The Giants’ latest loss to the Packers did not just end with a Jameis Winston interception, it also ended with Jalin Hyatt taking the heat. After Winston’s end-zone pick on a corner route intended for him, Hyatt repeatedly told The Athletic’s Dan Duggan that he “has to make the play,” effectively owning the mistake on a day when he was thrust into a bigger role with Darius Slayton out and other receivers missing.
For an offense playing out the string under interim head coach Mike Kafka, a young wideout stopping on a route was exactly the kind of detail failure they can’t afford.
After the game, attention quickly shifted from the offense to the man now running the whole operation. ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reported on X that Kafka was asked directly if there would be any changes to the defensive coordinator or defensive playcalling.
Kafka answered that the Giants would “evaluate everything and everyone,” a measured response that fell well short of an emphatic vote of confidence for defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.
That wording matters because the defense has been stretched to its breaking point. New York lost No. 1 corner Paulson Adebo in warmups with renewed knee discomfort, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, just as he was set to return from a multi-week absence.
The Giants were already without pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux and have watched a battered secondary sink to the bottom third of the league against the pass. Adebo’s setback, after signing a $54 million deal and posting 48 tackles with four passes defended in seven games, only deepens the sense that nothing is going right on that side of the ball.
Kafka’s “evaluate everything” line, combined with a collapsing secondary and a 2-8 record in the post-Brian Daboll spiral, puts a spotlight on Bowen’s future. With little left to salvage in the standings, these final weeks may function as an audition not just for players like Hyatt but for the entire defensive staff.
If the unit continues to leak yards and points, Kafka’s non-endorsement could be a preview of changes to come.
