The weather was as bad as advertised. It was 61 degrees and raining at kickoff at 1:00 PM ET, with 15 mph wind. Neither passing game could stretch the field, and a game played in those conditions rarely gets away from anyone. Both secondaries had holes going in. New York was without Deonte Banks and Tyler Nubin, so Ar'Darius Washington started at safety. Tennessee had Cor'Dale Flott back from his quad injury. The Giants' patched-up back end is the one that held.
The 2 inactive lists told their own story. Brian Burns was active for the Giants despite a week of ankle questions. Tennessee made Michael Carter a coach's-decision scratch so Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears and a promised bigger role for Nicholas Singleton could share the backfield. The Titans still went 3 quarters without a point, so however those carries were split, none of them got Tennessee on the board before the 4th.
The game's shape is simple. New York led 9-0 at the half and 12-0 after 3 quarters, and the Titans finally broke through with a 4th-quarter touchdown to make it a one-score game. The Giants' offense went quiet with the lead, which left the final stretch closer than it needed to be. The defense that was missing 2 starters in the secondary gave up 7 points in 60 minutes and didn't let Tennessee get the second score.
Tennessee also lost bodies up front during the game. Guard Fernando Carmona was ruled out with an ankle injury, and Atonio Mafi and Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson were already inactive, so the Titans spent the second half on a thin offensive line in the rain. That fits an offense that needed 45 minutes to score once.
The result sends the Giants to 2-1 with a win that answered the short-week questions after the beating in Los Angeles, if not the bigger questions about the offense. The Titans are 0-3. They've lost to the Jets and the Eagles, and now they've been held scoreless for 3 quarters by a Giants defense missing 2 starters in the secondary. The Polymarket chat drew nearly 60,000 people, more than 7 times a typical room this season. They got a rain game settled by kicks.