It was not the receivers: zero drops on 14 catchable balls. It was not throwaways: there were none. And it was not Winston forcing the ball into a crowd by his own standard. Five of his 27 throws were contested — a receiver and a defender arriving together — 19 percent, against 29 percent on his throws last season. The team's six contested throws on 32 were the sixth-highest rate of the 32 teams this week, so by the league's yardstick there was traffic, but less of it than Winston usually throws into. That leaves 16 of his 27 throws that were neither catchable nor thrown away. One of the 27 was charted interception-worthy, a ball a defender should have caught, which is under four percent; last season he was near eight. He was intercepted once, and that was the interception-worthy throw.

The split inside Winston's throws is the most useful line in the file. His five play-action throws went three for 65 yards. His 22 throws without a fake went eight for 46. The Giants called play-action on seven of 34 dropbacks, 21 percent, 20-second of the 32 teams this week, with the median near 25. Last week it was 30 percent, tied for ninth, and last season 23. So the fake came down in the week the quarterback changed, and the handful of fakes Winston did throw off were the part of the passing game that moved the ball.

The pass rush the offense faced changed shape. Los Angeles sent five or more rushers on 16 of the Giants' 34 dropbacks — 47 percent, eighth-highest of the 32 teams this week — against 27 percent in Week 1 and 26 across all of last season. That is an average of 4.7 rushers per dropback, against 4.3 last season. The quarterback stayed put anyway: out of the pocket on three of 34 dropbacks, nine percent, 20-seventh of 32, where last season it was 24 percent. One sack was charted as the quarterback's fault, three percent of dropbacks, the same rate as last season.

Then the fingerprints from Week 1, and they did not hold. Pre-snap motion on 19 of 73 charted plays, 26 percent — the second-lowest rate in the league this week, with only Cincinnati lower. In Week 1 it was 54 percent, fifth-highest, and last season 31. The rate after Dart left was about the same: 18 of 65 charted plays, 28 percent. No-huddle went the other way, 13 percent of snaps, fourth-highest this week, after one and a half percent in Week 1 and 21 percent last season, and six of the seven no-huddle plays came after halftime.

The run game carries one of the charting figures on this offense that moved the same way two weeks running. Los Angeles showed six or fewer defenders in the box on five of the Giants' 21 designed runs — 24 percent, 20-seventh of the 32 teams this week. Dallas did it on 28 percent in Week 1, 20-eighth. Last season this offense saw a light box on 55 percent of its designed runs, with an average of six and a half in the box; Monday the average was 7.1. In Week 1 32 designed runs still went for a hundred 60 yards, five per run. Monday, 21 went for 52, two and a half per run, 20-sixth of 32. On Sunday, count the defenders in the box before a Giants run. That count has been heavy two weeks straight, and it is the question the run game now has to answer.

The defense turned its Week 1 run plan upside down, and it did not work. New York showed a light box on only five of the Rams' 24 designed runs — 21 percent, 20-eighth of the 32 teams this week — after 81 percent against Dallas, the third-highest in the league, and 54 percent across last season. An average of seven and a half in the box, against six and a half last season. The Rams ran those 24 for a hundred 64 yards, 6.8 per designed run, the most any defense allowed this week; no other defense allowed more than 5.6. Against the pass, the Giants sent five or more rushers on 11 of 32 Rams dropbacks, 34 percent, fifteenth this week, up from 17 percent in Week 1 and about the 30 percent of last season. Matthew Stafford put 25 of his 31 throws in catchable spots, 81 percent, the seventh-highest catchable rate any defense allowed this week — the same seventh place as Week 1, when Dallas was at 79. Opponents were at 74 against this defense last season. Five of the 31 were contested, 16 percent, tied with Jacksonville's defense for ninth. Stafford did his damage without a fake: 16 of 22 for 258 yards on throws with no play-action.

The stat lines have settled, scored half-PPR. Cam Skattebo led the Giants with 7.5: 12 carries for 36 four catches for 19. Isaiah Likely caught five of 10 targets for 33, and Darnell Mooney two of three for 48, 5.8 each. Malachi Fields caught two of six for 30. Malik Nabers caught one of four for a yard. Winston went 11 of 27 for a hundred 11 with the interception, 2.5; Dart three of five for 20. For Los Angeles, Davante Adams caught eight of 10 for a hundred 95 two touchdowns, 35.5. Stafford went 22 of 31 for 327, four touchdowns and an interception, 27. Kyren Williams ran 12 times for 85 and caught a touchdown, 14.7.

A word on the comparison, because it is still the wrong one for this show's name. There are two games of this Giants team, which is not enough to build a baseline out of, so every figure here is held against all of last season — a roster that has changed, and every player a year older. That tells you what was out of the ordinary on Monday night. It does not tell you what is true about this team. Week 1 is last week, one game, and nothing more than that.

For anyone new: last season the Giants went four and 13. They opened this season beating Dallas 28 to 20 and lost Monday in Los Angeles 28 to six. Last week's notebook asked whether the new motion and tempo were the offense now; one week later, motion fell to second-lowest in the league and the no-huddle came back. It asked whether Dart's zero contested throws would survive a better defense, and Dart threw five passes, so that one waits. Among what moved the same way both weeks, two stand out: defenses loaded the box against the run both times, well past what this offense saw last season, and opposing quarterbacks put about four of every five throws in catchable spots against this pass defense both times. Two games do not settle either. Those two go in the notebook, and the catchable rate goes in beside them with a question mark for whoever plays quarterback.

That's your Giants — every game, by the numbers. This is Muffed: we do the same deep dive for all 32 teams. Follow the Giants show wherever you're listening, so next week's recap lands the moment it's out. No theater. Just the football.

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_Data via nflverse. Charting: FTN Data via nflverse._