The New York Giants looked like they were having flashbacks to their recent seasons past as they lost a close game yesterday for their first of the season. The Washington Redskins played a full 60 minutes and the Giants forgot they had to keep playing throughout the game to get a win against a tough opponent.
There are certain areas that the Giants need to improve on that hurt them yesterday when they had the lead. One of those areas is ball security and that is one of Coach McAdoo’s main focuses. His talk of “protecting the Duke” which is the nick name for the ball is something the Giants must work on.
This was a big test for the Giants and they responded poorly because of all the distractions from the game. The matchup between Odell Beckham Jr. and Josh Norman was the spotlight of this game and I think it was also a distraction to the Giants.
Individual matchups are great to watch, but the game needed to be played with the entire team’s attention on scoring touchdowns. The Giants were doing that in the first half and seemed to have the game in their control. They lost control of the game when the defense started to get gashed giving up passes for big yards and touchdowns.
Silly mistakes and turnovers cost the Giants a 3-0 start on their season and now they are in an uphill battle. The beginning of the season sets the trend for the rest of the season and this is not the time for the Giants to get cold. The Giants will need to bounce back and win their next game in order to keep a winning attitude in the locker room.
Emotions ran high yesterday during and after the Giants gave up the lead and eventually the game, but now they have to use that experience to drive them in their next game. Every game has meaning for the Giants because they know their season can go south in a hurry.
The game was a tale of two halves for the Giants and the first half belonged to them. Eli Manning had a good first half and had control of the game. He was getting it done through the air as he would hit Beckham Jr., Sterling Shepard, and Victor Cruz for big plays.
Shepard would be the recipient of the only receiving touchdown from Manning. The Giants were doing well in the red zone in the first half of the game, but that would be the end of it. Aside from the rushing touchdowns and the passing touchdown in the first half, the Giants would have to settle for field goals for the rest of the game.
Right before the second half started and when it did start that is when the Giants started to collapse. DeSean Jackson caught a 44 yard touchdown with just under 4 minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Giants could not drive the ball down the field and they had plenty of time to do so.
Early in the third quarter the Kirk Cousins completed a pass to Jamison Crowder for a 55 yard touchdown to take the lead. After that both teams would trade field goals and the Redskins would carry their 2 point lead to a victory.
The Giants played a great game, but they need be better on defense and not get the same type of penalties that they did. After the Giants can figure out how to control time of possession for both halves of the game and score they will be able to win tight games.
The Philadelphia Eagles are a team that the Giants need to beat, because they are at the top of the NFC East while the Giants are tied for second with the Cowboys. They will get their first shot at the Eagles in week 8 and by then the Giants should have their mistakes worked out.