On Thursday night, our hometown New York Giants faced the Washington Football Team. The game’s final score was 30-29, but what the scoreboard does not show you is how the Giants gave this win away to Washington. 

This Giants team continues to find new ways to lose games. Either going for it on 4th down too often then overcompensating, or not going for it on 4th down at all. Fans are frustrated, as this team has started 0-2 for the fifth year in a row and owns the worst record in the NFL over the last four seasons.  

Let’s discuss the missed opportunities by the Giants. New York had the ball inside the 20-yard line three times. They came away with just one touchdown on just one possession. Unlike Week 1, where Joe Judge and the Giants were 1 of 3 on 4th down attempts, the Giants did not attempt a single 4th down conversion. Not only did they leave points on the table with their red-zone chances, but there was also a surefire touchdown pass that Darius Slayton dropped with 6:25 left in the 4th quarter.

That missed touchdown can be blamed on both Daniel Jones and Slayton. It could have been a better throw, even though Jones was hit as he made the throw. The other side is that Slayton could have come down with the catch. That play kept Washington in the game with a 26-20 score.

It didn’t help that the Giants defense let Washington score a touchdown in 17 seconds. A perfect pass-and-catch with Heinecke and McKissic for 56 yards down the sideline made the defensive backfield look lost. The next Washington possession, the Giants forced an interception, the only turnover of the game.

The next three play calls were extremely suspect yet again by Jason Garrett. They ran Barkley up the middle for two plays and gained only 3 yards. On third down, they called a crossing route to Shepard that Jones threw behind him. Even if the ball was on target, it would have been 4th and 1 or 2. This drive was the difference in the game because they did get a first down and did not take enough time off the clock.  

Let’s not even talk about what happened on the game-winning field goal attempt. How does Dexter Lawrence go off-sides on the field goal attempt? That had to be the last thing he should have done in that split second. He gifted the kicker a mulligan after missing the attempt on the penalty play. This game was such a hard-to-swallow loss, as the Giants played to “not lose” vs. win.

Week 3 Preview

The week 3 matchup features our New York Giants against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons have allowed the most points through the first two weeks of the season. So this could be the “get right” game the Giants need to get their first win of 2021. The Giants defense needs to perform against Atlanta, who has scored less than 16 points a game.  

Thing to Watch

Look for Saquon Barkley to build on some of his success of week 2 (57 Yards Rushing, 2 receptions for 12 yards).  Evan Engram looks to make his season debut, but this is not confirmed.  Kenny Golladay looks to score his first TD as a Giants.  

Prediction  Giants 23 Falcons 17