It's hard to truly fathom what happened on Sunday.
The New York Giants, who had a 19-0 lead entering the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos, accomplished something that literally has never happened before. The Broncos scored a whopping 33 points in the fourth quarter to somehow, someway defeat the Giants, 33-32 in a loss that will probably be talked about forever.
There's obviously a ton of blame to go around in another late-game collapse for the G-Men — from yet another kicker missing two extra points (which may have been the difference-maker), to rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart throwing a costly interception, to defensive coordinator Shane Bowen once again failing to hold his defense strong in the waning seconds due to bad play calls.
But at the end of the day, these failures all start at the top with head coach Brian Daboll. Is now the time to move on after another gut-wrenching loss?
Week 7 meltdown squarely puts Brian Daboll back in the hot seat
In an article for CBS Sports, Jeff Kerr gave his Week 7 overreactions and reality checks for teams across the league. When it came time for the Giants, Kerr said it is not an overreaction for New York to fire Daboll:
"Daboll is an offensive coach, but he hired defensive coordinator Shane Bowen. He also employs Jude McAtamney, who missed two extra points in this one. The Giants just have a losing culture under Daboll, and that was on full display in this epic meltdown. Jaxson Dart shouldn't save Daboll because he's a good quarterback. If anything, that's another reason to move on.
It’s hard to believe that just four years ago, in his first season as head coach, Brian Daboll led Big Blue to the playoffs after a five-year postseason drought — and even won a playoff game, their first since the 2012 Super Bowl run. It has all gone south for Daboll since.
Since that season, New York is 11-29 with too many losses like what we just saw on Sunday in Denver.
This was truly a game I’m not sure many Giants fans, or NFL fans in general, thought they would cough up — even though this team has had heartbreaking losses in the past. But it happened, and maybe this should be the final straw for Daboll.
There's a very good argument to be made this team should be 5-2 right now, or even 4-3. Instead, for the third straight season, New York is 2-5 with another miserable season once again underway.
The talent on this team is undeniable. Dart looks like the real deal, the defense (despite the fourth quarter meltdown) has stars everywhere, and fellow rookie phenom, Cam Skattebo, and New York's receiving core are doing a great job stepping up during the absence of Malik Nabers.
These losses, despite the talent, should ultimately fall on Daboll. And just like Kerr alluded to, Daboll chose to hire Shane Bowen as the defensive coordinator and keep Jude McAtamney as the starting kicker over veteran Younghoe Koo.
These moves all backfired in Denver and should be the rubber stamp of Daboll's tenure as the New York Giants head coach.