EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Brian Daboll built up enough equity in his first season as New York Giants coach that it would be almost impossible for him to wind up on the hot seat this year. That’s fortunate for Daboll because Sunday’s 13-10 overtime loss to the New York Jets is the type of showing that gets coaches fired.
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Sunday’s performance resembled the darkest days of the Joe Judge era. Judge, who was fired after two seasons, bottomed out when he coached ultra-conservatively with his third-string quarterback at the end of the 2021 season.
A similar scene unfolded Sunday, as the team was without starting quarterback Daniel Jones, who is sidelined with a neck injury like he was in Judge’s final season. Veteran backup Tyrod Taylor was knocked out of Sunday’s game midway through the second quarter with a rib cage injury that required a hospital visit for further evaluation.
Tyrod Taylor was taken to Hackensack Medical Center for further examination and testing after he left today’s game. It was determined he suffered injury to his rib cage. He will remain in HUMC overnight for observation.
— New York Giants (@Giants) October 29, 2023
Taylor was replaced by undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito, who made his career debut after being elevated from the practice squad for the third consecutive game. Daboll showed no faith in DeVito on a rainy day against a formidable Jets defense. The rookie completed 2-of-7 passes for -1 yard, attempting just one pass in the third and fourth quarters.
Despite that painfully conservative approach, the Giants were in position to win the game. But Daboll’s lack of faith in the offense led him to kick a field goal on fourth-and-1 from the Jets’ 17-yard line with 28 seconds remaining.
“Counted on making the field goal, and then they’d have 24 seconds with no timeouts,” Daboll said. “Still have to drive it the length (of the field) and our defense was playing well all game.”
Usually automatic, kicker Graham Gano missed his second field goal of the game, sending the 35-yard chip shot wide left. The Jets, who hadn’t done anything offensively outside of a 50-yard catch-and-run touchdown by Breece Hall in the first quarter, still only had 24 seconds left and no timeouts with the ball at their 25-yard line trailing 10-7.
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“I made the decision I thought was best for the team,” Daboll said. “It didn’t work out. So, at the end of the day, I take responsibility. But I thought it was the best for the team, and that’s the way I’ll always make them.”
The Giants had rattled Jets quarterback Zach Wilson all day with a relentless pass rush, but defensive coordinator Wink Martindale called for a three-man rush and prevent coverage on first down. Wilson found wide receiver Garrett Wilson for a 29-yard gain to the Giants’ 46 between cornerback Deonte Banks, safety Xavier McKinney and safety Dane Belton.
The catch was made with 17 seconds remaining, so the Jets would have burned at least another five seconds scrambling to the line to spike the ball. But a declined offside penalty on outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux stopped the clock.
Wilson then rolled to his right away from a three-man rush and fired to wide receiver Allen Lazard, who broke away from cornerback Adoree’ Jackson’s man coverage for a 28-yard gain. The Jets managed to spike the ball with 1 second left before Greg Zuerlein made a 35-yard field goal to send the game to overtime.
“We were in prevent,” McKinney said of the first completion to Wilson. “I don’t really got much comment on the later game stuff when we got back on the field, that last drive or overtime. I don’t know.”
The Giants received the opening kickoff of overtime, but a holding penalty on tight end Daniel Bellinger backed them up to first-and-20 from their 15-yard line. A pair of swing passes to running back Saquon Barkley and a dangerous incomplete screen pass accounted for -1 yard and led to a punt.
On the Jets’ first possession of OT, Garrett Wilson fought through a defensive pass interference penalty on Banks for a 10-yard gain on third-and-9. Then Jackson was flagged for a 30-yard pass interference on a deep ball to Malik Taylor, who was elevated from the practice squad for the game, on third-and-5 to put the ball at the Giants’ 15-yard line. Zuerlein knocked through a 33-yard field goal on the next play to seal an unfathomable collapse by the Giants.
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“I hate losing,” defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence said. “It doesn’t feel good to lose. It doesn’t build a lot of morale when you lose. It’s hard for a leader to get the team going after a loss, but as leaders, that’s what we have to do.”
Daboll said that all losses are disappointing. Ownership’s feelings were likely even stronger after such an embarrassing loss to their crosstown rival.
The Giants are 2-6. Taylor was to remain overnight at Hackensack Medical Center for observation and Jones reportedly is expected to miss at least one more game. Daboll will need to figure out how to keep things on track because recent history has shown how quickly things can unravel for Giants coaches.
“Nobody’s happy when we lose,” Daboll said when asked about ownership’s response to the loss.
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Here are six more takeaways from the loss:
All for naught
Thibodeaux’s third sack of the game to force a turnover on downs with 1:26 remaining should have been the lasting image of another dominant defensive performance. But the improbable lapse at the end of regulation and the killer penalty in overtime spoiled the effort.
KAYVON 👏 THIBODEAUX 👏
📺: @NFLonCBS & @paramountplus
— New York Giants (@Giants) October 29, 2023
The Giants’ defense has allowed 11.3 points per game over the past three weeks, but they have just one win. Opponents are just 3-for-30 on third down in the past two games.
“You work hard. You dominate,” Lawrence said. “To come off on the other side doesn’t feel good.”
Thibodeaux once again played nearly every defensive snap despite dealing with a knee injury that required a brace and limited him in practice last week. He beat left tackle Mekhi Becton for a strip sack on the Jets’ opening possession to set up a field goal. Thibodeaux has 8.5 sacks in the past six games.
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Lawrence was equally disruptive, recording one sack and five quarterback hits as the Jets lost their top two centers to injury during the game. The run defense was lights out, limiting the Jets to 58 yards on 22 carries (2.6 yards per carry). The explosive Hall managed just 17 yards on 12 carries, although he did show his big-play ability with the 50-yard touchdown catch late in the first quarter that brought back memories of the worst of the Giants’ tackling woes from early in the season.
.@BreeceH is SO GOOD.#NYJvsNYG on CBS
— New York Jets (Thomas Morstead Fan Account) (@nyjets) October 29, 2023
On his back
Barkley carried the Giants offense — literally. With passes verboten, Barkley set a career high with 36 carries, including 25 after halftime. That he managed 128 yards when everyone in the stadium knew he was getting the ball on every play was impressive.
“I told the guys at halftime we’re going through (Barkley),” Daboll said.
Barkley showed burst with a 34-yard run on the second play of the third quarter and then grinded out 6 yards to convert a third-and-6 from the Jets’ 16-yard line. DeVito capped that drive with a 6-yard keeper on a zone read when the Jets’ defense understandably crashed hard on Barkley.
Tommy DeVito 🙌
📺: @NFLonCBS & @paramountplus
— New York Giants (@Giants) October 29, 2023
If there’s any room for criticism of Barkley’s workhorse day, it appeared he could have picked up a game-sealing first down on a first-down carry on the Giants’ final possession of regulation. But Barkley dove to the ground after gaining 6 yards, with his untimely fumble in traffic late in last week’s win over Washington surely on his mind. Barkley managed just 3 yards on his next two carries, setting up the fourth-and-1 that resulted in Gano’s missed field goal.
“There are so many plays out there that we want to have back, especially myself,” Barkley said.
Historically inept
It’s not hard to quantify the ineptitude of the Giants’ passing attack. They finished with -9 net yards passing. That brought to mind the -6 net yards passing the Giants had in a 29-3 loss in Week 17 of Judge’s final season. Before that game, no team had managed negative net yards passing since 2009.
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Even before DeVito entered, the plan was to avoid passing as much as possible. Taylor completed 4-of-7 passes for 8 yards.
“Just trying to win the game a little bit of an old-school way today,” Daboll said.
Daboll’s conservative approach was revealed when he called for a field goal on fourth-and-1 from the Jets’ 29-yard line early in the second quarter. Gano missed that 47-yard attempt wide left.
“We were trying to get points,” Daboll said. “It didn’t work out.”
The Giants hosted quarterbacks Matt Barkley, who spent three years in Buffalo with Daboll, and Ian Book for a workout on Oct. 16. Electing not to sign Barkley is hard to understand based on the lack of faith Daboll showed in DeVito. The Giants may have no choice but to sign Barkley based on the health of Jones and Taylor.
Blame the kicker?
Gano took the blame for the loss, refusing to use a left knee injury that reportedly will require postseason surgery as an excuse. Sunday was the second time Gano missed two field goals in a game this season, as he also went 0-for-2 in the opener. Before that, he hadn’t missed two field goals in a game since the 2016 season.
“It sucks that I let everybody down,” Gano said. “You can put it straight on me. There is nobody else honestly. This one is on me for sure.”
Gano has made 64.7 percent of his field goals this season. He had made 91.8 percent of his kicks in his first three seasons with the Giants. The offensively challenged team desperately needs Gano to return to his ultra-reliable form. They signed the 36-year-old to a $16.5 million extension before the opener.
Injury report
The impotent passing game was further weakened when tight end Darren Waller left with a hamstring injury early in the second quarter. Waller, who has a history of soft tissue injuries, aggravated the injury that limited him in practice last week. Waller left after his lone catch, a 4-yard gain on a crossing route on third-and-5 before Gano’s missed 47-yard field goal.
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The Giants only had two tight ends — Waller and Bellinger — available because roster juggling sent Lawrence Cager to the practice squad two weeks ago. The Giants were in 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TE, 2 WR) on nine of their first 13 plays, so that grouping was clearly a big part of the run-heavy game plan. Bellinger played every snap for the rest of the game, with offensive lineman Marcus McKethan serving as a jumbo tight end on a handful of plays.
The Giants again were without left tackle Andrew Thomas, who missed his seventh straight game with a hamstring injury, and right tackle Evan Neal, who missed his second straight game with an ankle injury.
Time to deal
The trade deadline is Tuesday, and the Giants should be sellers if they can get a decent return on any players who aren’t in their future plans. Jackson stands out as the most obvious trade chip, with general manager Joe Schoen’s former team in Buffalo in need of a cornerback and looking to make a Super Bowl run.
(Photo: Vincent Carchietta / USA Today)
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