Introduction: The New York Giants are 5-10 with their lost to the Ravens 27-13 and await the outcome of Washington game against Carolina and Dallas against the Eagles to see if they still a chance to win the NFC east. The Giants came out very flat in this game which had playoff implications and find themselves behind after the 1st quarter 14-0. Offensively, the Giants struggled with only a total 269 yards to the Ravens 432. On the ground the Giants have looked nothing like the team that won 4 straight games with a dominating ground attack as they have rushed for under 100 yards for the 3rd straight game (all losses) with only 54 yards. On Defense, the Giants made concern was to contain quarterback Lamar Jackson from totally taking over the game with his legs and for the most part they did. However; Jackson hurt the Giants with two touchdown passes that put them ahead and never were in danger of losing the lead. Here are my top 5 reasons why the Giants lost:
- Hog Mollies disappearing act: The Giants offensive line has disappeared over the last three games; which have all been loses. Over their last three games the Giants have a total of 202 yards on the ground; which translates to 67.1 yards per game. Bottom line: If the Giants can’t run the ball, they can’t win the game.
- Time of Possession: I reference time of possession as a big key to the game for the Giants and one that they must win. Unfortunately; the Giants failed miserably as they only had the ball for 24:51 to the Ravens 35:09. More than ten minutes is a big difference and why the Giants were outscored two to one.
- Defense didn’t to step up: The Giants defense played a solid game against Cleveland holding them to only 20 points as they scored a total of 83 points over their previous two games. However; this game against the Ravens wasn’t their best effort as they surrendered too many big plays by the Ravens; which sustained drives and led to scoring.
- Red Zone & 3rd down conversions: The Giants needed these two categories to be at the very least close to the Ravens to have any chance. However; the Giants totally collapsed with 1-3 in the Red Zone to the Ravens 3-6 and pitiful 1-10 on 3rd down conversions to the Ravens 8-11. There’s really nothing more to add to this as the numbers speaks for itself.
- Sacks: The Giants weren’t expected to compile a lot of sacks on Lamar Jackson, but they also weren’t projected to allow a lot sacks on Daniel Jones. Unfortunately; the Giants offensive line not only were horrible in the running game, but they were even worse in pass protection. Surrendering a total of 6 sacks on the day as their defense had none.
Final Thoughts: In a game of extreme importance, the Giants were flat and showed no urgency at all. Their offensive game plan seemed very predictable as Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett seemed to hold back on opening up the playbook. The Giants could very well know their fate by the end of the Sunday night and their final game against the Dallas Cowboys will be nothing more than a game of positioning for the NFL draft. My prediction in this game was 24-13 Ravens; which was very close as my overall record now is at 11-4. Keep an eye out of my Coaches Corner pre-game predictions between the Giants and Cowboys.