Another week, another frustrating loss for the New York Giants with this one coming at the hands of their division rivals. New York dropped their fourth straight game on Sunday against the Washington Commanders, 27-22 as they now are 2-7 on the season for the second straight year.
Not only did Washington sweep the season series from the Giants for the first time since the 2021 season, but Big Blue is now 0-5 at home this season and is 0-4 in division play after their latest soul-crushing defeat.
Two out of their last four losses in a row have been decided by one score or less as the Giants continue to shoot themselves in the foot with another lost season in New York. While there is plenty to blame for this tough divisional loss, these three in particular deserve a lot more of the blame.
3 Giants to blame four frustrating loss against the Commanders
3. Brian Daboll
Right out of the gate, Brian Daboll made it clear he did not trust his quarterback with all of the running plays the Giants were running. But in his defense, they worked with rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. having another solid game on the ground, rushing for 66 yards on 16 carries. Daniel Jones even got in on the action with 54 rushing yards and a touchdown.
But Daboll made some head-scratching moves as the play-caller, as he should get some blame for New York's loss.
We all thought heading into this season the Giants offense would be vastly improved after two lackluster seasons on offense under offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. Even though there have been moments where this offense has looked good, yesterday in particular we saw some decisions that did not quite make sense. For starters, for the second week in a row, Daboll opted to go for two and make it a six-point game after the Giants scored their second touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The play call was a disaster, and New York could not punch it in, and it remained an eight-point game. Sure, Washington managed a field goal on the next possession to extend their lead to two scores again, but Daboll’s insistence on trusting the analytics at that moment isn’t a strategy this offense can afford to follow. Especially when the Giants are 0-for-6 on two-point tries this season.
When you have an offense that can't sustain scoring drives consistently and has only scored one touchdown at home entering this Week 9 matchup, going for two does not quite make sense.
Sure the Giants' offense finally cracked 20 points at home for the first time this season, but Daboll's questionable calls on Sunday are fair for him to place blame on him.
2. Daniel Jones
Even though Daniel Jones finally broke his unprecedented streak of no touchdowns at MetLife Stadium since January 1, 2023, there were moments, especially in the first half against the Commanders that resulted in the Giants never catching up. Yes, those two touchdown passes and a tough touchdown run in the red zone were impressive, but some blame should still go to New York's signal-caller.
The former sixth-overall pick did not have an impressive first half and also cost the Giants potential points on their second drive of the day. In the first quarterback, New York was moving the ball really well and was in prime position to score first, but stop me if you've heard of this before, a fumble was made by Jones.
After initially being called an incompletion, Washington challenged and it was successful. They took over and capitalized on Jones' mistake to score a touchdown. Jones also had a historic first-half stat but one to not be proud of as he went 4/4 but with 0 yards and a touchdown pass.
Even though he played by far his best game at home this season as he completed over 75% of his passes with 174 passing yards, the Giants' offense quite simply could not get anything going in the first half and by the time they were starting to click, it was too late Sorry Danny Dimes, despite your best home of 2024 thus far, you still deserve some blame.
1. Deonte Banks
After being benched last week after his lackluster performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers, cornerback and former first-round pick from 2023, Deonte Banks was back in there. However, he once again struggled and should be a no-brainer to get the blame for this latest loss by the Giants.
After being torched by Steelers' wide receiver George Pickens last Monday night and even getting hurdled on by running back Najee Harris, it was another rough day at the office for Banks. The 23-year-old was torched for two touchdowns by Commanders' wideout Terry McLaurin as his nightmare of a season continues.
On the season, Banks has given up six touchdowns this season alone. For someone who the Giants were very high on, Banks quite frankly has been a downright disappointment. Banks still has seven more games this season to prove to the Giants he was worth the first-round draft selection, but for the second week in a row, he gets the blame for another bad loss.