There were blunders aplenty in the Giants’ humiliating “Monday Night Football” loss to the Seahawks, but one, in particular, had social media stumped.
With the Giants trailing the Seahawks, quarterback Daniel Jones was hoping to ignite a spark in the fourth quarter with less than nine minutes remaining.
As Jones readied to hurl the ball, Giants tight end Darren Waller attempted to block Seattle linebacker Derick Hall — only to be shoved from behind by his teammate, offensive tackle Evan Neal.
Hall then got to Jones, whose pass intended for wide receiver Parris Campbell was picked off by Seahawks cornerback Quandre Diggs in what was his first interception of the year.
The sad state of affairs at MetLife Stadium naturally had X users talking, with many unloading on Neal, the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
“Evan Neal really blocked his own teammate in Darren Waller,” Doug Rush of FanSided posted. “Embarrassing. This is part of why the Giants have the worst ranked OL in the league.”
Anthony Rivardo of Empire Sports Media remarked: “I’ve never seen anything like this. What the hell was Evan Neal doing here??”
It was a brutal night for the Giants all around, with Jones getting sacked 10 times, all the while throwing two interceptions and zero touchdowns.
The Giants allowed 11 total sacks in the dreadful 24-3 loss, dropping to 1-3 on the season.
“We take responsibility for those 11 sacks,” Neal said postgame. “There’s no excuse for it.”
While Giants head coach Brian Daboll shouldered much of the blame, stating, “I gotta do a better job,” Neal believes the much-maligned unit will eventually start clicking.
“I’m confident that we’re going to turn it around, but right now we have to get to the drawing board and figure it out,” Neal said. “We just have to play better ball. We’re a better group of men. We’re a lot better than we’ve been showing.”
With games against AFC East powers Miami and Buffalo on deck, there’s a strong possibility this once-promising Giants season can spiral into a 1-5 nightmare.