Let’s take one last look back at the New York Giants’ 33-15 loss to the New England Patriots on Monday night. Here are five plays, or sequences of plays, that made a difference.
Play(s) 1: Special teams are still a problem
The Giants had several special teams mishaps that led to their ultimate demise. From the opening kickoff that gave Drake Maye the football at the 39-yard line to Younghoe Koo’s fascinating missed field goal where he kicked the ground — there wasn’t a dull moment! Marcus Jones returned a punt 94 yards for a touchdown that quickly gave New England a ten point lead; that was not good. There was also an unfortunate Gunner Olszewski fumble on special teams where he was concussed; we hope nothing but the best for Olszewski in his recovery. These special teams’ issues continue to plague a Giants team that’s parted ways with their offensive head coach and their defensive coordinator. They need stability from their special teams, but the dearth of talent and overall questionable operation of the New York Giants apparently mars the third phase of football as well.
Play(s) 2: Patriots’ second offensive drive
The Patriots easily drove down the field on a five-play, 61-yard drive that ended with this fade touchdown to Kayshon Boutte over Cor’Dale Flott. This score gave the Patriots a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, as New York failed to mount a competitive effort against a superior opponent. The play below set up Boutte’s touchdown:
Maye hit Hunter Henry for 36 yards on a sail concept with a pump-fake that may have drawn safety Tyler Nubin (27) down toward TreyVeon Henderson (32). New York surrendered 395 total yards of offense on 63 Patriots plays.
Play 3: Points keep coming for New England
This Kyle Williams touchdown followed the Giants botched field goal attempt. Maye finished a five-play, 58-yard drive with this 33-yard strike to rookie Kyle Williams:
The Giant employ a pressure look and bail Jevon Holland (8) back to the deep middle, confirming the one-on-one matchup with Williams (18) and Paulson Adebo (21). Maye correctly diagnosed the coverage, took the snap, and fired to his rookie, who won with an exceptional outside release against the veteran cornerback. The pass was perfectly placed over the outside shoulder of Williams, who created plenty of separation.
Play 4: Theo Johnson drop
In a 17-7 game with 6:35 left in the second quarter, Jaxson Dart took a one-on-one opportunity to big second-year tight end Theo Johnson, who mistimed his jump and the pass fell incomplete. This proved to be a crucial moment in the game; Younghoe Koo didn’t exactly miss the field goal on the ensuing play, but the Giants’ did fail to convert points. The Patriots would then drive down the field on a five-play, 58 yard drive for a touchdown and Olszewski fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving the Patriots the opportunity for more points, a field goal.
The score quickly went from 17-7 — which would have likely been 17-14 if Johnson secures the throw from Dart — to 27-7. Johnson has played better over the last few weeks, but uncoordinated looking plays where he fails to execute are part of Johnson’s profile in his short tenure as a professional football player. A catch on this play could have provided New York some momentum.
Play 5: That hit on Jaxson Dart
Dart returned from a two-game absence in the concussion protocol; he promptly assumed his physical approach to football with this play early in the game:
Dart acted like this was a third-down and put himself into a position to take a massive hit along the sideline from Christian Elliss. Johnson and other Giants, went after Elliss, who was just playing defense. Quarterbacks must understand when to go down or go out of bounds, and Dart flirts with combat in these situations. Elliss is completely within his right to hit an offensive player attempting to steal more yardage.
Johnson’s actions led to a 15-yard penalty and, instead of third-and-1, the Giants found themselves in a third-and-16, which came after Johnson’s false start on second-and-8 that placed the Giants in the second-and-13 to begin with. It wasn’t a great sequence of plays for the Giants’ offense, especially sincce New England scored on their next possession to go up 17-0.
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