Giants-Commanders ‘things I think’: Giants have only themselves to blame for Sunday’s loss

Coaching staff, players share the responsibility for a defeat in a game they should have won

I think there are several reasons the New York Giants lost 21-18 to the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

• They lost because they decided to risk not elevating rookie placekicker Jude McAtamney from the practice squad with Graham Gano entering the game with a finicky groin. That backfired, ultimately costing the Giants at least five points, when Gano pulled a hamstring on the opening kickoff.
• They lost because the defense was atrocious. The Commanders scored on every possession, with every drive lasting at least nine plays. The Giants will point to “bend, don’t break” with Washington not scoring any touchdowns. That, though, was more about Washington’s mistakes rather than anything the Giants did.
• They lost because running back Devin Singletary fumbled away a chance for the Giants to grab a two-score lead early in the third quarter.
• They lost because rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers, who otherwise had a spectacular game, dropped an easy throw from Daniel Jones on fourth-and-4 that would have given the Giants a first down in the red zone with 2:04 to play. That gave Washington the ball back, setting up Austin Seibert’s decisive field goal.

The Giants did not lose this game because of anything quarterback Daniel Jones did, or did not do.

The quarterback threw two touchdown passes. He ran for 32 yards. He took deep shots. He did not turn the ball over. With Nabers’ help, he had the Giants in position to win the game.

Now let’s talk about those reasons the Giants lost.

The kicker mess

Reporters in Landover, Maryland (I was not one of them) grilled Daboll over the decision not to elevate rookie placekicker Jude McAtamney to the active roster after Gano showed up on the injury report Saturday with a groin injury.

Gano then struggled in warmups, leading me to tweet this:

Giants coach Brian Daboll was defensive after the game when questioned repeatedly about the Gano/McAtamney decision.

“We thought Graham would be OK,” Daboll said when asked why practice squad kicker Jude McAtamney wasn’t activated with Gano dealing with a groin injury. “He was chasing a kickoff return. He pulled his hamstring.

“We thought he was good.”

Here is some of the video of Daboll discussing the decision:

In my view, peppering Daboll with questions about the placekicker debacle was 100% warranted.

Perhaps Daboll — and GM Joe Schoen since Daboll said it was a “collective” decision to elevate linebackers Ty Summers and Tomon Fox — would be extended some grace if this were the first time something like this had bitten the Giants.

It is not, though. This is at least the third time in two seasons, and the second time in two weeks, that questionable game day roster management had been a problem for the Giants.

• A year ago, the Giants clearly relied too long on a hobbled Gano, with that decision eventually costing them a game they should have won against the New York Jets. After that game, Gano went on season-ending IR.
• Last week the Giants — after watching Gunner Olszewski deal with a groin injury for four weeks — went into their season opener with Olszewski as the punt returner and no viable backup on the roster. Olszewski did not make it to kickoff, aggravating his injury in warmups. He is now on IR.
• This week, the Giants added Gano to the injury list on Saturday with a groin injury. Reporters on the scene indicated that the veteran kicker struggled his way through warmups. You knew it wasn’t going to end well when Gano had to chase Austin Ekeler on the opening kickoff. It didn’t. The guess here is Gano is headed to IR.
• The Giants have had other curious roster management issues. Last year’s Tyre Phillips fiasco. Refusing to use Matt Peart as the swing tackle a year ago, instead sticking an unprepared Josh Ezeudu at left tackle when Andrew Thomas was injured Week 1. Ezeudu had not practiced at tackle all spring or summer. Last week, the Giants mystifyingly played Cor’Dale Flott more in the slot than Dru Phillips, despite Flott not practicing there all spring or summer.

So, no, the Giants’ braintrust does not get any slack when it comes to questionable decisions like Sunday’s placekicker fiasco.

Woeful defense

The Giants defense made rookie Jayden Daniels, playing in his second game look like … well, look like Sam Darnold did a week ago. Like an All-Pro.

Yes, the Commanders never scored a touchdown. Yes, they went 0 for 6 in the red zone and 0 for 3 in goal-to-go situations. Those failings, though, were mostly because of Washington’s own ineptitude.

• On the Commanders’ first drive, a false start on fourth-and-1 at the 4-yard line necessitated a field goal.
• With the score 6-6, Washington had first down at the Giants’ 14-yard line. A false start again pushed them back, and they settled for 3 points.
• With second-and goal at the 4-yard line and the score knotted at 12-12, another Washington false start stopped a drive and led to a field goal. There was also a declined third-down holding penalty on the Commanders.
• With the Giants leading 18-15 in the fourth quarter, Washington committed yet another false start with first-and-goal at the 6-yard line. Field goal. Again.

The Giants’ defense, aside from a couple of stellar individual efforts, was not nearly good enough. Brian Burns went off on his defensive teammates after the game, and with good reason. Washington never punted.

• Washington would have gone 3-and-out on its opening possession, except for a third-and-9 Jason Pinnock holding penalty. Result: 3 points. As a note, the Giants also gave up a 13-yard run to Austin Ekeler on a third-and-14 from the 17-yard line during that drive.
• On Washington’s second drive, Pinnock allowed a 21-yard pass to Zach Ertz on third-and-4 that should have been batted down or intercepted. Result: 3 points.
• On the Commanders’ third drive, they twice converted on third-and-13. One was a 14-yard scramble by Daniels. The other was a 14-yard catch-and-run by Ekeler that should have been stopped far short of the first down. Result: 3 points.
• Leading 12-9, the Giants allowed a 20-yard pass to Ertz on third-and-8 that put the Commanders in Giants’ territory. Result: 3 points.
• With the score 12-12, Brian Robinson went 40 yards up the middle on a third-and-1.
• Leading 18-15, the Giants wasted a third-and-5 stop when Dru Phillips was (probably wrongly) called for defensive holding. Result: 3 points.

Missed opportunities

The Giants had a chance to grab what might have been an insurmountable two-score lead on their first drive of the third quarter. Except that Singletary fumbled near the Washington 30-yard line after a 15-yard run. That likely took points off the board and led to points for the Commanders.

The most unbelievable, and unfortunate, mistake was Nabers dropping an easy fourth-and-four sideline throw from Jones that would have given the Giants a first down in the red zone with 2:04 to play. The Giants would have been set up for game-winning points, although the field-goal kicker situation would have complicated the end of the game.

The Giants had plenty of opportunities to win this game. They just don’t have the margin for error to overcome the ridiculous number of self-inflicted wounds they dealt with on Sunday.

Final thoughts

So, the Giants are 0-2 after a season-opening stretch where it looked like 2-0 was possible and 1-1 would have, at least, been acceptable.

Now, per the FOX broadcast, they have a 6% chance of making the playoffs. That is how many 0-2 teams have made the postseason since 2020.

Forget the playoffs, though. Daboll was directly asked for the first time after Sunday’s loss if he were worried about his job security.

That’s where we are. A week ago, Jones was in the crosshairs. He played well enough to quiet the chatter that he is about to lose his job, at least for another week. Now, Daboll is getting job-related questions.

The Giants face a road game next Sunday against the Cleveland Browns before returning to MetLife Stadium for a Thursday night game against the Dallas Cowboys.

It has gotten late early for the Giants. It’s fair to question whether it’s going to get better.