The Giants were back on the practice field for the first time since their season-ending win over Detroit on Thursday night. They practiced in protective suits today before practicing in protective suits on Monday and Tuesday. They have Wednesday off before another practice on Thursday. The team travels to Houston on Friday and faces the Texans on Saturday afternoon. Temperatures were between 77 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit today, and skies were bright and sunny for most of the practice.
* The Giants welcomed several players back to practice today, including tackle Evan Neal (ankle) and John Michael Schmitz (shoulder). Tight ends Lawrence Cager (hamstring) and Jack Stoll (concussion) also returned. They will return to practice after a period of inactivity, with Neal and Schmitz moving well and appearing healthy during individual drills.
* There were four competitive periods during the practice. With Drew Lock sitting out against the Lions due to an injury, Daniel Jones and Tommy DeVito took all of the snaps at quarterback.
* The defense had the upper hand for most of the day, but the offense made a few big plays down the field. On a play-action pass, Jones rolled slightly to the right before throwing a perfectly placed ball across the field to Malik Nabers, who was behind two Giants defenders. The ball reached him on the run, just over his shoulder, a few steps short of the back line of the end zone. The ball probably flew 50 yards through the air and was just right.
* Later in practice, Jones found Jalin Hyatt on a long pass down the left sideline that could have resulted in a touchdown. Hyatt used his speed to get behind the defender and Jones played the ball in front of him to score. It’s questionable whether Jones would have completed the pass had the pass rush been active and Dexter Lawrence penetrated the backfield.
* During red zone drills, Tommy DeVito threw two touchdown passes and found tight ends Lawrence Cager and Tyree Jackson for scores. The defense had the most success during red zone drills when Breon Borders intercepted a pass intended for Theo Johnson. Dane Belton forced an incomplete pass covering Johnson on an out route. Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeau and Matthew Adams got into the backfield during the period to either apply pressure or score sacks.
* The next period was played on the edge just outside the red zone. Bobby Okereke hit the ball diagonally across the middle. Azeez Ojulari dropped into coverage and got his hands on a pass intended for Tyrone Tracy Jr. Benton Whitley broke the offensive line during the drill and was able to score a possible sack.
* In the following team period, Kayvon Thibodeau came screaming into the backfield for a possible sack and came in on a play-action pass from the weak side. Ojulari got in position to stop a screen pass near the line of scrimmage. Darius Muasau came in the backfield on a blitz, forcing DeVito to tuck the ball in and run.
* In the team’s final period, Jason Pinnock got the defense off to a strong start with a diving interception in the middle of the field. Burns had a possible sack while Nick McCloud knocked down a ball intended for Isaiah Hodgins. Hodgins caught the ball on the slide later in the period.
