NY Giants Grades: Andrew Thomas holds up, but offensive woes continue
The NY Giants continue to look like the bad team from earlier this season, but this time in Prime Time.
The NY Giants looked like they phoned it in on Sunday night against the Cleveland Browns.
This game was not expected to be easy. But it was important for the Giants’ playoff hopes. It’s the kind of game that could put the Giants on a track to be a force within the playoffs. And without their starting quarterback or top defensive playmaker, it was a chance for the Giants as a team to show their ability to overcome adversity when it counts most.
But instead of taking advantage and putting themselves at the head of the NFC East, a division that will now send a team without a winning season to the playoffs, the Giants lose another game filled with blown opportunities.
All aspects of the team played poorly. The offense, which made fewer first downs that they missed, left points on the field by going 0-3 in the Red Zone.
The special teams were to blame for one of those blown Red Zone trips. Hoping to get points on the first drive of the game, the Giants lined up in field goal formation from the 8 yard line on 4th & 5 only for Riley Dixon to throw an incomplete pass.
And the defense, which yet again tried to keep it as close as they could for as long as they could and held the Browns to just one score in the second half, still gave up five plays of 20+ yards and allowed the Browns to go 9-13 on third down.
The Browns are no longer the butt end of all NFL jokes as they have been in the past. This win puts them at 10 wins this season. And despite the score, the Giants were in this game. So let’s review the players who helped keep them in it.