3 Takeaways from Giants' Week 8 Loss

It's been a rocky start to the 2020 season for the New York Giants, as the team lost its seventh game of the year on Monday night. The loss wasn't entirely unexpected, though, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one of the most complete teams at the season's midway point.

That the Giants—without arguably their best player in Saquon Barkley—nearly took tom Brady and the Buccaneers to overtime is impressive. However, quarterback Daniel Jones, coach Joe Judge and the rest of the squad are going to lament the missed opportunities that took away the chance of an upset.

Moral victories will only carry a team so far in the NFL, that's a well-known fact. Here are three other things we learned about the Giants during their Week 8 loss.

New York Is Building a Competitive Defense

John Minchillo/Associated Press

The Giants put a lot of resources into building their defense in the offseason. They brought in pieces like cornerback James Bradberry, linebacker Kyler Fackrell, linebacker Blake Martinez and cornerback Logan Ryan. On Monday night, New York showed that those moves are paying dividends.

While the defense obviously wasn't good enough to pull out the win, it did hold a potent Tampa Bay offense to 25 points, 23 first downs, 344 yards and just 3.4 yards per carry.

If not for a little late-game Brady magic and a pass-interference flag that was picked up on New York's fourth-quarter two-point try, this game easily could have gone the other way.

"I'm not sure why it got picked up," Judge said of the PT call, per ESPN's Jordan Raanan.

For the year, the Giants rank sixth in overall defense and 11th in points allowed. Their last two losses have come by a combined five points. This team is close to being relevant in the NFC East, and the defense is the primary reason.

Joe Judge Appears to Be the Right Coach for This Franchise

Corey Sipkin/Associated Press

While Judge did question the game's pivotal call, he didn't blame officials for the loss. His team played a disciplined game and remained competitive throughout. While the losses have mounted for New York, the team hasn't been blown out or appeared overwhelmed since a Week 3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

In short, Judge is a no-nonsense coach who appears to have this team trending in the right direction. That's something that couldn't be said about the Giants and former head coach Pat Shurmur.

Against Tampa, the Giants were a two-point conversion away from overtime. They out-produced the Buccaneers in offensive yardage (357 yards) and first downs (24). At no point did New York look like it didn't belong on the field with arguably the best team in the conference.

The NFL is a bottom-line business, and eventually, Judge will be judged by the wins he can deliver. However, he has his team playing competitive, complementary football, and that's a tremendous first step for this young rebuilding franchise.

Daniel Jones Is Still a Work-in-Progress

Corey Sipkin/Associated Press

Here's the silver lining in New York's 1-7 record. Right now, the Giants are in line for the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft. If they decide that Daniel Jones isn't the answer at quarterback they'll have a shot at one of the top signal-callers next spring. The next nine weeks will be all about evaluating the 2019 first-round pick.

And we've seen plenty of promise from Jone thus far. He made some tremendous throws against Tampa, especially off-script throws late in the game. However, he also missed open receivers, threw too many passes off-target and delivered a late ball on the ill-fated final two-point try.

Physically, Jones is everything the Giants should want underc enter. However, he is still learning to trust his instincts and deliver the football with intent. That's to be expected from a second-year quarterback, and it's something that Jones can potentially fix over the second half of the season.

However, Jones will have to show growth over the next couple of months, or else New York will have a tough decision on its hands. Franchises aren't patient with quarterbacks the way they once were, and Jones could be on his way out if the Giants view a prospect such as Ohio State's Justin fields as a can't-miss option.

And if Jones does put it all together down the stretch? This team is good enough to possibly go on a run and challenge in the underwhelming NFC East.