The New York Giants are a very bad football team. They have been for quite some time now, so it’s not exactly surprising they threw away another winnable game against the Green Bay Packers at home in Week 11.
Related: It took Mike Kafka one game to shake up the Giants’ head-coach picture
Familiar feelings aside, there were some interesting storylines in Sunday’s 27-20 loss. Veteran backup Jameis Winston was under center, making his Big Blue debut, while rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart sat out with a concussion. It was also the G-Men’s first game since 2021 without head coach Brian Daboll on the sidelines, as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka stepped in as interim HC after Daboll was fired last Monday.
Overall, it was an impressive performance from the duo, but familiar defensive collapses reared their ugly heads as defensive coordinator Shane Bowen continued to prove he’s not fit for the job. The fifth straight loss dropped the Giants to 2-9 on the season, all but officially ending their 2025 campaign.
Just when you thought a franchise-worst 2024 was the basement... here are Sunday’s biggest winners and losers from a tight Week 11 contest against the playoff-hopeful Packers.
2 winners (and 5 losers) from Giants’ close-but-no-cigar Week 11 loss to Packers
Winner No. 1: Brian Daboll's intrusive thoughts
Somewhere, Brian Daboll is kicking his feet up with a cold one in hand, elated that the G-Men didn’t win their first game after he was fired. He may or may not have been actively rooting against them, but human nature gets the best of us sometimes, and you can bet he let the intrusive thoughts eat on Sunday afternoon.
As if getting fired wasn't embarrassing enough, once he was out, scathing reports painted an ugly picture of Daboll's reign. He was allegedly threatening other coaches' jobs and made it clear he was the one with all the power. Whether those reports are true or not, watching his former team notch another loss must have been great for his self-esteem.
Winner No. 2: Debut SZN
Were Kafka and Winston literal winners? No. Were they metaphorical winners? Absolutely. Neither one set the world on fire, but both had strong first-time showings.
Winston’s box score will look more lopsided than it should — two late-game turnovers will do that. But his interception in the end zone wasn’t on him. Jalin Hyatt gave up on his route, clearly not expecting the ball to come his way, which handed the Packers an easy pick. And while the fumble on the final Hail Mary attempt isn’t great, it’s hard to blame him given the situation.
He finished with a modest 201 yards on 19-of-29 passing, added 10 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and turned it over twice — all without Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, or Cam Skattebo. Not bad.
The same goes for Kafka, who delivered a solid showing under tough circumstances. He had the team ready, leaned on the run game, and handled the moment well. He lost his first coach’s challenge, but overall did enough to warrant real head coaching consideration moving forward. Not bad for his first game in charge.
Loser No. 1: (Un)special teams play
At some point, Big Blue will stop viewing special teams as a luxury and start realizing it’s one of the most important phases of the game. How many times do they need to get burned before they figure this out? It’s criminal.
It was windy at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. We’ll get that out of the way. Even still... total nightmare. Veteran backup kicker Younghoe Koo missed a PAT after a personal foul call wiped away what would’ve been a clean point-after. It’s a mess.
That was frustrating, but watching punter Jamie Gillan continue to struggle was even worse. He’s literally only on the team to punt the football... and only Gillan can make that look like rocket science.
Loser No. 2: Third-year players' lack of effort
If Hyatt’s lack of effort on his route that led to an interception was bad, Deonte Banks’ ongoing issues are worse — from missed tackles to blown coverages, he’s struggling to do much of anything right. Look no further than his attempt to tackle Packers backup running back Emanuel Wilson.
The two third-year pros are essentially the same player, just on different sides of the ball. Neither has done anything over the course of their career to warrant a roster spot, yet both were players general manager Joe Schoen traded up for, and their selections look worse by the snap. At this point, it's obvious they're both unplayable.
Loser No. 3: Tyrone Tracy Jr.'s wasted breakout
Tracy Jr. hasn’t had the follow-up season he likely envisioned after breaking out as a fifth-round rookie last year. He eclipsed 1,000 scrimmage yards and looked like the heir apparent to Saquon Barkley — admittedly not nearly as talented.
However, once the Giants drafted Cam Skattebo, everything changed. Tracy’s touches declined, but his Week 11 performance might finally have him back in the team’s good graces. The soon-to-be 26-year-old ran for 88 yards and added 51 more through the air. It was his first 100-plus-yard performance of the season — and a possible sign of things to come.
Bummer it came during another loss.
Loser No. 4: Shane Bowen's hot seat
Let’s keep this one short and sweet. Fire defensive coordinator Shane Bowen. Just do it. It’s the same script every week: blown coverages, missed assignments, terrible personnel decisions, and poor game management leading to a late collapse.
Loser No. 5: Joe Schoen's roster construction
The fact that Hyatt was on the field for the potential game-tying play — and was the go-to option — says a lot about general manager Joe Schoen’s roster construction. This was supposedly the guy ownership wanted to keep because all the losing was Daboll’s fault. Well, Schoen is now 0-1 without Dabs as the fall guy. So... what’s next?
Picking up Isaiah Hodgins off the Steelers' practice squad was smart. It was also 10 weeks too late. Signed on Thursday, he made an immediate impact just three days later, catching five of six targets for a team-high 57 yards. It’s almost like the team needed receiver help all season, but Schoen ignored it to keep around players he drafted and refuses to part with because it might bruise his ego.
Banks, Hyatt, Evan Neal — why are they still here? Hodgins did more for this team in one game than the three of them combined have all season. Schoen’s fragile ego is getting in the way of obvious roster decisions, and the team is paying the price.