3 Takeaways from Giants' Week 14 Loss

The New York Giants fell flat in their defense of the NFC East lead in Week 14. 

Joe Judge's team gave up its largest point total since Week 5 and Daniel Jones was unable to get anything going on the offensive end on Sunday. 

The result of those failures was a 26-7 loss to the Arizona Cardinals that pushed the Giants one game back of the Washington Football Team in the NFC East. 

Instead of putting themselves in a favorable spot for the final three weeks of the regular season, the Giants now have to find a way not to lose more ground, with the Cleveland Browns next on the schedule in Week 15. 

Giants Defense Turned in One of Its Worst Performances of 2020

Noah K. Murray/Associated Press

The Giants' push to the top of the NFC East in recent weeks was driven by their defensive play. 

During their four-game winning streak, the Giants held each of their opponents to 20 points or fewer, and their best performance came in Week 13 against the Seattle Seahawks. 

Patrick Graham's unit could not contain another NFC West offense, as Kyler Murray totaled 244 passing yards and an additional 47 yards on the ground. 

Kenyan Drake ran for 80 yards on 23 carries and DeAndre Hopkins produced a 136-yard receiving game to open up separation on the scoreboard. 

The final score would have been even worse if the Cardinals did not settle for a quartet of Mike Nugent field goals. 

New York only forced four punts and allowed points on six drives, which simply isn't good enough if it wants to earn one of the seven playoff positions in the NFC.

Daniel Jones Failed to Impress in His Return from Injury

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Daniel Jones did not help the Giants recover from their poor defensive showing. 

The second-year quarterback earned 127 passing yards on 11 completions, was sacked on six occasions and lost one of his three fumbles. 

Jones looked more like a rookie under pressure than someone with a year full of starts under his belt. 

The 23-year-old's 11 completions and 52.3 completion percentage were season lows and his 127 yards marked the second-lowest total of his sophomore campaign. 

He started the day off with a lost fumble and was unable to get the Giants over midfield until the first drive of the third quarter. 

No matter which way you break it down, Jones' performance was not good enough for a playoff contender. 

Jones will have to find a way to improve in Week 15 against a Cleveland defense with one of the most tenacious pass-rushing units in the NFL.

If the Duke product reverts back to his Sunday form, he could cost the Giants the chance of making a run at the postseason in Weeks 16 and 17. 

Offensive Skill-Position Players Did Not Support Jones Enough

Noah K. Murray/Associated Press

The entire offensive box score is ugly. 

Wayne Gallman recorded 57 rushing yards on 14 carries and he did not have a chance to score in the third quarter. Dion Lewis, who lost a fumble earlier in the game, made the only end zone trip. 

The target-to-catch rate of the Giants' top receivers was not great either. Darius Slayton led the team with eight targets, but he only made three receptions. Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram combined for five catches off nine targets. 

Golden Tate finished as the team's leading receiver from a single 39-yard reception that set up Lewis' one-yard push over the goal line. 

Some of the passes from Jones were poor because of the pressure Arizona got in the pocket, but for the Giants to make a postseason push, all of those totals have to be better, especially for Slayton, who caught less than 50 percent of his targets. 

Week 14 was the worst possible time for all the mistakes to show up since it took all the momentum from the Seattle win away and put the team in a rough spot with Cleveland and Baltimore next on the docket. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.