New York Giants Week 17 Report Card: Close, but No Cigar
Grading the New York Giants' 26-25 loss against the Los Angeles Rams.
Offense: C-
The Giants' first scoring drive was a beauty punctuated by an 18-yard strike on third-and-long from quarterback Tyrod Taylor to receiver Jalin Hyatt that set up Wan'Dale Robinson's 24-yard touchdown run (his first career rushing touchdown).
However, the offense wasn't able to convert a defensive turnover by safety Dane Belton into points, as Taylor fumbled the snap from center John Michael Schmitz at his own 47-yard line, which set up the Rams' go-ahead score, a 5-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp which broke the 7-7 tie.
On the next drive, Taylor's deep pass intended for Darius Slayton was picked off by Rams defensive back Jordan Fuller; fortunately for Taylor, and the offense on the ensuing play saw the Rams give the ball right back to the Giants defense.
Tight end Daniel Bellinger was flagged twice for holding, the second of which came in the fourth quarter and negated a 47-yard pass completion to Jalin Hyatt with the Giants down 26-19. Speaking of penalties, two holding infractions, one by BEllinger and one by John Michael Schmitz, wiped out gains of 47 and 15 yards, respectively.
Defense: B-
Dane Belton, stepping in for Jason Pinnock (foot), picked off Stafford to give the Giants the ball at their 38, the best starting field position of the game. The defense also forced an early game turnover on downs, though that had to come on a pair of successful challenges by Giants head coach Brian Daboll after the officials initially ruled in favor of the Rams.
Belton's big day continued when he helped erase Tyrod Taylor's interception by recovering Adoree Jackson's forced bumble against receiver Demarcus Robinson at the Rams' 46-yard line that the Giants turned into a 31-yard field goal (the distance shortened from 45 yards when the Rams were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct) by Mason Crosby.
Belton added his second interception of the game, picking off Stafford at the Giants' 46-yard line and returning it 20 yards to the Rams' 34-yard line. And Isaiah Simmons joined the sack party with a 10-yard drop of Stafford inside two minutes to get the ball back for the offense.
Bobby Okereke had himself a day, finishing with a team-leading ten tackles, 1.5 sacks, one tackle for loss, and two quarterback hits.
One glaring negative? Missed tackles, such as what we saw on Puka Nacua's 80-yard catch in the third quarter, are great examples of how not to tackle a ball carrier. Why the Giants continue to insist on going for the strip rather than securing the ball carrier is beyond us.
Special Teams: C
Crosby had another short kickoff to start the game, resulting in a fair catch. Crosby hit a 31-yard field goal at the close of the first half to make it a 14-10 game in favor of the Rams, but he missed a PAT attempt following Darius Slayton's 80-yard TD catch, which had it been made, would have made it a three-point game instead of a four-pointer.
Crosby hit a 32-yard field goal at the start of the fourth quarter to get the Giants within one point, but he came up way short on a 54-yard field goal that would have won the game for the Giants.
Punt returner Gunner Olszewski misjudged a third-quarter punt and lost about 30 yards of field possession in the process. But he atoned for that gaff with a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown when he spun out of the grasp of a Rams coverage guy and streaked down his sideline. Alas, the 2-point conversion after the score was no good, leaving the Giants down by one point with 3:27 left.
Coaching: C-
Two challenges on the Rams first series were reversed, including one on a 4th-down play initially ruled complete but later overturned, giving the Giants the ball on downs. The two successful challenges left Daboll with one more for the game. Credit to defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, who sent the heat after Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. The Giants finished with five sacks and seven quarterback hits, three of the sacks (Jihad Ward, Okereke/Rakeem Nunez-Rochez, and Isaiah Simmons) coming on third down.
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka outsmarted himself on a fourth-quarter 4th-and-1 from the Rams' 33-yard like when Taylor tried to hit receiver Jalin Hyatt on a drag route one yard short of the required yardage. Why they didn't give the ballot to Saquon Barkley in that instance is one for the ages.
And why the Giants decided to go for the 2-point conversion following Olszewski's 94-yard punt return for a touchdown which a Rams penalty gave the Giants a do-over instead of the extra point that would have tied the game is another one for the ages, especially given how the Giants' defense was playing so well.
But the biggest head-scratcher was the second-down draw on the Giants' final possession of the game. With 42 seconds left, the Giants handed the ball off to Saquon Barkley, who was stuffed for minus-2 yards on the play, a play in which the Giants inability to pick up a stunt thwarted the play (a play that head coach Brian Daboll also said he'd like to have back).
Then, on 3rd-and-12, the Giants attempted a pass to Hyatt that was incomplete, leaving Crosby, who in his short stint with the Giants has shown that he doesn't have the strong leg he used to have, to try a 54-yard field goal that was not only short but wide left.
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