Litany of Mistakes Doom Giants in 24-20 Loss to Atlanta

Picking up where they left off last week, the New York Giants once again failed to finish in the fourth quarter, this time dropping a 24-20 decision to the Atlanta Falcons. 

There was a lot of good from the Giants in this game, but as was the case last week in their season-opening loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants' mistakes seemed to bunch up toward the end of the game when they needed to get stronger.  

The good? Receiver Odell Beckham Jr. finished with seven receptions for 146 yards, his yardage total leading all receivers in this game.

Running back Shane Vereen also provided why he can be so valuable to this team, finishing with a team-high eight receptions for 76 yards, including a big 37-yard reception to set up a Giants score.

Defensively, the Giants finally started to get after the quarterback, recording two sacks against Matt Ryan and eight hits, while also knocking down eight passes.

For all the good done by the Giants this week, it's their inability to finish the game that has sent them off to an 0-2 start.  

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The New York Giants are the first team to blow double digit leads in consecutive games to start a season in #NFLHistory.

— History of the NFL (@TheNFLHistory) September 20, 2015"

“We have to win the fourth quarter,” said offensive lineman Justin Pugh, who had to move from left guard to left tackle in the second half after the Giants lost rookie Ereck Flowers to an ankle injury.

“That’s what it comes down to—win the fourth quarter every week. We lost the fourth quarter the last two weeks and lost the games.”

Let’s run down a few that were particular back-breakers, starting with Bad Comedian Eli Manning’s lost fumble following a strip-sack by Falcons defensive end Kroy Biermann.

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

“I was about to throw it to Rueben Randle on the left side of the end zone, he was scrambling for me and that’s when I was getting ready to pull it back, and that’s when I got hit,” Manning said. “It would’ve been tough but nice to get the field goal there but just can’t afford turnovers down there in the red zone.”

Ya think?

That blown opportunity helped the Falcons embark on a 12-play, 91-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Ryan to receiver Leonard Hankerson, a score that cut the Giants’ lead in the game to 20-17. 

“I should have recovered that damn fumble; it was right by my legs,” Pugh said. “It just could have saved us. I saw it hit and went to go get it and just couldn’t get my hands on it.”

Woulda, coulda, shoulda…didn’t.

The defense got into the act as well. There was a dropped interception by linebacker Jonathan Casillas in the second quarter on a 3rd-and-7 pass attempt to receiver Julio Jones.

If Casillas, who had the ball right in his hands, makes that play, the Falcons—who went on to score a 42-yard field goal by kicker Matt Bryant to take a 10-3 lead—likely don’t score. 

The Giants still had a chance to pull this one out. On their next drive following that Atlanta score, Manning was again sacked by Atlanta, this one being a five-yard loss courtesy of Vic Beasley, who knocked the ball loose.

On this one, the Giants were lucky, as tight end Larry Donnell recovered it and actually gained yards on the play. Still, the hiccup to the rhythm of the drive was just enough for the Giants to have to punt the ball away. 

Want more offensive—yes, pun intended—follies? How about the needless delay-of-game penalty the Giants took in the fourth quarter when Manning was calling for center Weston Richburg to snap the ball only to be denied?

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

That miscue, which could have been avoided if Manning had called a timeout, turned a 3rd-and-7 into a 3rd-and-12 that the Giants failed to convert.

On the Giants’ final drive, Donnell, all 6’6” of him failed to haul in a deep pass attempt that would have set the Giants up nicely deep in Atlanta territory.

That wasn’t the worst of the blunders. On the Giants’ final play of the game, Manning, for some reason, targeted receiver Preston Parker, he of three dropped third-down passes a week ago, on a fourth-down pass that, while thrown low, was one that Parker had to make but didn’t.

“When you lose a game, you take things very seriously, and if you miss a play, you always know there were opportunities,” Manning said after the game.

“Today, had the ball a good time and timeouts and got the ball to the midfield and then right there we didn’t get anything right there, four incompletions and didn’t get a chance to get in the end zone.”

The good news is that with a short workweek to get ready for their next game—the Giants host Washington on Thursday night—there won’t be a lot of time to dwell on the missed opportunities.

And if you’re looking for more good news, apparently the players believe that despite the repeated self-inflicted wounds that keep popping up, this team really isn’t in as bad of shape as their record would indicate.

“I actually feel really good about not where we are as a record but where we are as a team and where to go from here,” said Odell Beckham Jr. 

“I think the [offensive line] did another great job tonight in being able to give Eli time to find his targets and make some throws, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to finish and you have to win games.”

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.