Giants 37-21 Loss to Chargers: By the Numbers
Whatever you do in reading this, don’t let the final game cast on ESPN, nor the New York Giants’ late game, faulty offensive groove, deceive you.
Last Sunday’s loss to Miami may have been soul-crushing, but not even a week of practice and “team bonding” in Tucson could help the woeful Giants in what was another miserable performance on the road in Week 14.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, the sixth overall pick in the 2020 draft selected in the same spot one year later as the Giants' selection of quarterback Daniel Jones, gave Big Blue a real taste of what could have been had they waited the extra year. Completing 23-of-31
passing attempts for 275 yards and three touchdowns, one on an unbelievable 63-yard bomb with 17 seconds left in the first half, Hebert led the Chargers to a dominant win over the Giants to keep themselves lodged firmly in the AFC playoff picture.
The Giants avoided having to enter SoFi Stadium with former Bills practice squad quarterback Jake Fromm as their starter, as Mike Glennon returned from the concussion protocol in time to play on Sunday.
However, in his second straight start, Glennon negligibly surpassed his forgettable performance last week, finishing 17-of-36 for 191 yards, two passing touchdowns and one rushing (the latter two in garbage time), and one interception.
As has been the case for the Giants this season, it didn’t matter who was out on the field. All three phases had hiccups, the Giants, now 4-9, recording another gloomy defeat assuring them of their fifth straight losing season.
Alas, here are the numbers and stats that mattered most in the Giants loss this week.
The Perfect Red Zone Day (For What it’s Worth)
Might as well try to start with a positive note, right? So let's do it: The New York Football Giants had a perfect afternoon in the red zone for the first time this season.
After managing to cross the goal line only once in their previous two games for a combined 25 percent conversion rate, the Giants punched in touchdowns on all three of their red-zone appearances against the 25th-ranked Chargers defense that had allowed 24.5 points allowed per contest entering this week's game.
The one caveat is that two of those scores came late in the fourth quarter with the Chargers offense slowing down and the Giants’ fate already sealed.
In the final five minutes of the first quarter with his team down 7-0, Glennon commanded the Giants offense on a seven-play, 75-yard drive--one of two drives with that total yardage and their longest drive of the game--down to the Chargers’ 3-yard line to set up their first knock on the door.
On second down from that spot, Glennon floated a short pass to the outside shoulder of fullback Elijah Penny who caught it for the touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.
The Giants offense would not score another point until almost two whole quarters of game clock time later, as their offensive troubles reared up again in what was a dismal 181-yard outing for interim coordinator Freddie Kitchen’s group.
Then in the fourth quarter, with a 37-7 deficit and the outcome all but solidified, the Giants found some offensive life, albeit a little too late. Following the Chargers’ 11-play, 41-yard drive that ended in their fourth touchdown, the Giants responded with their own 10-play, 75-yard drive ending in an 18-yard touchdown grab by Saquon Barkley to make things 37-13 Giants after a failed two-point conversion attempt.
On their following drive with three and a half minutes to play, the Giants gave one last melancholy hoorah as Glennon scampered for seven yards on first down-and-goal to secure the Giants’ lone rushing touchdown. The score was Glennon’s first of his NFL career, and following a successful two-point conversion by Penny, it made the final score 37-21.
The Giants entered the game holding the worst red-zone conversion rate in the NFL at 41.9%, so perhaps this Sunday’s game will boost that number a negligible amount.
Giants Defense Exposed By Herbert
If any area of the team deserves credit for its overall performance in this forgettable season, it’s undoubtedly the Giants defense. Although ranked 22nd in the NFL through 14 weeks, defensive coordinator Patrick Graham's group has been a huge factor in keeping the Giants competitive in most of their games despite an unimpressive and banged-up offense.
On Sunday, the shades of the Giants defense we saw struggle back in the early part of the season reappeared under the warm California sun.
While Dolphins’ quarterback Tua Tagovailoa made his payday sifting through the Giants defense with short passes to slant and flat routes the week before, Herbert decided to torch them with the deep ball. The Oregon product threw to nine different receivers and connected with six for a long reception of 10 yards or more.
The longest reception by a Chargers receiver--a 59-yard catch by Jalen Guyton, who ran it another four yards in for a touchdown and the biggest offensive play of the game. Guyton burnt cornerback Logan Ryan and had safety Xavier McKinney as he propelled the Chargers to a 24-7 halftime lead that all but cemented the game's outcome.
On the ground, the Giants defense had no answer for running back Austin Ekeler initially, who led the Chargers with 12 carries for 67 yards and an average of 5.5 yards per carry before leaving the game with an ankle injury in the second quarter. Ekeler notched a rushing touchdown in the first quarter with a 1-yard rush.
In all, the Giants defense gave up a total of 432 yards of offense, allowed an average of 6.0 yards per play (8.2 per in the passing game), and succumbed 25 total first downs.
First Down Efficiency
Not only was Giants quarterback Mike Glennon’s completion percentage underwhelming, the Giants’ efficiency at converting first downs was another issue.
The Giants' offense tallied 20 first downs (Chargers had 25), with only eight coming through the air and ten on the ground. The other two came on penalties committed by the Chargers, who finished with six infractions for 39 yards.
The Giants converted one-half of their third-down attempts (7 of 14) and went 0-2 on fourth-down tries as well, one of which was a fake punt and pass thrown by Riley Dixon that sailed over the head of the intended gunner, Keion Crossen.
One explanation for the offense’s failure to convert enough first downs was their inability to secure a lot of catchable balls from Glennon. Out of 12 players who were targeted at least once on Sunday, only five caught two or more receptions, including tight end Kyle Rudolph, who led the team with two catches and 66 yards (a long of 60 yards).
Although at one point in the game, the Giants had as many as five players with at least one target hold no receptions, spreading goose eggs all over the box score. Three Giants--Crossen, Chris Myarick, and Darius Slayton--finished with zero receptions.
Chargers’ 41 and -2 Yards
While on the subject of the Giants’ offensive inefficiencies, it would be shameful not to bring up one possession that practically summed up the season on that side of the ball: The Giants most favorable, yet also most ugly, possession.
After having their drive stall after three plays and eight yards with under four minutes left in the second quarter, the Giants defense had the Chargers pinned at their 4-yard line thanks to a terrific punt by Dixon. In under 25 seconds (not counting the stoppage for the two-minute warning), the Giants held the Chargers to a three-and-out and forced a punt from their own 8.
Punter Ty Long’s boot went a little awry, traveling only 33 yards up to his teams’ 41-yard line, where it went out of bounds to put the Giants in stellar field position with time for a scoring drive before the break.
Down 17-7 at this moment, Glennon and company had the perfect opportunity to march the remaining half the field and at least knock in a Graham Gano field goal to make it a one-score game. Instead, they failed miserably on their own three-and-out drive that ended up going for -2 yards.
On first down, Glennon threw an incomplete down the middle to Sterling Shepard, who returned to the active roster from a quad injury. Shepard finished with two catches for 27 yards.
On the next play, running back Saquon Barkley caught a short pass before he was tackled behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of two yards. Then on third down, Glennon couldn’t connect with running back Devontae Booker to the middle, and out came Dixon again for another punt which turned out to be his worst of the game at 18 yards net distance.
The Chargers held the door to the end zone, or even a field goal, wide open, but the Giants said, "No thanks," and went the other direction. What could have been a game-changing drive instead was the prelude to the nail in their coffin.
Giants Final Two Minutes Deficit Enlarges
One of the ugliest stats of the Giants season has been their scoring deficit in the final two minutes of either half this season. That number got even murkier on Sunday with Herbert’s 63-yard touchdown to close out the first half.
With the deep pass to Guyton for an unbelievable throw and score, the Chargers extended the Giants’ deficit in the final two minutes of a half to 59-0. Yes, the Giants have been shut out in that span by opponents through 14 weeks this season.
The Giants scoring woes have been well documented this year, but in this scenario, it comes down to their inability to execute a long drive and drain the clock at the end of a half. The Giants haven’t been able to keep the ball away from the opposing offense, and it has cost them a ton of points when their defense is weary heading into the break.
When the Giants got the ball back with 1:40 in the second quarter at the Chargers’ 41-yard line, all they needed to do was drive at least 10-15 yards further to enter Gano’s field goal range, put up a few points, and milk most of the remaining clock to prevent Herbert from getting any substantial last licks.
Instead, they went three plays for negative yardage, gave it back to Los Angeles on a bad punt by Dixon, and the rest of history with Guyton’s touchdown that made the score even more separated.
The Giants figured out their red zone scoring issues for one week, but their time management skills and ability to extend more drives continue to falter in the ugliest of ways.
More from Giants Country
- Giants Fall to Chargers, 37-21: Instant Reaction
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- Joe Judge Insists Giants are Building a Foundation
- Giants QB Daniel Jones to Have Neck Re-examined
- New York Giants Week 14 Report Card: Not Nearly Good Enough
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