The NY Giants defense played its best game of the season, but Daniel Jones’ pair of costly turnovers fueled Buccaneers comeback win
Monday night, the NY Giants had several opportunities throughout the game to win, and pull off a double-digit upset of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but, Daniel Jones just continued to miss the mark.
Jones was wildly inconsistent, hitting on a beautiful 19-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate in the back of the end zone to pull the Giants to within two points and set up a failed two-point conversion try that would have won the game. But, Jones also threw two interceptions and missed wide receiver Darius Slayton deep downfield several times on plays that could have put this one in the bank for the Giants.
Ultimately, the Giants fell 25-23, slipping to 1-7 on the season, and face critical questions down the stretch that must be answered about the future of this team.
Before looking too far ahead, here’s a look back at five key takeaways from Monday night’s game:
1. Blake Martinez continues to impress
The New York Giants’ 2020 defense and impress really don’t belong in the same sentence. However, one of their bright spots has been LB Blake Martinez. He has blossomed into a leader on that defense very quickly.
Martinez made a huge play in the first quarter knocking the ball out of Ronald Jones II arms and giving the Giants fantastic field position. On the Giants’ ensuing possession, Daniel Jones connected with Dion Lewis for the team’s first score of the night.
The Giants’ leading tackler on the season, Martinez finished Monday night’s game with nine total tackles, one tackle for loss, and the first quarter forced fumble.
2. Giants reshuffled O-Line held its own
The Giants had their first COVID-19 scare this week when guard Will Hernandez tested positive. Nine offensive linemen were deemed “in close contact” with Hernandez, but all of their tests came back negative.
Hernandez was unable to play and Shane Lemieux got his first career start.
By the second quarter, there were three rookies protecting Jones. For as good as the Bucs rush defense is, the Giants were able to open holes for Wayne Gallman and Dion Lewis. Jason Pierre-Paul vowed revenge on his old team, but he had a quiet game until recording a sack in the fourth quarter.
Lemieux acquitted himself nicely in his NFL debut, against one of the NFL’s most talented front-sevens.
3. Turnovers plague Daniel Jones again
Daniel Jones has shown a lot of potential in his young NFL career, but his one glaring shortcoming is how often he turns the ball over.
At the beginning of the second half, Jones made an errant throw that resulted in an interception. It seems every week Jones is trying to do too much and it ends up hurting the team.
These are the situations Jones just has to abandon the play in order not to do more harm than good. He had another costly interception in the fourth quarter. Jones really needs to look at film and understand that he doesn’t need to force throws that aren’t good decisions.
Hopefully, this will improve before the season is over, but it’s frustrating watching Jones make the same bad decisions every week.
4. Evan Engram made the catch
It’s hard to put blame on one player’s shoulders for a loss, but last week Evan Engram carried the burden. Engram had a ball bounce off his fingertips that could have secured the game against the Eagles. He bounced back Monday.
With ten days to reflect on it, Engram came out motivated to make up for the drop. In the third quarter, he managed to haul in a similarly thrown pass that eventually set up a field goal and gave the Giants back the lead temporarily.
Engram caught five passes for 61 yards, and it will be interesting to see if he winds up on the team beyond Tuesday afternoon’s NFL trade deadline.
5. Best Game By The Defense This Season
The Giants weren’t even supposed to be competitive in this game. Instead, Big Blue led for a good chunk of the game. A big part of that is because of Gettleman’s “hog molly” defensive line.
The defensive front really controlled the line of scrimmage, limiting Tampa Bay’s run game all night. The defense rattled Tom Brady so much they showed him slamming his helmet on the sideline.
Keeping up with one of the best offenses in the league is something positive the Giants can build upon for the future.