The New York Giants have nothing to play for in Week 18. As they host the Washington Football Team, they have already been eliminated from the playoffs. There is no better time to let loose and try new things in their last football game for months.
The Giants appear to disagree, as they continue to play it safe and boring. After being backed up deep into their own territory, they decide to run a quarterback sneak on 2nd-and-11, picking up a few yards. Then they did it again, much to the dismay of the fans.
The Giants just QB sneaked on 2nd & 3rd down. This is unbelievably soft. pic.twitter.com/4ziBxYI55A
— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) January 9, 2022
Cowardly playcalling like this benefits nobody. The fans who turned up to watch the team close out a miserable season don't even have the luxury of seeing the team do something interesting. Instead, they get to watch New York give up on offense and inch up a little closer for better punting positioning.
The Giants and head coach Joe Judge got roasted for the mind-boggling play call.
Who’s the 🤡 show again??? pic.twitter.com/VDztCsxPU1
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) January 9, 2022
1) I tried to tell you the Giants were disgusting to watch. It was stunning how bad their offense was when I went back and watched their games over the last month.
2) WFT has been almost as inept. If Rivera wants to pull away, Kyle Allen should play in the 2nd half.
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) January 9, 2022
I'm officially convinced Joe Judge is daring management to fire him, Office Space-style. https://t.co/G3zlelNiDb
— Dan Hanzus (@DanHanzus) January 9, 2022
Terry Bradshaw on FOX, asked for reasons #Giants should be optimistic:
“I can’t. There are none. It’s a bad, bad, bad job. It’s a bad coaching job by Joe Judge and a bad GM job by Dave Gettleman.”
Sounds about right. #NFL
— Matt Lombardo 🏈 (@MattLombardoNFL) January 9, 2022
I have zero idea what the Giants are doing.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) January 9, 2022
A QB sneak on 3rd and 9 has to be the worst play call of all time. pic.twitter.com/7lT2J9AYPU
— SB Nation (@SBNation) January 9, 2022
Just got a voicemail from an NFL scout who's been in the league more than 30 years. "I've never, ever seen that kind of surrender before in the NFL. That's the worst thing I've ever seen."
— Ian O'Connor (@Ian_OConnor) January 9, 2022
It's hard to make those play calls seem even more ridiculous, but Judge has allowed that to happen. The Giants coach is often outspoken about playing hard. Running intentional sneaks to move up just a few yards is the antithesis of that.
The Giants seriously just ran a 3rd and 9 QB sneak. Not a draw. A sneak. Out of a de facto kneel formation.
The Giants have packed it in the last 2 weeks one year after Joe Judge criticize Doug Pederson for not giving 100% all the way to the end. Can't make it up.
— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) January 9, 2022
“To disrespect the game by going out there and not competing for 60 minutes and doing everything you can to help those players win, we will never do that as long as I’m the head coach of the Giants." https://t.co/rq9HmHsurP
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) January 9, 2022
Saquon Barkley and other key Giants players have stuck up for Judge this week, praising his leadership and football knowledge. It makes it much, much harder to see where they're coming from when he makes decisions like this and puts together game plans that result in negative passing yards over the course of a whole game.
Giants fans were already fed up coming into this game. They now have even more reasons to be disappointed in New York.