NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Brian Daboll went for it. Saquon Barkley got it. Randy Bullock missed it. And the Giants upset the Tennessee Titans in stunning fashion, 21-20, at Nissan Stadium on Sunday.

A Daniel Jones touchdown pass to tight end Chris Myarick narrowed the deficit to 20-19 with 1:06 to play in the fourth quarter. Then Daboll went for two and the lead in his NFL head coaching debut, rather than calling for an extra point to tie the game.

Barkley took a shovel pass from Jones, then bounced and barreled into the end zone for the lead, with rookie left guard Josh Ezeudu playing a major role as a blocker—as he did all day. The Giants led 21-20.

Ryan Tannehill promptly drove the Titans’ offense into field goal range, helped by three Giants penalties. But kicker Randy Bullock pulled a 47-yard field goal wide left at the buzzer, and Daboll’s Giants spilled onto the field in celebration.

This was the Giants’ first Week 1 win since 2016, the last time they made the playoffs. They beat last year’s AFC No. 1 seed to get it.

Barkley racked up a ridiculous 194 yards from scrimmage, plus a 5-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and the biggest two points of the day.

The game felt like it had been lost earlier, when Jones coughed up an unthinkable end zone interception to Titans safety Amani Hooker with 8:50 remaining in the fourth quarter on a third-down pass intended for a covered Barkley.

A muffed punt by Titans rookie Kyle Philips, recovered by Giants safety Jason Pinnock, had gifted the underdog visitors a chance to tie with 10:28 left in the fourth quarter while trailing, 20-13.

Don Martindale’s determined defense had kept Daboll’s team in the game despite a 13-0 deficit at halftime. A 13-point third quarter flurry by Jones, Barkley and Sterling Shepard had tied the game.

But they were still within reach after Titans running back Dontrell Hilliard’s second touchdown reception of the game with 2:54 left in the third quarter, and after Jones’ pick—his second turnover of the day.

And Daboll’s gutsy decision, with Mike Kafka sending in the play call, made the difference.

The Giants (1-0) will host the Carolina Panthers (0-1) in their home opener next Sunday.

The energy of Sunday’s game changed drastically early in the third quarter, when the Giants scored 13 points in a span of two minutes and 28 seconds to tie it up. They trailed, 13-0, with the ball on their own 10-yard line.

Then Barkley burst up the left sideline for a 68-yard run, and capped the drive off with a 5-yard TD run off the left side. Left tackle Andrew Thomas and left guard Josh Ezeudu plowed open a hole on the TD for a 13-6 deficit with 11:16 remaining in the third.

A bad snap robbed the Giants of an extra point. But they tied the game on their very next drive.

Jones hit Shepard for a 65-yard bomb TD pass up the left sideline over the head of young Titans corner Kristian Fulton. Shepard broke a tackle after making the catch to burst into the end zone.

A Graham Gano extra point tied the game at 13 apiece with 8:48 remaining in the third quarter.

Tannehill responded to drive the Titans 75 yards in nine plays, though, and hit Hilliard sprinting past inside linebacker Tae Crowder for a 23-yard TD.

Tennessee led 13-0 at halftime behind a 7-yard TD pass from Tannehill to Hilliard and two Randy Bullock field goals. The Giants offense didn’t snap the ball on Tennessee’s side of the field all half.

Jones was sacked four times in the first half on the offense’s first four drives. The most costly was a strip sack by Titans terror Jeffrey Simmons. Bud Dupree recovered the fumble at the Giants’ 42-yard line in the early second quarter.

Simmons beat rookie left guard Josh Ezeudu badly and also escaped a help attempt by center Jon Feliciano to get to Jones.

The Giants committed three holding penalties in the first half—two on offense (tight end Chris Myarick, right guard Mark Glowinski) and one on defense (corner Darnay Holmes). They also had a delay of game on offense.

There was some confusion with some play calls on the offense early as Daboll substituted lots of wide receivers in and out.

Edge Jihad Ward and the Giants’ run defense wasn’t bad in the first half against Henry (12 carries, 56 yards), and they forced a late second quarter punt by Tennessee to keep the Giants in the game going to half.

But Tannehill hit on explosive pass plays of 31, 22 and 20 yards in the first half alone. And he exploited the Giants’ inside linebackers in particular, a position weakened by the recent release of Blake Martinez.

Austin Calitro was beaten on Hilliard’s touchdown on the Titans’ first drive. Tennessee had the advantage of a short field due to a 46-yard Philips punt return after an opening-game Giants 3-and-out. And Crowder was burnt on Hilliard’s 31-yard gain to set up a Bullock field goal in the early second quarter.

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