There was nothing sarcastic about this round of cheers for Evan Engram.
MetLife Stadium erupted Sunday when Engram climbed the back of Raiders safety Johnathan Abram and hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass that marked the Giants’ first touchdown in the first quarter of any of their five home games this season. It set the tone for a strange day in which Daniel Jones featured his tight ends and running backs, and only targeted wide receivers on four of 20 passes.
“D.J. made a perfect throw — literally a perfect throw — and trusted me with it,” Engram said after a 23-16 victory. “That’s literally who they are as a defense, their coverage in that formation. All day that’s what they run. So we knew what we were going to get. We just had to go and make the play.”
Engram has caught touchdowns in back-to-back games over a six-day span. In between, the Giants somewhat surprisingly hung on to the soon-to-be free agent at the NFL trade deadline.
What a difference from Sept. 26, when the home crowd mock-cheered Engram after he was subbed out of the game following an incompletion. He lost a fumble earlier in that game against the Falcons.
The former first-round pick mostly has been used over the middle of the field to move the chains, but the touchdown — “Moss-ing” Abram — was a reminder of the raw athleticism that can make him a coverage nightmare …. as long as he secures the catch.
“It was cool, yeah,” Engram said of the cheering, as relief washed over his face. “Mainly, really felt good just making a play for the team. We worked that play a lot this week and for it to come down and cash in, that was big. So it felt good.”
Engram led the Giants with 38 receiving yards. Fellow tight end Kyle Rudolph led with four catches. Kenny Golladay (two catches for 28 yards on two targets), Kadarius Toney (one catch for 9 yards on his only target) and Darius Slayton (the target of one incompletion) were quiet.
“The game plan we put together this week, the offensive staff did a good job of seeing what we do well and what we can match up against them in terms of where other teams had success,” coach Joe Judge said. “I thought they found the right formula with that.”
Golladay, Toney and Slayton all played 30 of 54 offensive snaps, according to NextGenStats, as the Giants rotated receivers, including Collin Johnson, Pharoah Cooper and John Ross. The job description Sunday required run-blocking, though Golladay and Toney both converted on separate third-and-8s.
“I think it has a lot to do with how well we were running it and trusting that,” Jones said. “When you’re able to do that, when the offensive line is playing like that, then you lean on it. We have the versatility as a team to be able to play different ways. That was working, so we stuck with it.”