Patriots vs. Giants: New York Grades, Notes and Quotes
It was another instant classic between the New England Patriots and New York Giants on Sunday afternoon, with the Patriots edging the Giants 27-26 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
You could point the finger a lot of different ways as to why the end result was the Patriots celebrating after a 54-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski with just one second remaining on the clock. The bottom line, however, is that the Giants managed to squander yet another late fourth-quarter lead, and this one was the most gut-wrenching of them all.
After three quarters of surprising domination and a comeback to take the lead with 1:47 remaining, the Giants coughed one up to the unbeaten Patriots to lose a game that they had in the bag.
Was it poor clock management just before the two minute warning? Was it Odell Beckham Jr.'s dropped touchdown, which prompted everyone to unanimously agree that they have no idea what a "catch" in the NFL is? Was it Landon Collins' dropped interception on the Patriots' eventual game-winning drive? The answer is yes to all of the above. It was truly a group effort toward botching another one.
Though they could have entered their bye week riding high after knocking off the undefeated Patriots yet again, this loss will now linger for two weeks, leaving a bad taste in their mouths.
I'll break down the game by position and highlight all of the big plays and factors that went into this stunning ending in the following slides. If you have any feedback, be sure to chime in the comments and let off some steam.
Position Grades for New York Giants
1 of 5
| Position | Grade |
| QB | A |
| RB | D- |
| WR | B |
| TE | B+ |
| OL | C- |
| DL | B+ |
| LB | B+ |
| DB | B |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | F |
Quarterback
Something about playing the New England Patriots brings out the best in Eli Manning.
The future Hall of Famer was 24-of-44 for 361 yards and two touchdowns on the afternoon. It should have been three scores, but Beckham's touchdown snag with 2:06 remaining was reversed even though it looked like he had two feet down before the ball was stripped.
Regardless of that play, Manning was nearly perfect on the day, save for a fumble he coughed up on a sack. Much like the game against New Orleans, Manning must be asking himself exactly what he needs to do in order for the Giants to win, as these late defeats are infuriating.
Running Backs
Unlike in past weeks, Shane Vereen couldn't save this grade by being a large factor in the passing game, as he had just two catches for 12 yards.
It was another poor performance by a bad committee of running backs, as they averaged fewer than four yards per carry yet again. In fact, the largest rush of the day for the Giants was a 10-yard scramble by Manning, which tells you everything you need to know.
It's hard to speculate on an NFL draft that is so far away, but my money is on the Giants burning their first-round pick, wherever it is, on a running back. There's nobody on the roster capable of being a lead back in the NFL, and guys like that don't often become available through free agency.
Wide Receivers
This was a really tough grade to give because the Giants had some really big plays mixed in with a couple of dark spots.
On the bright side, Beckham Jr. had a huge 87-yard touchdown reception on the second play of the game and the Giants also got a huge contribution from Dwayne Harris (6-82-TD).
The other side of the coin is that Beckham got absolutely manhandled by Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler, who shut down the explosive receiver after his huge touchdown to open things up in the first quarter. Butler was physical, bumping Beckham at the line of scrimmage and sometimes tossing him to the ground like a rag doll.
Tight Ends
Rookie Will Tye had a nice game filling in for injured tight end Larry Donnell, who actually may be without a starting job when he's fully healthy again.
Tye set career highs with five catches and 56 yards and was truly a factor in the passing game, something the Giants had been missing from tight ends this season. Even in a loss, his performance was encouraging, and he'll likely gain chemistry with Manning over the bye week.
Offensive Line
The offensive line had gotten a pass in recent weeks because, while the running game was atrocious, at least they were keeping Manning upright.
That wasn't the case on Sunday.
The running game underperformed yet again, but Manning was also sacked three times, one of which resulted in a fumble. Center Weston Richburg left the game with an ankle sprain, but that's no excuse for their average performance as a unit against the Pats.
Defensive Line
Though just one of the Giants' three sacks came from the defensive line (Robert Ayers), this group finally showed a little life.
Jason Pierre-Paul played one drive with a regular glove before switching back to his oven mitt, but he was effective regardless of what he put on his injured hand. The Giants were able to pressure Tom Brady into skipping a few throws and lofting a few others in the air.
Linebackers
Jasper Brinkley, have a day!
After leading the team with 12 tackles and recording a sack on the afternoon, Brinkley crept closer to earning the label of being "reliable," something that the Giants haven't had at linebacker in years.
Defensive Backs
Landon Collins could have ended the game if he had held on for the interception on the Patriots' final drive. If he just let Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie catch it, which would have been a much simpler option since Collins had to leap high and land hard, the game would have been over.
There was a point in the game where this unit was playing so well they would have earned an A grade, something they haven't been close to all season long. They had muffled the Pats' passing attack once Julian Edelman got hurt and left the game, and Craig Dahl was absolutely hounding Rob Gronkowski and making his job incredibly difficult.
Then they came back down to earth.
Gronk scored a 76-yard touchdown, aided by a missed tackle, and Brandon LaFell even hauled in a 54-yard pass.
Not to mention that the Patriots were facing a 4th-and-10 from their own 20-yard line and drove down the field with no timeouts to kick a field goal.
Special Teams
Though kicker Josh Brown stayed perfect on the season, hitting all four of his field-goal tries, the biggest special teams play went against the Giants.
Danny Amendola had an incredible punt return, which wound up going for 82 yards, but would have easily been a touchdown had Amendola not been inadvertently tripped up by his own teammate.
Coaching
I was ready to give the Giants coaching staff an A; it was going to be fantastic.
Whatever scheme defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo cooked up, it had just the right amount of everything, because a No. 32-ranked Giants defense was holding the No. 2-ranked passing game of New England at bay.
The last offensive drive, however, ruined everything and turned the grade into an F.
Let's just break this down for a second.
There's 2:06 left on the clock, the Giants have the ball on the Patriots 5-yard line, and New England has one timeout. Run the ball to get it to the two-minute warning, right? They pass.
It was the infamous Beckham "drop" that will likely be debated hotly in the coming days. Whether it was truly a catch or not is anyone's guess. It looked like he had two feet down before the ball was knocked loose, but apparently there was convincing evidence to overturn the call. Regardless, it was the wrong play.
At 2nd-and-goal now from the same spot with 2:01 on the clock, the Giants passed again, incomplete to Harris, which triggered the two-minute warning with 1:56 remaining. A sack of Manning on third down allowed the Patriots to burn their final timeout with 1:50 left.
Had the Giants run on first down, the clock would have stopped at the two-minute warning. A run on second down would have forced the Patriots to take their final timeout, and a run on third down would have let the Giants run the clock all the way down to about 1:20 before kicking their field goal. A difference of 25-30 seconds makes all the difference late in games.
This isn't the first time the Giants have lost a game because of poor clock management by the coaches, which is why they get an F for being repeat offenders and blowing another game which would have been a huge win, bumped them to 6-4 and given them a two-game lead in the standings.
Important Note No. 1: Longest Reception in Belichick Era
2 of 5
Odell Beckham Jr. blew down the sideline and made a terrific lunging catch on the Giants' second play of the game, eventually chugging into the end zone after an 87-yard touchdown reception.
The catch was Beckham's longest of his career and also the longest that the Patriots have allowed in the Bill Belichick era, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.
The Giants continue to be the nemesis of Belichick, who would have two more rings if it weren't for their pesky and opportune greatness.
Important Note No. 2: Both Kickers Perfect
3 of 5
Kickers Stephen Gostkowski and Josh Brown were a combined 6-for-6 on the afternoon, each kicking a pressure-packed field goal with under two minutes to give their respective teams the lead.
While they were both perfect on Sunday, they are actually both perfect on the season as well.
Brown has now hit all 23 field goals on the season, and Gostkowski has connected on each of his 21.
It's an incredible feat for each kicker to be as reliable as they've been thus far, as neither play in a dome and they each play home games in a cold Northeast city.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Quote No. 1: Tom Coughlin
4 of 5
Following their implosion against the Patriots, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said, "Extremely disappointing loss. ... Finish the game!" according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
Realistically, he has nobody else to blame but himself. If it weren't for Coughlin's poor clock management, Brady wouldn't have had enough time to mount a comeback and march up the field.
Coughlin usually doesn't get too cute against Belichick, but he went for the kill in the red zone rather than eating clock and taking the three points. Outsmarting the Patriots inside the 5-yard line isn't so easy, right, Pete Carroll?
Quote No. 2: Odell Beckham Jr.
5 of 5
What constitutes a touchdown catch in the NFL these days? I don't know. Neither does Odell Beckham Jr.
"I didn’t think you had to do anything else but catch the ball and get two feet in the end zone. I don’t really know much more," he said, per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.
The issue is much larger than one regular-season game, as we've seen this issue pop up in the NFL playoffs and in huge scenarios where seasons were on the line. This has to be revisited and made clearer in the offseason.
A runner can literally stick the ball out, and as long as it hovers over the plane of the goal line for a millisecond, it's a touchdown. But when a receiver catches a ball, comes down with it with two feet in bounds and has it knocked out of his hands, it's incomplete? Interesting.
This isn't the only reason the Giants lost today, but it may be the most debated. At the very least, the confusion of everyone, including players, will once again shine a light on the clueless NFL, which failed to properly adjust the rule after Dez Bryant's infamous play last postseason.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
