The New York Giants were overwhelmed by the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football. Despite Jaxson Dart’s return from a concussion that sidelined him for two games, the Giants were noncompetitive in the 33-15 rout.
The last time the Giants played in prime time, they beat the Eagles on Thursday Night Football in Week 6. But the team that faced the Patriots on Monday night feels eons removed from the swaggadocious squad that shocked Philadelphia earlier this season.
The Giants impressed on the national stage back in October, earning admirers with their raw talent and brash confidence. But New York hasn’t won again since then. On Monday the team dropped its seventh straight game, falling to 2-11.
No one expected the Giants to come to Foxborough and upset the Patriots. But New York played worse than the sum of its parts in an entirely lifeless performance. While the Giants were sleepwalking through the first half, New England was well prepared. The Patriots got off to a fast start, played physical defense and executed in key moments.
Blaming individual players for this loss feels a bit like kicking a three-legged dog. Since the biggest contrast between these two teams comes down to coaching, we’ll start our therapeutic blame assessment exercise with Mike Kafka.
A Kafkaesque experience
The Giants proved they can’t fire their way out of this mess. After a 2-8 start, the team is 0-3 since Brian Daboll got the axe. And New York’s 30th-ranked defense looked particularly toothless in its first game since interim head coach Mike Kafka canned defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.
The Giants allowed more than their already generous per-game averages in total yards and points against the Patriots. If Bowen was holding the unit back, it was not readily apparent at the start of the Charlie Bullen era.
Kafka was given an opportunity to win the Giants' head coaching job by proving the team already has the best candidate in-house. But Monday’s performance created serious doubts. The Giants desperately need a steady hand at the wheel given their talented but inexperienced roster and the chaos of Daboll’s tenure.
A first-time head coach who’s also retained play-calling duties for the offense has a lot on his plate. And yet Kafka has focused on firing the defensive coordinator and doling out discipline.
First-round rookie Abdul Carter was benched for the second time in Kafka’s three-week reign. He sat out the first drive of Monday’s game for an unspecified disciplinary reason. Of course accountability is important but surely there’s a better, less public way to handle whatever issues you’re having with the third-overall pick.
And in addition to unnecessarily providing fodder for the media, it doesn't seem like Kafka is getting his point across. Carter brushed off his benching, telling reporters after the game simply, “Sh-t happens.”
Offensive offense
The Giants got off to a ridiculously slow start on Monday night. They essentially took the first quarter off, and things only marginally improved from there. You have to credit New England for some of New York’s offensive struggles. The Patriots came to play in what easily could have been a trap game for a team that’s been on a roll since Week 4.
New England’s defense knocked the snot out of New York. Perhaps the Patriots were leading with their helmets a bit too often. But they absolutely dominated the game physically from start to finish. New England won the turnover and time of possession battles while limiting the Giants to just 239 total yards of offense.
Still, Kafka contributed to the poor showing with some curious calls in Week 13. The Giants were getting boat raced in the first half Monday. The Patriots led 17-0 in the first quarter. And they were up 27-7 with under two minutes to play in the first half.
After a field goal gave New England a 20-point lead, New York attempted to put some points on the board before the break. The drive stalled out and the Giants faced a 4th & 1 from their 40-yard line. Kafka kept the offense on the field to go for it, which made sense considering the team trailed by three scores and, at 2-10, you really have nothing to lose. But the G-Men had no real intention of going for it. They just lined up in a halfhearted attempt to draw the Patriots offsides.
Naturally the ploy failed as a Mike Vrabel-coached team doesn’t make that kind of mistake. But why not actually go for it? Kafka didn’t trust his offense to pick up one yard and instead played it conservatively, punting the ball away with a little over a minute left on the clock. Of course that was plenty of time for New England to drive 67 yards and hit a field goal to go up 30-7 at halftime.
Then, on the first possession of the second half – just four minutes of game time later – Kafka passed on a long but makeable field goal to go for it on 4th & 6. But the Giants couldn’t convert, turning the ball over on downs.
The offense was largely uneven in Dart’s first game back since Week 10. Some players made plays. Both Darius Slayton and Devin Singletary scored on excellent individual efforts. But some players flopped. Theo Johnson had a long touchdown pass go right through his hands in the second quarter. The sophomore tight end came down with just three of his eight targets. And Wan’Dale Robinson somehow finished with seven receptions for 34 yards.
Not so special teams
Monday night’s game was essentially over midway through the second quarter. And that was largely due to the Giants’ special teams play. The Patriots began the game with a field goal on the opening drive. But New England jumped out to an early 10-0 lead when Marcus Jones scored on a 94-yard punt return.
Jones just simply ran right through the Giants’ punt coverage. He showed elite speed but there really wasn’t anything else to it. No video game-like cuts, no highlight-reel blocks. Just New York’s gunners over-running the play and a mess of guys out of position. Only the punter, Jamie Gillan (more on him shortly), laid a hand on Jones. And it didn’t even slow the fourth-year pro down on his way to the end zone.
The Giants almost managed to get back in the game when special teams let them down again. Trailing 17-7 in the second quarter, New York drove to the Patriots’ 29-yard line, setting up a field goal attempt to make it a one-score game. But Younghoe Koo failed spectacularly.
The eighth-year veteran, playing in his fourth game with the Giants, completely whiffed on the kick. A closer look revealed that Koo actually kicked the turf about a foot in front of the ball. The brutal blunder provided a moment that even the most ardent football observers had never seen before.
Unfortunately it left the holder, Gillan, in an unenviable position. The Giants punter was all alone with the ball in the backfield as the Patriots’ defensive line charged towards him. Gillan sprang up and rolled out, desperately searching for someone to throw to. But he was quickly chased down and buried for a 13-yard loss by Jeremiah Pharms Jr.
Gillan was at least able to return to the game. Gunner Olszewski wasn’t so fortunate. The Giants’ specialist fumbled on a kickoff return after taking a vicious helmet-to-helmet shot from Christian Elliss. Olszewski needed to be helped off the field and into the medical tent for a concussion evaluation.
