New York Giants: Why the Giants lost to the Buccaneers
By Michael Stewart (@golferbad)
The New York Giants continue to find a way to lose, this time to the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-23. The game played the way many had expected with two teams relying heavily on the passing game. Tampa Bay could have folded once the Giants took the lead 23-22 with just under 5 minutes remaining. Unfortunately for the Giants, the Buccaneers marched down the field and kicker Nick Folk nailed a 34 yard FG to seal the deal for the Buccaneers.
For the 2nd straight week, the Giants lost on a FG as time expired. The Giants made many mistakes that contributed to this loss, none so evident than the missed assignment in the passing coverage that gave Tampa Bay an easy TD pass to tight end O.J Howard. Below are my top 3 reasons why the Giants lost this game:
Top reasons why the Giants lost
- Giants Defensive front 7: What happened to the much improved defense we witnessed last season. The Giants went against a running attack that was ranked 31st thus far this season and surrendered 111 yards (83 yards to RB Jacquizz Rodgers). The Giants defense couldn’t come up with any big stops or plays in the 4th quarter when they needed to. Also, in pass coverage the Giants linebackers were horrendous with missed assignment coverage which led to a 58 yard TD to TE O.J Howard and also soft coverage on TE Cameron Brate; who looked more like Jeremy Shockey.
- Giants secondary: The Giants secondary (aside from Landon Collins) were horrible in pass coverage as QB Jameis Winston threw for 332 and 3 TD passes and 434 total yards. CB Eli Apple was horrible against WR Michael Evans whenever he was assigned to him. The rest of the secondary played soft and gave too much cushion to the Buccaneer receivers. Safety Darian Thompson had numerous missed tackles and looked lost.
- Running Attack: In my preview I mentioned that both teams were ranked near the bottom of the league in rushing and despite that, I wrote that the team that could establish a better running attack could come out on top. Despite the Giants having their best running attack thus far with 91 yards; the Buccaneers were slightly better with 111 yards; which helped with their passing game.
Hero: Kicker Nick Folk: Despite only going 2/4 in FG attempts, he made the most important one count that gave the Buccaneers the lead late in the 4th quarter as time expired.
Goat: Giants Defense: The Giants defense played the game with no urgency or passion. The front 7 lost the battle in the trenches and the secondary played with no heart and no desire. This defense is totally lost and is a far cry from the 2016 squad; which is basically the same group of players.
Final Thoughts: 0-4 and with the next five games against the Chargers, Broncos, Seahawks, Rams and 49ers with the bye week sandwiched between the Seahawks and Rams game. The next five teams currently have a combined record of 7-12 heading into week 5.
If the Giants want to savage the season, these are the stretch of games they need capitalize on. The Giants face the Chargers who are also 0-4 and have looked equally as bad as the Giants have this season. Something has to give here and maybe, just maybe the Giants can find a way to win (fingers crossed).