Sometimes you need a little luck and a break to go your way…and for the Giants, that’s exactly how they got their second touchdown in Sunday’s game, the second time they scored on the opening drive of a half.
On a third-and-9 from their own 46, Daniel Jones took a heavy rush and heaved the ball over to the sideline just before taking a crushing hit – but his pass found the hands of Darius Slayton, who spun away from a tackle, got a key block, and outraced the Houston defense for a 54-yard touchdown.
“I felt the pressure. They brought a blitz and twisted up front, and I saw him, so I just tried to get it to him and he did the rest,” Jones said of the play. “Great play by him, really. He lost the guy on the route and then he did the rest. When I got up and saw him sprinting down the sideline.”
“I saw (tight end Tanner) Hudson out in front of me and once he was able to cut his guy off, I said, 'It's all me from here. I've got to punch it in,'” Slayton added. “That's when I knew I kind of had a chance (to score).”
Slayton had made his name as a speedster, so to be able to make the second and third parts of that play were just as important to him as evading the tackle and getting the first down.
“When you're fast like me, and you tell everybody you're fast, it goes through your mind like, 'I can't get caught,'” Slayton smiled. “For me, I was just trying to get into the end zone.”
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“The guy was right in (Jones’) face. (He) stood in the pocket, and then Slay did a great job. Again, testament to Slay,” added head coach Brian Daboll.
What was even bigger for Slayton and the Giants, though, was that it was a play indicative of how he can be the No. 1 receiver the Giants desperately need, especially after another poor performance by Kenny Golladay.
Slayton was way down the Giants’ initial depth chart when the season began, but as Golladay, Kadarius Toney, and Sterling Shepard all battled injuries and missed time (and Toney left for Kansas City), he has stepped up to be the predominant target in each of the last few games, and made the most of it.
“It's been a journey. I just try to take every day one day at a time, do my best and make plays when they come my way,” Slayton said. “That's gotten me here, and I hope it will keep serving me well.”
It hasn’t gone unnoticed.
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“We've always talked about that earlier. 'What's going to happen in preseason? Are you guys playing him too much? Are you trying to showcase him?' We've had confidence in him. He's had to earn it, and he's had to fight through some tough times, I'd say, earning it,” Daboll said of Slayton. “But he's done a really good job for us these last however many games, performing when his number's called. And that's the type of guys we want.”
Hopefully for Slayton, who re-worked his deal to remain with the Giants, that endorsement will lead to a long-term deal, as he is one of many offensive players who become free agents this offseason.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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