New York Giants vs. Atlanta Falcons, Week 16: The Falcons lead around the clock in the third quarter

In-game updates

The Giants got the ball early in the second half, but on the second play of the half it was the Falcons who scored. A blown block by Greg Van Roten led to a pass being defended and Drew Lock scoring the second pick of the game.

The Giants got a spark of life in the final seconds of the half when Kyle Pitts deflected a pass into the hands of Cor’Dale Flott for the Giants’ third interception of the season. An unnecessary roughness penalty moved the ball up another 15 yards, giving the Giants a glimmer of hope for a Hail Mary. This did not happen and the Giants went into halftime trailing by 10.

It wasn’t a great ending, but it was better than the Falcons leading by 13 or 17 points on a field goal or touchdown at the end of the half.

The Falcons extended their lead within the two-minute warning after some great passes from Michael Penix, a poor DPI from Tae Banks and a tough run from Bijan Robinson.

The Giants’ lead was short-lived as Jesse Bates flipped the script with a pick six from Drew Lock. Lock had been efficient up to that point, but the Giants appeared to have had communication issues on the drive.

The Giants gain a rare lead as Tyrone Tracy scores a touchdown while WR Malik Nabers also sets the Giants’ rookie rushing record. It was a long, arduous drive in which the Giants advanced the ball just a few yards at a time through hard-fought runs and receptions.

We didn’t have to wait long to see rookie QB Michael Penix. The Giants won the coin toss and elected to wait for the second half. The rookie did a good job of getting the ball to his receivers, but the Giants were saved by several drops and before a throw and missed field goal ended the Falcons’ first drive.

Pre-game updates

Inactive Giants Week 16:

G Aaron Stinnie (concussion)
CB Greg Stroman (shoulder/shin)
DL Casey Rogers
CB Dee Williams
CB Divaad Wilso
QB Tim Boyle (third emergency QB)

– CBs Tae Banks, Cor’Dale Flott and Dru Phillips are all active.

The New York Giants will look to avoid their franchise-record 10th straight loss in a single season when they take on the Atlanta Falcons in Georgia on Sunday.

The 2-12 Giants are 8.5 point underdogs to the 7-7 Falcons.

The Giants enter the weekend as one of only two two-win teams, the other being the Las Vegas Raiders. The Giants are currently the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, while the Raiders are the No. 1 pick.

Michael Penix Jr., the No. 8 pick in the 2024 draft, will make his first career start for the Falcons on Sunday.

Check out all of our pregame, ingame and postgame coverage in our Giants-Falcons StoryStream. Use this as your discussion thread during gameplay. You can also follow Ed Valentine on Bluesky for in-game updates.

Thoughts before the game

Here are some thoughts I posted on Bluesky on Sunday morning:

• I don’t know if it will be today or next week, but I think the Giants will win at least one game before the season is over. Neither Atlanta nor Indy (next week’s opponent) are a great team. …
• Some will condemn the Giants for not drafting him if Michael Penix has a great game today. I don’t buy that. I never thought Penix would be a guy the Giants would sign given his injury history and Brian Daboll’s apparent preference for QBs that can be used in the run game.
• I see some media speculation about Evan Neal at guard before the season is over. I wonder if the #NYG OL 2025 could be Thomas (LT), Runyan (LG), Schmitz (C), Neal (RG), Eluemunor (RT).
• Speaking of OL, I’m interested in seeing rookie UDFA Jake Kubas play at left guard on Sunday. If he could be a real player, that would be a great discovery for GM Joe Schoen and Co. and a big help for the future.

How to watch, listen

Playing time: 1 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Radio: Giants Radio Network — WFAN 101.9 FM (Bob Papa, Carl Banks, Howard Cross)
Giants Spanish Radio — WADO 1280 AM (Nestor Rosario, Francis Adames) | SiriusXM: Channel 121 or 232
Streaming: Giants.com, Giants mobile app, NFL+
FanDuel Sports Betting Odds: Giant +8.5 | Moneyline: +370 | Over/Under: 43.5