New York Giants Fall To Jets: The Bottom Line Review

It seems like every week we post about this week’s loss being worse than the rest. Not too different this week. The New York Giants aren’t out of it mathematically, but there are only so many of these types of losses a team can take. Once again, it was another devastating loss for Big Blue.

Here are some takeaways from today’s game:

Defensive Performance

The Giants had three sacks. Yes, that’s three sacks. And they managed to keep Chris Ivory in check while also never letting the Jets get into a rhythm. Of course, that happened through three and a half quarters. When it came down to the final drive with the Giants leading by seven, the defense we’ve seen all year was as present as ever.

There were too many third and longs the Giants just couldn’t stop that just let the Jets creep back in this game. And the 4^th and 6 in the fourth quarter when they allowed Ryan Fitzpatrick to break away for a first down… you could have said the game ended right there, because it was all Jets from there.

No matter how little pass rushing “talent” a defense has, there’s no excuse for letting Ryan Fitzpatrick to throw for close to 400 yards. I know they’re

Pretty much anyone not named Robert Ayers or Jason Pierre-Paul was invisible Sunday. Even if the Giants win a couple more games down the stretch and keep them in contention (remember: they have Carolina and Minnesota coming up), I just think the defense will find a way to keep them out of playing in January.

Offensive Performance

The Giants really have a strange offense. You could just see why they’re so inconsistent. They have one of the best players in the NFL. And one of the best quarterbacks. Out side of that, they have some talented but pretty ineffective players, such as a Rueben Randle, who was benched at the start of the second half, and Andre Williams.

Fans are going to look at Eli’s backbreaking red zone interception that allowed the Jets to get back in the game—a very poor play call in retrospect—and say those are the moments that lose them games, but they’re really not. Not entirely at least. It’s a small part of a big problem for an offense that doesn’t run the ball well and doesn’t have a consistent playmaker outside of Odell Beckham. I know this offense has shown flashes of brilliance, but when offenses only show flashes, and don’t put it together consistently, they’re not very good offenses. They’re just “talented.”

It’s what we saw Sunday. Rueben Randle was benched and when he came back in, a few balls were thrown in his direction, some over his head and one he had to dive for—and caught—but it’s hard to tell if Eli is just missing throws, or if Randle isn’t staying on his route the entire way. And the Giants played hot potato again with the run game, leaning heavily on Andre Williams early, then mixing in Orleans Darkwa, and throwing Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen in on some passing plays.

It seems like the Giants are going with the hot hand rather than having some sort of set rotation, and it shows because their running backs once again didn’t seem to have much of a rhythm. It’s why the four combined to run 3.1 yards per carry Sunday—not much off their 3.7 average for the season.

Once again, the Giants offense couldn’t seem to do much outside of Eli Manning and Odell Beckham. And it left them scoring just 13 points offensively.

Injuries and Penalties

Two concerning injuries and a very concerning penalty at the end of the game. Ereck Flowers hurt his ankle and was carted off. Still awaiting the diagnosis, but seeing the cart is never a good sign.

Robert Ayers was another key injury from Sunday’s game. He was in and out with what appeared to be a neck injury, but he showed with his two sacks and a key pass defensed late in the game why the defense suffers so much when he’s off the field.

As for the penalty… Odell Beckham kicking that football is inexcusable. There have been questions about how disciplined Tom Coughlin’s team is, and Beckham’s defense was highly disappointing for a lot fans to see. Sure, he “made up for it” with a great fourth down conversion afterwards, but his penalty leaves many wondering: what if they Giants gained 20 yards without that five yard penalty, and Josh Brown was left kicking a 43-yard field goal rather than a 48? Beckham talked about controlling his emotions in the offseason, and he didn’t do a very good job of it at the end of the game.

Final Thoughts

It was a rough game, that’s no doubt, and as I said above, the Giants are still mathematically in the division race, especially if Washington loses Monday night. But the defense is having a really tough time giving up big plays, and even the players they rely most on defense, such as Prince Amukamara and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, had a really tough time on Sunday.

There are some positives to take from the last few weeks, such as the emergence of Will Tye, who had 70 yards receiving on Sunday, and Dwayne Harris continuing to contribute all over the field. But it’s tough to believe this team will be able to stay in it with their offense disappearing for quarters at a time and a defense that’s had trouble stopping any sort of offensive threat late in games.