Jets vs. Giants: New York Giants Grades, Notes and Quotes
The all-New York showdown between the Jets and Giants was everything that football fans could have hoped for and much, much more.
The Giants had to blow a fourth-quarter lead. They had to surrender their lead with poor coaching decisions and clock-management issues. Kicker Josh Brown had to miss his first field goal of the season when he had a chance to tie the game at 23 in overtime.
In the end, the Giants fell to their MetLife Stadium partners 23-20 in what was another enormous blow to their playoff hopes.
Down by 10 points with just over eight minutes to play, Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick torched the Giants, shredding their defense and pushing the game to overtime. He also led them up the field in their first overtime possession, putting three points on the board, which would go on to be the game-winning score.
I'll break down this stunner by position and include notes and quotes in the following slides, as the Giants may have just managed to pull off their most heartbreaking collapse in a season full of them.
Dan Ferrara is the New York Giants Gameday Correspondent for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@BigRed_BR) for more New York Giants analysis.
Position Grades for New York Giants
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| Position | Grade |
| QB | C- |
| RB | D- |
| WR | C |
| TE | B+ |
| OL | D |
| DL | B |
| LB | F |
| DB | D- |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching | F |
Quarterback
For his second straight game, Eli Manning was subpar, tossing just one touchdown to go along with one extremely costly interception.
The pick came with 8:50 to play, as Rontez Miles snagged a floater from Manning at the Jets 3-yard line.
With Manning at the helm, the Giants failed to muster a single point in the second half or overtime, making his performance on the day one to forget. Additionally, when the Giants got the ball back with 4:24 remaining and a seven-point lead, the Giants went three-and-out, running just 1:44 off the clock.
Running Backs
The Giants should just hope they lose every game remaining and finish high enough up the draft board to snag a stud running back in the draft.
Orleans Darkwa, Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams are all awful. The running back corps mustered 71 yards as a unit and failed once again to average four yards a carry. They actually weren't close (3.1 YPC).
Wide Receivers
Odell Beckham Jr. put up some big numbers (6-149-TD) with Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis sidelined with a concussion, but were there any other receivers on the roster?
Rueben Randle, Hakeem Nicks and Dwayne Harris combined for four catches and 37 yards. That's pathetic production from your Nos. 2-4 receivers.
Though Beckham had a huge day again, it still wasn't enough to carry this sad cast of characters. That's essentially one of the main stories of the season for the Giants offense.
Tight End
Rookie Will Tye finished second on the team in receiving yards, something that is becoming a common trend.
Tye had 70 yards on the afternoon, including a huge 45-yard gain right up the middle of the field which led to a field goal before the half.
Offensive Line
Even with Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg back, the line still struggled.
The unit failed to create holes for the running backs to see some open field, though it's likely that no offensive line in football is that miraculous anyway.
Still, Manning was sacked three times for the second straight week. Pressure by the Jets defense also led to Manning's costly interception on fourth down in the red zone.
Defensive Line
It's about time.
The defensive line showed up on Sunday, with three sacks of Ryan Fitzpatrick. Jason Pierre-Paul finally made a difference and his presence was felt.
Still, when it mattered most, they failed to get pressure on Fitzpatrick and force him into mistakes. With time, Jets receivers were able to get downfield and make plays in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Linebackers
Another week, another poor performance by a group of no-name linebackers.
Jets running back Bilal Powell came into the game with 22 catches and 163 yards. On Sunday, he had eight catches, 91 yards and the first receiving touchdown of his career.
This group is constantly tortured by running backs in the passing game—Chris Ivory also hauled in five passes on the day.
Defensive Backs
Coming into the game, the Giants knew that Brandon Marshall would be highly targeted and Eric Decker was an effective No. 2 receiver.
Unfortunately, this common knowledge wasn't enough to prevent the duo from each racking up over 100 yards through the air.
Marshall had a game-high 12 receptions and came up huge down the stretch. Decker also caught fire in the fourth quarter and at one time had four catches on inside posts on the same drive.
Fitzpatrick was 36-for-50 with 390 yards. Enough said.
Special Teams
Dwayne Harris' 80-yard punt return for a touchdown was a beautiful play, as he broke tackles and zip-zagged his way into the paint.
Josh Brown's first missed field goal of the year came at the worst possible time, as he pulled a 48-yarder wide right in overtime.
Balance out the A-plus and the F, and this group gets a C.
Coaching
Tom Coughlin has won two Super Bowls. Tom Coughlin should no longer be the head coach of the Giants.
There's a reason he's on the hot seat every season, and with a fourth consecutive season of missing the postseason on the horizon, there's no saving his job now.
It's not just that the Giants are losing games, it's how.
Imagine this: You're up by 10 points at home with 8:50 to play. Do you take three points to extend the lead to 13 or go for a fourth down on the 4-yard line? Is this a real question?
Coughlin chose the latter, Manning threw a pick and the Giants blew another game with a fourth-quarter debacle. It's no surprise they keep losing games late with decision-making like that.
If it was the first time, you could excuse it. But Coughlin is a repeat offender to the point where this has happened a handful of times.
The Giants could be 10-2. Maybe with another coach they would be.
Important Note No. 1: Eli Manning Passes Dan Fouts
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Manning rose further up the all-time passing leaderboard and passed Dan Fouts for No. 11 in passing yards.
Manning had 297 passing yards on the afternoon and now has 43,073 for his career.
He may not have the gaudy numbers that his brother Peyton has, but Eli is shaping up to have one of the more impressive resumes at the position in history, especially when you factor in the two Super Bowl victories and his consecutive-games-played streak.
Important Note No. 2: More Meltdowns
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The latest Giants disaster marked the fourth time this season that "Big" Blue lost a game in which they held a double-digit lead in the second half, per Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.
To make matters worse, it was also the fourth time they've lost when holding a fourth-quarter lead with less than a minute to play, according to SportsCenter.
It's the story of the season, one that had the potential to be so special but now could go down as the most frustrating in Giants history.
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Important Note No. 3: More Records for Beckham
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Beckham Jr. had six catches against the Jets and now has 169 for his career.
According to Hubbuch, that is the most catches over the first two seasons of a career in NFL history.
Beckham will have four more games to add to his latest NFL record, and with no other realistic weapons on the team, he's a lock for a voluminous number of targets.
Coughlin Insists He Made the Right Call
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Usually, revisionist history allows people to look back on their choices and think about what they could or should have done differently. Coughlin, even though he was 100 percent wrong, still doesn't think so.
When asked if he thought his call to go for it on fourth down rather than take the points was the right decision, Coughlin said, per Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News, "I still do."
It's one thing to be wrong. Everyone is wrong sometimes. But to be so wrong and just not own up to it, or be oblivious to it, is unacceptable.
The game would have been over. End of story.
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