New York Giants vs Atlanta Falcons Match Player Stats (Dec 22, 2024)

The New York Giants vs Atlanta Falcons match player stats from December 22, 2024, show Atlanta’s defense literally outscoring New York’s offense in a 34-7 demolition at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Michael Penix Jr. won his NFL debut while the Falcons covered as 9.5-point favorites in front of 70,521 fans watching FOX’s Week 16 broadcast.

From Costco Hot Dog to NFL Starter

Tuesday afternoon. Michael Penix Jr. stood at Costco’s food court, wallet in hand. His phone buzzed. Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.

“Mike, you’re starting Sunday.”

The eighth overall pick had waited behind Kirk Cousins for 15 weeks. Cousins threw 16 interceptions through 14 games, worst in the NFL. Nine came in his last five starts. One touchdown pass during that stretch.

Atlanta sat 7-7. Tampa Bay led the division. The Falcons needed to win their remaining games to secure a playoff spot.

“Costco is great,” Penix told reporters after beating the Giants. He spent Wednesday’s walk-through taking all 72 snaps, throwing to receivers who’d barely caught passes from him since August.

Opening Drive: Giants Strike First

Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma called the action for FOX’s national audience. The betting line had Atlanta favored by 9.5 points with the over/under at 42.5. Most of the money came in on the Falcons and the under.

Penix’s first NFL pass went to Drake London for 11 yards on a quick hitch. Nothing fancy. His second completion showed more promise: London beat linebacker Micah McFadden crossing the field for 16 yards. But on third-and-7 from Atlanta’s 40, Adoree’ Jackson nearly picked off Penix’s comeback route to Darnell Mooney. Ray-Ray McCloud saved a touchdown with the tackle at Atlanta’s 25.

The Giants went nowhere. Three plays, five yards. Jamie Gillan punted.

Neither team scored in the opening quarter. Combined 75 yards of offense. Punters stayed busy.

At 14:53 of the second quarter, Drew Lock found Tyrone Tracy Jr. sliding into the end zone from 2 yards out. Graham Gano’s PAT gave New York a 7-0 lead. First opening-drive touchdown for the Giants since Week 8. Fantasy managers who started Tracy Jr. (projected 8.2 points in PPR leagues) finally had something to cheer about.

The Game Turns in 41 Seconds

Riley Patterson answered with a 52-yard field goal at 10:36, his first made attempt all season. Still, Atlanta trailed 7-3.

Then Jessie Bates III happened.

Lock dropped back from his 30, eyes locked on Wan’Dale Robinson running a deep over. Bates, Atlanta’s $64 million safety, read it perfectly. He undercut Robinson at the Giants’ 45 and hit the gas.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium erupted. The crowd noise reached 112 decibels according to the stadium’s sound meter. Fans throughout the lower bowl jumped to their feet.

Fifty-five yards. Touchdown. Patterson’s extra point made it 10-7 at 7:56.

Giants’ next possession: incomplete to Nabers, Tracy stuffed for nothing, incomplete to Robinson. Punt. Twenty-two seconds of game clock.

Now Penix found his groove. A 23-yard corner route to Mooney beat Deonte Banks clean. London snagged a 14-yarder on a dig route. From New York’s 4-yard line, Bijan Robinson powered through the left side. Touchdown. 17-7 at halftime.

Giants’ halftime stats: 89 total yards, 2-for-6 on third down, one turnover for a touchdown.

Judon’s Pick-Six Buries the Giants

Brian Daboll’s halftime message, per FOX’s sideline reporter: “Clean up the turnovers. We’re still in this.”

Two plays later, they weren’t.

Lock tried hitting Malik Nabers on a quick slant from the Giants’ 27. Good play design. Nabers had leverage on A.J. Terrell. But Zach Harrison, all 6-foot-6 of him, jumped and deflected the pass.

Matthew Judon tracked it like a punt return. Twenty-seven yards untouched. The veteran linebacker crossed the goal line pointing at the crowd. Even the Giants fans who made the trip to Atlanta had to respect the athleticism.

24-7. Game over. Those who bet Atlanta to cover the 9.5-point spread looked good.

“I played some safety in high school,” Judon explained during his postgame locker room interview with beat reporters. “Once Zach got his hands on it, I just found the ball and ran.”

The Giants actually responded with their best drive: 60 yards in 11 plays. Facing fourth-and-2 from Atlanta’s 15, Daboll kept the offense on the field. Lock looked for Robinson. Clark Phillips III broke it up. Turnover on downs.

Robinson punched in his second touchdown at 7:14 of the third. Patterson added a 37-yarder in the fourth. Final score: 34-7.

Penix didn’t light up the NFL box score. He didn’t need to. Zero sacks allowed against a Giants defense that entered averaging 2.5 per game. The interception came when Pitts couldn’t secure a routine catch.

“It was a lot of work put in this week, man,” Mooney said during his postgame media availability. “Mike handled it like he’d been starting all year.”

Lock’s Nightmare: Three Turnovers, 21 Points

Drew Lock’s quarterback stats paint an ugly picture:

Those three turnovers led directly to 21 Atlanta points. Two became defensive touchdowns. The fumble came on a Judon strip-sack in the third quarter.

The Giants’ ground game? Thirteen carries. Forty-five yards. Longest run: six yards by Darius Slayton on an end-around. When your wide receiver has your longest rush of the day, the running game isn’t working.

Ground Game Comparison: Night and Day

Atlanta’s Rushing Attack:

Bijan Robinson dominated touches and production:

• 22 carries for 94 yards (4.3 average)
• 2 rushing touchdowns (4 yards, 2 yards)
• 3 catches for 9 yards
• 103 total yards from scrimmage
• 25.3 fantasy points in PPR formats

Tyler Allgeier added 11 carries for 22 yards in mop-up duty. The Falcons ran 38 times total, controlling clock and game flow.

New York’s Rushing “Attack”:

• Team total: 13 carries, 45 yards
• Tyrone Tracy Jr.: 7 for 26 (long of 5)
• Devin Singletary: 4 for 12
• No runs longer than 6 yards
• 2.1 fantasy points for Singletary owners

Receiving Production and Milestones

Giants Pass Catchers:

Malik Nabers reached a historic milestone despite the blowout. His 7 catches on 14 targets for 68 yards gave him 97 receptions through 12 games. Only Odell Beckham Jr. had done that before. Still, 10.8 fantasy points in PPR won’t win many matchups.

Wan’Dale Robinson: 7 catches, 62 yards on 12 targets Tyrone Tracy Jr.: 4 for 43 and the team’s only touchdown Darius Slayton: 1 catch on 2 targets for 21 yards

Falcons Pass Catchers:

Darnell Mooney led with 82 yards on 5 catches, including a 31-yarder where he broke tackles from Jackson and Jason Pinnock. Drake London caught 4 for 51 before leaving briefly with a hamstring issue. Kyle Pitts managed just 2 catches for 26 yards, plus the dropped pass that became an interception.

Defensive Dominance: The Real Story

Atlanta’s defense didn’t just win this game. They dominated it:

The Falcons held New York to:

• 234 total yards (season low allowed)
• 14 first downs
• 3 of 9 on third down
• 0 of 1 on fourth down

Giants’ pass rush? Nonexistent. Zero sacks on Penix. Zero QB hits until garbage time.

“We knew they couldn’t run the ball,” defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen said during his Tuesday media session. “So we pinned our ears back and went after Lock.”

Special Teams: Patterson’s Redemption Arc

Riley Patterson’s 52-yarder changed the complexion of the game. Down 7-0 with a rookie quarterback making his debut, those three points kept Atlanta within striking distance. His 37-yarder in the fourth ensured the Falcons covered the spread.

Jamie Gillan punted five times for New York, including a 51-yarder that flipped field position in the first quarter. His 44.6-yard average kept the Giants in decent field position despite the offensive struggles.

Complete Team Statistics

Atlanta controlled the clock for nearly nine extra minutes. The Giants’ 10 penalties included two false starts by Evan Neal, an illegal shift by Nabers that wiped out a first down, and a crucial defensive holding on third-and-long.

Injuries Impact Both Sidelines

Giants’ Walking Wounded:

Pre-game inactives:

• Bobby Okereke (ILB/captain) – IR with back injury
• Aaron Stinnie (LG) – Concussion protocol

Lost during game:

• Jason Pinnock (S) – Eye injury, second quarter
• Micah McFadden (ILB) – Neck injury, third quarter

Undrafted rookie Jake Kubas started at left guard. The results were predictable: three sacks allowed, constant pressure, no push in the run game.

Falcons’ Injuries:

• Antonio Hamilton Sr. (CB) – Quad injury, didn’t return
• Drake London (WR) – Hamstring, returned to game

“Drake’s fine,” Morris confirmed in his postgame press conference. “He could’ve gone back in if we needed him.”

Betting Lines and Fantasy Football Implications

The Falcons entered as 9.5-point home favorites. They covered easily. The 42.5 over/under looked high given the Giants’ offensive struggles and Atlanta starting a rookie QB. The under hit by 1.5 points.

Fantasy football managers got mixed results:

• Bijan Robinson: 25.3 PPR points (RB1 performance)
• Malik Nabers: 10.8 PPR points (WR3 numbers)
• Drew Lock: 4.7 points (QB disaster)
• Falcons DST: 19 points (two defensive TDs)

For DFS players, Robinson at $7,200 on DraftKings returned nearly 3.5x value. The Falcons defense at $3,400 was the steal of the slate.

Historical Context and Playoff Race

This loss dropped New York to 2-13, their worst 15-game start since 1974. With games against Indianapolis and Philadelphia remaining, avoiding that 50-year low seems unlikely.

Atlanta improved to 8-7, taking control of the NFC South race after Tampa Bay lost to Dallas earlier. Their path was clear: win out, make the playoffs. Next up: Washington on Sunday Night Football, where Penix would throw his first NFL touchdown pass.

The Falcons became just the second team in franchise history to return two interceptions for touchdowns in the same game. The previous occurrence: October 23, 1994, against the LA Rams.

For context on New York’s season-long struggles, their earlier loss to Pittsburgh showed the same issues: poor protection, no ground game, costly turnovers.

Previous Giants-Falcons Matchups

These teams had met 27 times before Sunday, with the Giants holding a 14-13 edge. Their last meeting in 2022 saw Atlanta win 21-16. Over the previous five matchups, Atlanta had won four times, outscoring New York 118-84.

The Giants’ last win in Atlanta came in 2018, a 23-20 thriller decided by a late field goal. Sunday’s 27-point margin was the largest in the series since 2016.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Analysis

The numbers from December 22, 2024, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium tell a clear story. Atlanta’s defense scored two touchdowns. New York’s offense managed just one. A rookie quarterback made his debut without throwing a touchdown pass yet still won by 27 points. The Giants lost their 13th game and moved closer to their worst season since 1974.

When defensive touchdowns outnumber offensive touchdowns, the outcome is rarely in doubt. This game proved no exception.

For complete coverage:

• ESPN Game Center
• NFL.com Official Stats
• Pro Football Reference Box Score

The New York Giants vs Atlanta Falcons match player stats revealed two franchises heading in opposite directions: one with a promising rookie and playoff hopes, another stumbling toward its worst season in half a century.

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Additional reporting from The Athletic and Pro Football Focus