Biggest Takeaways from New York Giants' Week 12 Loss
The New York Giants' playoff hopes aren’t dead yet, despite their rather dead-looking performance against Washington on Sunday, but let’s be realistic here.
There is something radically wrong with a team that comes out as flat as the Giants did in the first half with so much on the line.
Whether it’s the coaching, the players, the front office or the weather, the performance and the effort were simply unacceptable of a team that speaks of wanting to be in the postseason.
The good news—if you’re into this type of thing—is that in 2011, the Giants suffered a similar situation: They were embarrassed by Washington and then came out swinging the rest of the way. Will the history from that year repeat itself or will the Giants remain stuck in this vicious playoff-less cycle they’ve been in since 2012?
We’ll find out soon enough. Meanwhile, let’s get to what we learned about this team this week.
The Running Game Is a Disaster
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I’m sure by now you’re as sick of reading this as I am of saying it, but I’m going to say it again: The four-man running back committee has to go.
Thirteen carries for 33 yards for a paltry 2.5 yards per carry doesn't exactly scream championship, now does it?
If that’s not discouraging enough, Pro Football Focus notes that of the 13 carries, not one Giants running back created a missed tackle.
The Giants are going nowhere fast with this committee. And if they don’t somehow find a running game in these next five weeks, it’s probably a safe bet that they’re going to miss the playoffs again.
Odell Beckham Jr. Is a Stud
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This isn’t anything new to people who watch Odell Beckham Jr. week in and week out, but it still bears a mention for a different reason that I’ll get to in a moment.
First, let’s look at his production: nine receptions, 142 yards and one sick-looking one-handed touchdown grab. Seriously, what’s not to love about Beckham, one of a few players this week who actually looked like he didn’t take Washington lightly?
With those 142 yards, Kimberly Jones of NFL Network noted that Beckham recorded his seventh career game with at least 140 receiving yards, passing Jerry Rice for the most such games by a receiver in his first two seasons.
Want another reason to love Beckham? He was one of the only players in the postgame locker room who spit fire as he spoke to the media and who told it like it was.
"We came out flat, and they came out fired up. We came in knowing everything was on the table, and we didn't put our best foot forward,” he said.
“The good thing about it is we have five more games to correct it. It's unfortunate, but you can't hold your head on it. We will go in and see what we did wrong, which is a lot of things, and just come out and correct them."
Amen, Odell. Amen.
The Defense Can't Finish Games
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For all those who think the Giants defense wasn’t to blame in this loss, please take not of the following.
In two straight games—New England and Washington—New York’s defense has twice failed to make a critical stop toward the end of the game. This week, it was safety Craig Dahl losing track of tight end Jordan Reed on a 3rd-and-5 that went for 20 yards and gave Washington the ball at its 28 with 3:29 left to go.
By the time the Giants offense got the ball back, there was 19 seconds left on the clock—maybe enough time for a field goal, except a field goal wouldn’t have won the game this time.
So while the defense only held Washington to 20 points, which is reasonable, the fact that it couldn’t stop Washington this week and New England two weeks ago when it mattered most (and you can probably throw in the loss to New Orleans while you’re at it) has been a season-long issue.
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OL Bobby Hart Showed Some Promise...
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If you missed rookie Bobby Hart’s extensive playing time yesterday—and that’s easy to do so considering that the offensive line in general just couldn’t pull it together as a group—you missed some mostly solid play from the rookie seventh-round draft pick.
To recap, Hart was inserted at right guard after Geoff Schwartz, the starting left guard, went down with a broken leg. John Jerry, the starting right guard, moved to the left side, and Hart was inserted in Jerry’s spot.
Hart held his own. Per Pro Football Focus, he allowed one quarterback hit, though on the play in question, it’s debatable as to whether right tackle Marshall Newhouse, who seemed unsettled having the rookie playing next to him, was more at fault for the hit.
Also, for what it’s worth, Hart was the second-highest overall graded offensive lineman for the Giants, after Schwartz. That’s not too shabby for a young man who got thrown into the deep end and who battled well out there.
...So Did DT Montori Hughes
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Unlike Hart, Montori Hughes is a three-year veteran. Hughes, who has gone up and down between the 53-man roster and the practice squad, finished with two tackles, both solo, one of which went for a loss.
Also, if you blinked, you might have missed that Hughes played more snaps than last year’s third-round pick Jay Bromley.
Per Pro Football Focus, Hughes received 23 snaps, 19 against the run and four against the pass; Bromley got 20 snaps, 12 against the run and four against the pass.
Overall, Washington finished with a 2.8 yards per attempt average in the running game and, with the exception of a 12-yard run by Alfred Morris, didn’t have very many big-play runs this week. When attempting to run up the gut, Washington averaged 1.7 yards on nine attempts, Hughes quietly playing a role in clogging things up.
Dwayne Harris Underperformed in the Punt Return Role
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This isn’t about Dwayne Harris’ foolish decision to field a punt at his 2-yard line instead of letting the ball bounce into the end zone. This goes a little deeper.
First thing first. Harris has sure hands. With him back there, the coaching staff really doesn’t have to worry about a muffed punt (most of the time, at any rate).
Where Harris comes up short is that he doesn’t have the quick feet or the burst one ideally looks for in a punt returner.
Against Washington, Harris—who has contributed to the Giants averaging 7.5 yards per punt return, 21st in the NFL (a worse mark than the 7.7 average they posted in 2014)—had room to collect some decent yardage on most of his punts.
However, he hesitated, and in doing so, the coverage quickly closed in around him, which is not what a team likes to see from its punt returner.
Unless otherwise noted, advanced statistics from Pro Football Focus.
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.
Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.
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