Dominic Zvada kicked four field goals and the New York Giants’ defense held the visiting Tennessee Titans to one first down in the first half of a 12-7 win on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.
Zvada hit from 39, 27, 39 and 30 yards on a rainy, windy afternoon at MetLife Stadium. New York’s defense did the rest, forcing Tennessee to punt five consecutive times in the first half and keeping it out of the end zone until 5:35 remained in the fourth quarter.
Cam Ward found Wan’Dale Robinson for a 4-yard touchdown strike that gave the Titans (0-3) a chance. They forced a punt and got the ball back at their 23 with 3:03 remaining, eventually reaching the Giants’ 7 on Ward’s 11-yard completion to Elic Ayomanor with 24 seconds left.
But Jevon Holland preserved the win for the Giants (2-1) by intercepting Ward with 17 seconds on the clock.
Ward connected on 23 of 36 passes for 181 yards, while Tony Pollard rushed for a game-high 74 yards on 17 carries. Jameis Winston completed 14 of 22 passes for 118 yards for New York in his first start after Jaxson Dart went down Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams with a season-ending knee injury.
New York opened the scoring with 6:34 left in the first quarter on Zvada’s first 39-yard field goal, which capped a 50-yard drive. Winston found Cam Skattebo for a 30-yard completion to key the drive.
Zvada increased the advantage to 6-0 with 4:49 left in the half, converting from 27 yards out to finish off a 44-yard drive that chewed up seven minutes, 10 seconds of clock.
Tennessee finally moved the chains with 1:18 left in the half on a 16-yard pass from Ward to Robinson. But the drive stalled and the Titans settled for a 59-yard field goal attempt by Joey Slye that missed.
Given that field position, the Giants maneuvered down to the Titans’ 21 and Zvada hit from 39 for a 9-0 halftime lead. Zvada added his 30-yarder with 6:56 to go in the third quarter.
Skattebo finished with 100 yards from scrimmage: 60 rushing yards on 20 carries and 40 receiving yards on three catches.
