Giants Win in Vegas, Lose control of #1 Pick

LAS VEGAS, NV -- The Giants snapped their nine-game losing streak to beat the Raiders 34-10 on the road. It was the first road victory for the Giants since October 6th, 2024 against the Seahawks, and Geno Smith.

Sunday's win also marked the first win for Interim Head Coach Mike Kafka. He took over ahead of Week 11.

"It's not that I'm not deflecting, I'm serious that it's about the players and those guys together, getting a win for them and for each other, and we're all in this thing together." Kafka said speaking on his first win as an NFL head coach. "Everyone's working hard and putting a lot of hours in, because it means something to us and to see that locker room and feel that locker room in a postgame, and even during the game, you felt that energy, and you felt the urgency to finish this thing off. And again, I'm just really excited and proud of them, it's a fun ride back. And then we've got to get back to work."

The Giants were able to pull out the victory today and improve to 3-13 on the season. They could have tried to lose today and secure the #1 overall pick. The Giants have not officially lost the first round pick, but a lot would need to go their way.

“We don't care about that." Dart said postgame. "We just wanna win”

"Great win. Really, all three phases stepped out." Kafka said. "Saw plays on offense, guys like Wan'Dale stepping up and having a great day for us when we needed him most. Huge third down conversions, big plays across the field, our offensive line blocked their tail off in the run game and the pass game."

Giants Offense

Jaxson Dart's Bounce back

The main story today was the offense putting things together. Remember all that concern about Jaxson Dart last week -- I guess the worry is for nothing. The Giants have their franchise QB, and it’s Dart. He looked much more like himself today finishing with 16 of 31 completed passes for 178 yards and one touchdown, while also contributing 48 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

Also notable, Dart was running out of bounds any chance he had when a play was over. The fact that Dart is learning on the fly with a make-shift coaching staff and a team that has nothing to play for but draft positioning is impressive. 

"Really proud of how Jaxson rebounded from the last couple weeks in terms of stepping up." Said Kafka. "It's not easy to win in this league and for him to step up like that, like he did, not only throwing the ball but running the football as well."

"Yeah, like I said, I'm going to continue to learn." Said Dart on his performance. "I'm going to make mistakes here and there, and I'm going to bounce back from them. I'm going to have some hits that I took early on that I saw was kind of unnecessary, and then you just make adjustments.

"And at the same time, you got to continue to just play your game. You can't make somebody into somebody that they're not. So, yeah, I just felt like I definitely played smart and just got away from any of the unnecessary stuff."

Wan'Dale Robinson's Career Year

Wan’Dale Robinson hit 1,000 yards for the first time in his career today, and is primed to earn a decent free agent contract.

"Yeah, Wan'Dale , we came in together, right. Like it was our first draft class, a guy that I know and love really well, and to see him continue to grow that position, what we asked him to do, he came in primarily as a slot." Kafka said on Robinson's overall performance. "We asked him to play a little more outside this year based on injuries, and he just jumped at it. I think he took his craft to another level in terms of being able to play an outside perimeter receiver and still have the dynamic ability to play inside in the slot and create mismatches and matchup opportunities for himself.

"So again, to have that day, 11 catches, 113 yards, then to eclipse 1,000 is an awesome milestone for him. I know for him, it's really cool because you saw a lot of the production over the years. But a fifth 1,000 marker is a big deal. That's a big deal for him. And to get it, not only the way he did it, with explosive plays, but to get it and also get the win, I think it's kind of just the cherry on top for him. I know he was really excited about it. I'm super proud of him."

Giants Defense

The Giants defense was not too shabby this week either. While it’s the Raiders offense which is deplorable, the Giants defense looked really solid today. Abdul Carter continues to make big plays and look like a dude, which is promising to see going into the 2026 season Brian Burnes continued his Pro Bowl legitimacy with another solid showing.

Carter recorded a 10-yard tackle for loss on Tre Tucker, while Burns helped anchor a defense that held Las Vegas to just 10 points after entering the game with a career-high 15.0 sacks on the season. He earned a sack and a half today, bringing him to 16.5 on the year.

"Another week for Abdul , where he's taking the right approach and the right mindset, and I think he's starting to get into a groove in terms of a player and really understanding what are his strengths, what are his weaknesses, and how he can continue to study and attack the opponent's strengths and weaknesses."

"Charlie and the defense is doing a good job putting him in different positions to be successful. He's not just lining up on one side and he's able to line up over the center, over the guards. Then on top of that, he's got a couple other guys that offices have to have to think about, Brian Burns and Dexter so that it's also a part of that. He's going to get some signals, he's going to get some opportunities one on one, and when they do want to go double him now, that's opportunities for Burns and Dexter to have success."

Since the Giants fired defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, Carter has gone off for the Giants and look like the first round pick that Joe Schoen drafted. Carter has recorded 4.0 sacks, 13 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 2 forced fumbles in his first four games under interim coordinator Charlie Bullen, including today's victory over the Raiders.

On another note, the Raiders and Jets are clearly the two worst teams in the NFL this year, and it's not close.