Giants fall to Texans, 28-10

WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT THE OFFENSE

• QB Daniel Jones
• RB Devin Singletary
• WR Malik Nabers
• WR Wan’Dale Robinson
• WR Jalin Hyatt
• TE Theo Johnson
• LT Andrew Thomas
• LG Aaron Stinnie
• C John Michael Schmitz
• RG Greg Van Roten
• RT Jermaine Eluemunor

After the Giants played mostly backups in the opener, Jones saw his first game action since tearing his right ACL last Nov. 5 against the Raiders.

“I don’t think I’ll be thinking about my knee much,” Jones said earlier in the week. “I think I’ve tested it. I’ve tested it in practice, tested it in my rehab and workouts and feel like it’s in a good place. So, I’m confident my knee will be ready to go. It won’t be something I’m thinking about much.”

However, he will be thinking about a few throws that he’d like to have back. Jones threw two interceptions in the first quarter, the first of which safety Jalen Pitre returned six yards for a touchdown. Jones got back on track with a 44-yard completion to Darius Slayton down the left sideline in the second quarter, setting up a one-yard touchdown run by Singletary to even the score at 7-7.

Jones, who played the entire first half, finished his day 11 of 18 for 138 yards and the two interceptions.

Despite twisting his ankle earlier this week, rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers suited up and caught his first four passes in a Giants uniform for 54 yards, including one circus catch for a gain of 21 yards to set up a short field goal late in the first half.

Drew Lock, who started the opener, has been dealing with an oblique injury that he suffered in the game. In his place, Tommy DeVito played the entire second half on Saturday and completed 10 of 19 passes for 75 yards.

Wide receiver John Jiles accounted for the Giants’ third turnover, having the ball stripped away from him to erase a 20-yard catch in the fourth quarter. DeVito and newly-signed running back Lorenzo Lingard also lost fumbles, giving the Giants five turnovers on the day.

Jon Runyan (shoulder) did not participate in team drills during Thursday’s practice. Stinnie started in his place at left guard.

On Friday, the Giants signed veteran tight end/fullback Jakob Johnson, who has played in 67 games in his NFL career and made 34 starts. In a corresponding move, the team waived/injured tight end Tyree Jackson.

Johnson, 6-3 and 255 pounds, spent the past two seasons with the Raiders, overlapping with current Giants offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo and offensive linemen Jermaine Eluemunor and Greg Van Roten. Prior to Las Vegas, Johnson played in 37 games with 20 starts over three seasons (2019-2021) with New England, where he also played under Bricillo. A native of Stuttgart, Germany, Johnson is the first International Pathway program participant to score a touchdown in the regular season.

The Giants also signed a pair of running backs, Joshua Kelley and Lorenzo Lingard, earlier in the week.