GREG JOHNSON: Sad to see how Giants, Pats have fallen from Super Bowl rivals to bumbling teams
EAST RUTHERFORD — If you wanted to see football set back 100 years, then Patriots-Giants was the game for you on Sunday.
While it was unsurprising to see the NFL’s two lowest-scoring teams again struggle mightily to get into field goal range — much less reach the end zone — the Giants’ 10-7 win at MetLife Stadium was still an embarrassing display of the professional sport.
The teams combined for 14 punts and only 28 first downs. They each had three fumbles including one muffed punt apiece. And there were some head-scratching coaching decisions that almost seemed like these eight-loss squads — maybe, just maybe — wouldn’t mind if they lost to improve their draft stock.
Why did the Giants’ best weapon, Saquon Barkley, not receive his 10th carry until the 12:31 mark of the fourth quarter?
Why did the Patriots not remove first-round draft bust Mac Jones, who threw two terrible interceptions and at least one other pass that should’ve been picked off, until the second half?
Not much was clear Sunday except one sad truth: Two franchises that formed a Super Bowl rivalry little more than a decade ago have unraveled into bumbling teams that make football look much harder to play than nearly everyone else in the league.
It was only fitting that it all ended with New England missing a measly 35-yard field goal as time expired, which for now moved the Patriots (2-9) up to No. 2 in the 2024 NFL Draft while dropping the Giants (4-8) down to No. 6.
That might lead to pain down the road for quarterback-hungry Giants fans. But at least in the here and now, they got their first win over the Patriots in East Rutherford since 1987 with another dominant performance from a defense that has forced nine turnovers in the last two games.
“I think we’re doing a hell of a job playing defense right now,” said safety Xavier McKinney, who had one of the Giants’ three interceptions Sunday. “We’re going out there and making plays, executing, just doing the little things — the small, little details — and making sure everything is all the way precise.”
It wasn’t exactly a precise win, but the Patriots begged the Giants to take it. And the home team obliged.
All 10 of the Giants’ points came off of turnovers, beginning with inside linebacker Bobby Okereke’s 55-yard interception return to the Patriots’ 26-yard line. Six plays later, undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito threw a touchdown in his first home start thanks to a nifty stiff-arm by Isaiah Hodgins on a 12-yard reception.
“At the end of the day, we’re all professionals and no one’s just trying to just go out there and just lose and wrap up the season and just play bad,” Hodgins said. “We have a team full of dogs in here who are trying their best week in and week out, and sometimes we don’t get the best results, but lately we’re trying to rally together, and we’re trying to sit there and put the best stuff on film and just play our game.”
He’s right. The Giants are continuing to play hard under head coach Brian Daboll, who is almost certain to get a third season at the helm barring a total catastrophe in the last five games.
The problem is that the Giants just aren’t very good. Some of that is to be expected with a third-string quarterback and depth problems on this roster, which speak to how much work general manager Joe Schoen has ahead of him. For all of last season’s unexpected successes, the Giants are still far away from putting a consistently entertaining product on the field.
Even the seemingly routine plays elude this team at times. Take, for example, when Cam Brown was too busy celebrating his hard hit on Demario Douglas, which forced a fumble on the Patriots’ punt return with 14:16 remaining in a tie game, to recover the ball before it rolled out of bounds to stay in New England’s possession.
But the Giants overcame it when McKinney intercepted backup quarterback Bailey Zappe, allowing the Giants to take the lead on Randy Bullock’s 42-yard field goal despite a holding penalty and a negative-two-yard pass that nearly pushed the offense out of field goal range.
“Everyone was happy and excited, and you could tell, though, not everyone in here was content,” Hodgins said when describing the mood in the locker room. “We want more. We know we’re at home versus the Packers after (the upcoming bye week), so go regroup, refresh, get your bodies ready, and come back here and get three in a row.”
In other positive developments, first-round rookie cornerback Deonte Banks hauled in his second interception of the season, while third-round rookie wide receiver Jalin Hyatt became the first Giants player to eclipse 100 receiving yards in the last 19 games.
The Giants earned no style points, but they won consecutive games for the first time all season. And ultimately, players continue to preach with both their words and actions that the coaching staff has done a good job of keeping them together through these tough times.
“I think they have, and it’s hard, especially when you lose the amount of games that we’ve lost early in the season. It’s hard to keep the guys together,” Hodgins said. “I think we’ve been trying our best to do that: Practice hard throughout practice, keep the habits good and the routine the same, and just keep preparing for each game.”
