Grading the Giants’ 13-10 overtime loss to the Jets on Sunday.
Welcome to the prehistoric age or run, run, run, punt and hope Saquon Barkley can do something otherworldly. Disaster struck when Tyrod Taylor (4 of 7, 8 yards) went down in the second quarter, forcing Tommy DeVito (2 of 7, minus-2 yards) to make his NFL debut. He ran for the only touchdown his team scored but otherwise was asked to hand it off to Barkley (36-128), who was an absolute workhorse. It is not as if the line was plowing open holes for him.
In 14 pass attempts, there were four sacks allowed. Total of 203 rushing yards but only 3.9 yards per attempt. Third down? You had to ask. Converting 2 of 19 is not getting it done. Neither is 7 passing yards. The longest pass-play of the game for the Giants was 4 yards. Grade: F.
This was going to be a titanic triumph, but then came the final 24 seconds of regulation. Before that, the Jets failed on their first 12 third-down tries. Zach Wilson was sacked four times, three by Kayvon Thibodeaux, who made an impact with three tackles for loss and three QB hits. Thibodeaux had a sack and forced fumble on the first series that led to a Giants field goal. Jihad Ward made the recovery.
Dexter Lawrence crushed Wilson on a sack and dominated the Jets’ backup centers. But there were missed tackles by Bobby Okereke, Micah McFadden and Jason Pinnock that led to Breece Hall’s 50-yard TD catch-and-run. Rookie Deonte Banks shadowed Garrett Wilson (7-100) and did not win that battle — but at least he did battle. Horrendous 30-yard pass interference penalty in OT by Adoree’ Jackson. Limiting the Jets to 58 rushing yards was good stuff. Collapse in the final minute was not. Grade: B.
Graham Gano is a stud kicker, but he is in a rut and is dealing with a left knee issue. He made a 31-yard field goal on the first series, missed a 47-yard field goal try early in the second quarter and with 24 seconds left in regulation missed a 35-yarder, which was shocking. Rough outing for him. Gunner Olszewski looked solid returning punts in his Giants debut. He averaged 9.3 yards on his six returns, all fielded cleanly.
Jamie Gillan has been hot but his early punting was not up to par. He did hit a 58-yarder that rolled out of bounds on the Jets’ 17 early in the second quarter. Then he hit a terrible 23-yarder out of bounds. He punted 13 times for an average of 42.2 yards and it is a good thing his left leg did not fall off. Grade: F.
Brian Daboll went ultraconservative — four passes in the second half — and his plan almost worked out. Huge decision to go for the field goal rather than let Barkley try to end it on fourth-and-1 with 24 seconds left in regulation on the Jets’ 17-yard line. Second-guessing Daboll for this is unwarranted.
He has to expect his kicker to make the kick. Daboll did not hesitate rushing his field-goal unit on the field on fourth-and-1 from the Jets 29-yard line early in the second quarter. Daboll lost a replay challenge early in the fourth quarter, disputing a 17-yard completion to Garrett Wilson. Wink Martindale has the Jets completely bottled up but down the stretch the coverage got too soft. Grade: C.