Takeaways from the Giants’ 34-10 victory over the Raiders:
1. Jaxson Dart took what the Raiders defense gave him and yes, that unit was quite charitable, playing a deep shell to prevent big plays down the field. And so, the rookie knew he needed to complete shorter passes to keep the chains moving. Getting the ball out and into the hands of his receivers was the plan and Dart did it well, not amassing big numbers but also not turning it over. He also ran nine times for 48 yards, including touchdown scrambles of 12 and 2 yards. That is what he is. Trying to take his legs away and put him in a protective bubble is not going to work. He is an athletic guy and he is unquestionably going about it smarter than earlier this season. He is a dual-threat and that should benefit him and the Giants for years to come.
2. Wan’Dale Robinson is going to get paid and that is a good thing. Robinson for four years has been a stand-up guy in the locker room and always gives his team his full effort every time he steps onto the field. He is not a star wide receiver but he is a darn good one. He needed 99 yards to attain his first 1,000-yard receiving season and it was obvious this was a goal the entire offensive operation wanted to achieve. Robinson was targeted 10 times by Jaxson Dart… in the first half! Robinson caught nine of ’em for 97 yards. He got to 1,000 on a 9-yard reception early in the third quarter. He finished with 11 catches for 113 yards. Good for him. He is a free agent and he wants to come back. Can the Giants afford not to bring him back?
3. This was the third game in NFL history “featuring” two teams at least 11 games under .500. Given that there are only 17 games a season, it is actually difficult to get that far below .500 and even more rare to have two teams accumulate so many losses and square off against each other. This was also the first game ever between two teams with single-season losing streaks of nine games. If this game was played in New Jersey, amid the cold and winter elements, MetLife Stadium would have been a ghost town, a real friends-and-family affair. There was a strong Giants contingent inside Allegiant Stadium and those that made the trip were making noise when the Giants did something positive. It is hard to come this far and root for your team to lose for some draft pick in April.
