New York Giants: 5 Players That Made the Biggest Contribution in Sunday's Loss

The Giants had their butts handed to them on Sunday—plain and simple.

There was absolutely no defense and almost no offense.

While Eli Manning threw three interceptions, I don't think he's to blame.  He had to contend with his receivers dropping passes and running the wrong routes.

I'd also like to praise Jason Pierre-Paul for his effort today, which consisted of 16 tackles and the only sack of Rex Grossman.

With the battle for the best team in New York going down this Saturday, the Giants need to improve. Fast.

Here are five contributors to the Giants' loss on Sunday. 

Justin Tuck

Justin Tuck is not playing like the defensive captain of the New York Giants this season.

While he has been plagued by injuries this season, he hasn't been good when he's actually on the field.

In 10 games this season, Tuck has managed just 31 tackles and three sacks.  That's a far cry from his 76 tackles and 11.5 sacks from a year ago.

I understand that he's injured, but if he's hurt to the point where he can't produce, then he shouldn't be playing. 

Personally, I'd rather have a healthy Dave Tollefson on the field than a banged up Tuck.

With Osi Umenyiora out, Jason Pierre-Paul and the rest of the Giants defense needed Tuck to step up, and it didn't happen. 

Rex Grossman

Throw out all of his stats this season, and even the ones in the box score from this game; think about this:

Rex Grossman went eight for 11-for-120 yards and a touchdown on third down against the G-Men on Sunday.

Overall, Washington was 8-of-15 on third down, including three of 10 or more yards.  

Grossman may have started out bad, with the two interceptions, but he progressed as the game went on, managing the offense and holding the football for 35 minutes.

Winning his second game against New York, Grossman posts a 91.9 passer rating against the Giants this season.

Hakeem Nicks

Any other game, we'd be raving about the catches Hakeem Nicks was making. 

Not today.

After ESPN aired a special on Sunday Countdown praising the hands of Nicks, he dropped a potential touchdown pass in the first quarter that would have given the Giants a 7-3 lead.

Following the game, Nicks explained that he lost the ball in the sun, but what was his excuse for the other drops?

Nicks had at least one other drop, probably two, which is extremely unlike him.

He did finish the game as the Giants' leading receiver with five receptions for 73 yards, but there wasn't much to be proud of in this one.

Prince Amukamara

As if he didn't play bad enough, rookie Prince Amukamara now has his teammates to contend with, as Antrel Rolle ripped his mate after the loss on Sunday. 

Amukamara was picked on all day, especially on a 20-yard pass from Grossman to Santana Moss, in which the rookie failed to switch off of his man.

He was also exposed on a 3rd-and-long when he gave Jabar Gaffney too much cushion, allowing him to make the catch and then break a tackle for the first down.

Don't get me wrong; the entire New York secondary was awful on Sunday, but it was definitely highlighted by the Amukamara's failures. 

The Entire New York Giants Team

The entire New York Giants' team was just a disgrace on Sunday.

After an inspirational win over Dallas that moved them into first place in the NFC East, the Giants forgot to show up and had it stuffed down their throats.

Manning and the offense were extremely awful, but the defense was even worse.  One sack against a partial rookie offensive line is unacceptable.

Right now, the Giants don't deserve to make the playoffs.