Takeaways from Giants 26-25 Loss to the Los Angeles Rams
East Rutherford, N.J.: The New York Giants' penultimate game against the Los Angeles Rams was supposed to be another blowout, but Big Blue had other ideas as they managed to keep it close, falling short 26-25 in a game that saw the Giants defense come to play.
New York managed four sacks, seven quarterback hits, two interceptions, and two fumbles against Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who had entered this week's game running a red-hot offense. Stafford finished 24 of 34 for 317 yards as the Giants defense got after him mercilessly with pressure.
The Giants offense, led by quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who finished 27 of 41 for 319 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, kept shooting themselves in the foot with penalties, ill-timed drops, questionable play calling, and an inability to pick up a stunt on a big second-down play on the team's final drive that resulted in lost yardage and made things difficult for kicker Mason Crosby to convert the game-winning field goal.
The Giants, who were re-energized on punt returner Gunner Olszewski's 94-yard punt return for a touchdown, which brought the score to 26-25, made the head-scratching decision to go for what ended up as a 2-point conversion rather than kick the extra point that would have tied the game once the Rams were called for encroachment.
Instead, Taylor short-hopped a ball to Saquon Barkley rather than running it in himself, the pass falling incomplete and the Giants' effort at an upset falling with it.
“There’s been a lot of different moments during the season where you just leave frustrated and just leave with a bad taste in your mouth because you know that you should execute better and take advantage of those opportunities to win games,” said tight end Darren Waller.
"The wins don’t just fall in your lap in the NFL; you gotta make ‘em happen. And there’s been a lot of situations where plays needed to be made. They just didn’t get made this year.”
And that has been one of the primary stories of a New York Giants season gone astray.
Here are a few other thoughts on the Giants' loss to the Rams.
Sterling Shepard
Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard is the longest-tenured member of the team and a guy who is beloved at all levels in the organization and by the media.
With good reason. He's been a great, if not underrated, representative of the Giants franchise and a positive influence in the locker room. He's always been cooperative, win or lose, and it's hard not to root for him, given the string of injuries that affected his career.
But there comes a time when, if you're really serious about winning games, you have to put sentimentality aside, and that includes Shepard, whom the Giants continue to feel the need to keep trotting Shepard out there week after week when it's painfully clear that he plays such a small role on the team.
For the second week in a row, the coaching staff waited to get Shepard involved toward the end of the game, with things on the line. And for the second week in a row, he did not make a play that needed to be made.
The fact that the Giants continue to dress a player who doesn't give them much on offense anymore, let alone special teams, over a player such as Parris Campbell, who did give them something on special teams, is just one of the many mind-blowing decisions this coaching staff has made regarding personnel.
And there's no other way to say it. If this team wants to start winning games, just as it puts a stop to giving guys endless scholarships like they used to back in the day, they must stop appointing guys as mascots.
The Officiating
The players and coaches can't tee off on the officiating for fear of being fined, but since I'm under no such fear of being penalized, I have to say the quality of the officiating this year has been terrible.
Never mind what happened in the Lions-Cowboys game. In the Giants-Rams game, that Giants head coach Brian Daboll had to challenge two back-to-back plays on the Rams' opening drive (both of which he won) just continues to underscore the growing problem with the officiating.
I understand that the game moves quickly and that snap decisions need to be made, but if you're going to acknowledge human error in the game, why limit the number of challenges a team can call for, especially if the team is successful?
What Were They Thinking?
In his short stint as a Giant, kicker Mason Crosby has shown that he doesn't have the strong leg he once had, which Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey confirmed this past week.
"Is Mason Crosby 23 years old? No, he’s not. He’s 38 years old, whatever it is. He’s in his 17th year in the league. That’s just what it is," McGaughey said.
"I'm sure (quarterback) John Elway when he was 23 could throw it further than when he was 40. It’s just over time, you lose power. You lose some of that stuff. But he's still definitely serviceable."
Yes, he is, and he's certainly shown himself capable of making 50+ field goals in the past. But considering Crosby only started kicking again about a week or so ago, there had to be some concern that there might be rust, especially on some of the longer kicks, right?
So you'd think. Yet the coaching staff, on the Giants final drive, didn't try helping Crosby out with better play calling, and that is another mystery. Specifically, on 2nd-and-10 from the Rams 34-yard line the Giants called for a draw to Saquon Barkley, who lost two yards on the play when the Rams ran a stunt that the Giants offensive line again failed to pick up.
Why not attempt a pass there, especially with 42 seconds left? Even if it fell incomplete and stopped the clock, perhaps if they had thrown it and completed it, that would have given Crosby, who made a 53-yard field for the Giants last week, a little more breathing room.
"I'd like to have that one back," head coach Brian Daboll said of the play after the game.
Drops and Errors
The Giants' defense played well enough to win this game, missed tackles aside. The offense? We're curious to see the final stats on Monday, but we counted five dropped balls--two by Barkley, one by Shepard, one by Daniel Bellinger, and one by Jalin Hyatt.
Then there were the errors, specifically the penalties, sprinkled throughout the fourth quarter. A holding penalty against tight end Daniel Bellinger wiped out a 47-yard pass from Taylor to Jalin Hyatt with the Giants trailing by seven in the fourth quarter. Another holding call against center John Michael Schmitz wiped out a 15-yard scramble by Taylor that went for a first down.
Darnay Holmes was flagged for holding on the Rams' final punt, costing his team 10 yards that might have made the difference in Mason Crosby's failed game-winning field goal attempt. And CorDale Flott was flagged for defensive holding, which gave the Rams a first down, extending the drive that ended in Kyren Williams's 28-yard touchdown run and the 26-19 Rams lead.
If nothing else, this team has repeatedly proven that it's not good enough to overcome mistakes like these. They proved it again when their otherwise valiant effort to upset the Rams came up short.
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