WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT THE OFFENSE

By the time last week’s home loss to the Vikings ended, the Giants were without 60 percent of their starting offensive line. Left tackle Andrew Thomas (hamstring) and center John Michael Schmitz (finger) went down with injuries after left guard Jon Runyan was inactive due to the birth of his child. Runyan returned this week, but the Giants will finish the season without Thomas and Schmitz, who were placed on injured reserve.

The Giants also played without second-year tight end Theo Johnson, who did not make the trip due to an illness.

From left to right, the Giants’ starting offensive line in Las Vegas consisted of rookie Marcus Mbow, Runyan, Austin Schlottmann, Greg Van Roten, and Jermaine Eluemunor.

A week after Jaxson Dart did not have an official pass attempt until 11:58 remaining in the second quarter (and did not complete one until under two minutes remaining in the first half), the rookie quarterback connected with wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson on the first play of the game. It was a sign of things to come.

Robinson entered Sunday needing 99 receiving yards for the first 1,000-yard season of his career. The fourth-year pro achieved the milestone early in the third quarter, finishing the game with 11 catches (tied his career-high) for 113 yards.

Dart completed 22 of 30 passes for 207 yards and ran for two touchdowns. Dart now has 22 total touchdowns (13 passing, nine rushing) in 11 starts. With one game to go, the No. 25 overall draft pick trails only Charlie Conerly (27 in 1948) and Daniel Jones (26 in 2019) for the most total touchdowns in Giants history by a rookie quarterback.

Running back Devin Singletary scored the first points of the game on a one-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first quarter. Defensive lineman Elijah Chatman, who was signed off the practice squad this week, was the lead blocker.

With three on Sunday, the Giants now have 21 rushing touchdowns, tied with the 1950 and 2022 teams for second in franchise history since 1950.

WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT THE DEFENSE

Linebacker Bobby Okereke grabbed his first interception since 2023 in the first quarter with the Raiders driving in the red zone and returned it 48 yards. It was Geno Smith’s 16th interception of the year. He entered Week 17 tied with Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa for most in the NFL. The Giants capitalized on the takeaway as Singletary scored on the ensuing possession. Safety Dane Belton intercepted him again early in the fourth quarter for his first pick of the season.

With 1.5 more on Sunday, outside linebacker Brian Burns now has 16.5 sacks, tying Jason Pierre-Paul (2011) for fourth in a single season in Giants history. Next up is Michael Strahan, whose 18.5 sacks in 2003 are No. 3. Earlier in the week, Burns was voted to his third career Pro Bowl, first with the Giants.

Abdul Carter, who entered on a three-game sack streak, posted a half-sack along with two tackles for loss and four quarterback hits. The Giants finished the game with three sacks, including one from rookie defensive lineman Darius Alexander.

Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty, the No. 6 overall draft pick, had a career-high 188 yards from scrimmage last week and became the fourth rookie in NFL history to have a 50-yard rush TD and 50-yard receiving TD in the same game (Clinton Portis, Jimmy Thomas, and Hall of Famer Gale Sayers). The Giants held the rookie to 73 yards on 18 touches.

Safety Tyler Nubin (neck) was placed on injured reserve and cornerback Cor’Dale Flott (knee) was inactive. That led to extensive action for safety Raheem Layne, who was signed to the active roster from the practice squad, and cornerback Deonte Banks. The secondary suffered another setback when Jevón Holland injured his knee on the opening kickoff of the second half.

WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT SPECIAL TEAMS

Ben Sauls, who made both of his field goal attempts in his NFL debut last week, earned a spot on the active roster and kicked for the second consecutive game. The lefty again made two field goal attempts from 32 and 23 yards in addition to four extra points. Sauls is the fourth kicker used by the Giants this season, joining Graham Gano, Jude McAtamney, and Younghoe Koo.

After the Raiders cut their deficit to 10 points on a Tyler Lockett touchdown catch late in the third quarter, Banks returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. It was the Giants’ first kickoff return touchdown since Ihmir Smith-Marsette’s 100-yarder against the Colts in the second-to-last game of the 2024 season.

NYG: S Jevón Holland (knee)

LV: G Dylan Parham (illness), DT Adam Butler (bicep)

NYG: WR Jalin Hyatt, RB Dante Miller, CB Cor’Dale Flott (knee), OLB Caleb Murphy, TE Theo Johnson (illness), DL Rakeem Nuñez-Roches Sr. (ankle/toe), QB Russell Wilson (3rd QB)

LV: WR Phillip Dorsett, S Terrell Edmunds, RB Raheem Mostert (ankle/knee), RB Chris Collier, DT Brodric Martin, WR Jack Bech (back), QB Aidan O’Connell (3rd QB)

NYG: DL D.J. Davidson (Reserve/Injured), S Tyler Nubin (Reserve/Injured), C John Michael Schmitz Jr. (Reserve/Injured), LT Andrew Thomas (Reserve/Injured), DL Elijah Chatman (free agent signing from NYG practice squad), C Bryan Hudson (free agent signing from NYG practice squad), S Raheem Layne (free agent signing from NYG practice squad), K Ben Sauls (free agent signing from NYG practice squad), TE Zach Davidson (standard elevation), RB Dante Miller (standard elevation)

LV: DE Maxx Crosby (Reserve/Injured), TE Brock Bowers (Reserve/Injured), S Jeremy Chinn (Re­serve/Injured), S Terrell Edmunds (free agent signing from LV practice squad), WR Shedrick Jackson (free agent signing from LV practice squad), DE Jahfari Harvey (free agent signing from the LV practice squad), RB Chris Collier (standard elevation), WR Phillip Dorsett II (standard elevation)