5 plays that decided New York Giants’ 20-17 OT loss to Carolina Panthers

The Giants had their chances, but couldn’t get the job done

The New York Giants dropped to 2-8 on Sunday with a 20-17 overtime loss against the Carolina Panthers. Daniel Jones missed several open throws throughout the game, threw two red zone interceptions, and may have possibly taken his final snaps as the New York Giants quarterback.

Here are the five plays, or sequences of plays, that led to the loss.

Play(s) 1: End of fourth quarter

The Giants seized all the momentum in the fourth quarter after a disastrous start to the game. Rookie cornerback Dru Phillips was able to force a Chuba Hubbard fumble, down by just three points after the Giants’ 13-play, 96-yard touchdown drive that ended with a Daniel Jones 2-yard touchdown run.

It was an absolute gift for the Giants, who started the drive at the Carolina 22-yard line. New York worked the football to the Carolina 8-yard line, where they found themselves in a third-and-7 situation. A conversion was desirable, but a field goal would tie the game. Instead …

Jones attempted to get the ball to Tyrone Tracy Jr. in the flat vs. man coverage, but linebacker Josey Jewell was able to get to the hip of the rookie. Jones’ ball placement was terrible and to the inside, allowing the linebacker to come up with the interception.

Play 2: Cherry on top of the disaster

Could the Giants do it? Could they pull off the epic comeback against the vaunted Carolina Panthers? After a devastating start rife with inept football, New York could still still earn the win. The Giants offense wins the overtime coin toss, receives the football, lines up, and the first snap is a Tyrone Tracy Jr. fumble.

Former Giants’ defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson punched the football out of Tracy’s hands to set up a 36-yard Eddy Pineiro field goal for a Panthers’ victory.

Play(s) 3: The Chuba Show

The Giants’ defense could not stop the run. Chuba Hubbard rushed for 153 yards on 28 carries with a touchdown and a fumble. His success started early and continued throughout the game: Hubbard for 26, Hubbard for 15, Hubbard for 25, etc. There was a lack of continuity and execution by the Giants.. The Giants’ run fits, and containment struggled; there was a lack of discipline. Here are several of Hubbard’s runs:

Although the Giants’ defense recorded four three-and-outs and gave the Giants’ offense a chance, they still couldn’t halt the run and put more of a responsibility on Bryce Young.

Play(s) 4: What a header!

Daniel Jones’ disastrous first half continued as the Giants moved the football to the Carolina 21-yard line, down 10-0 with 1:54 left in the second quarter:

This was Jones’ first red zone interception. New York attempted a play action boundary rollout with a three-level read. Jones tried to get the football to tight end Theo Johnson (84) but Jadeveon Clowney (7) pulled his best Bundesliga header to Xavier Woods (25).

The Giants’ defense forced three three-and-outs in the first half. They capitulated some space, but the ineffective Giants’ offense was a disaster all through the first half. Jones missed several receivers deep and the frustration was palpable.

On the previous drive, Brian Daboll dialed up a third-and-1 flea-flicker shot at midfield:

Wan’Dale Robinson (17) and Malik Nabers (1) were both open on the risky play call, but Jones failed to deliver a pass. New York punted.

Play(s) 5: Tyrone Tracy Jr. shines

As the kids would say: the Giants are down bad. Nothing appears to work, Murphy’s Law is in full affect, and hope seems lost. Yet, Tracy Jr. had another 100-plus yard rushing day:

Tracy Jr. was initially bottled up on the zone run, but he quickly accelerated past Clowney and several second-level defenders to score on a 32-yard rush. The ending was a shame, but Tracy Jr. is far from the reason why this Giants’ team is struggling.

Tracy Jr. was able to keep the Giants in the game. His touchdown was on the first drive of the second half, and it reduced Carolina’s lead to just three points. Carolina responded with a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown that ended with this touchdown:

The Giants run defense was carved through on Sunday. It had little response for Hubbard and the Panthers. New York was beat up and out-classed; it was a balanced approach by Dave Canales and the Panthers, and Young was able to live up to his draft status against the Giants.

The offensive line was also solid for the Giants. I’ll substantiate this on the film, but:

Jones was sacked twice in the game. One was a devastating sack on the flea-flicker, where Robinson and Nabers were full-on Kid Cudi, solo dolo.