The New York Giants(7-3) played their worst game of the season on Sunday against the Detroit Lions(4-6), which cost them.
New York was thoroughly beaten by Detroit 31-18 at MetLife Stadium.
The Giants allowed a season-high 31 points, and the defense had neither a sack nor a takeaway for the second time this season.
Not only did the defense struggle, but the offense was not much better as New York turned the ball over three times, including two Daniel Jones interceptions. The three turnovers led to 14 points for the Lions. Jones, who had been protecting the ball this season, had a streak of 153 passes without an interception, which was the NFL’s longest active streak.
Jones completed 27 of 44 passes for 341 yards, all season highs, but he had to throw the ball maybe more than the team wanted him to because of New York’s inability to run the ball. Running back Saquon Barkley came into this game leading the league in rushing, but on Sunday, he was held to 22 yards on 15 carries.
“They did a good job up front,’ Giants head coach Brian Daboll said after the loss. “They won up front. (They) made tackles in space. You know, bottled up the run game pretty good. That’s obviously a big part of what we do. We had some plays. We executed in the red zone some; third down probably wasn’t good enough – five of 13. (Quarterback) Daniel (Jones) threw for a lot of yards, but that doesn’t really matter relative to (the fact that) we had two interceptions there. What was it, 17 points off of turnovers? If you have three turnovers and the other team has zero, you’re probably going to lose every game.”
Barkley added: “If you’re not running the ball well, you’re going to pass the ball. I guess that’s just the answer there. If the run game is not going, you’re kind of tied with one hand behind your back; you’ve got to pass the ball, so that’s why it’s important for myself to get this run game back on track and the best way to do that is moving on and getting ready for Thursday.”
Fortunately for New York, they get back at it on Thanksgiving(Thursday) when they travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys, and Jones hopes to get back to winning against Dallas.
“I think we’re all already anxious to get this taste out of our mouths and come back and play a much better football game,” he said.
Despite the bad loss to the Lions, Barkley is not going to panic.
“I mean, at the end of the day, it’s the NFL; every team is a great team,” he said. “They came out here; they played great. We’re not going to panic. We’re not going to worry. We’re not going to waver at all. That’s for you guys to go out there and say what you want to say about us. At the end of the day, the only focus we have is the men and women in the locker room and the facility.”
New York came out of this game banged up as several Giants left the game with injuries, including wide receiver Wan’dale Robinson (knee), and starting cornerbacks Adoree’ Jackson (knee), and Fabian Moreau (ribs). With a short week, that could be a problem.
Furthermore, the next four games(Commanders twice), all against NFC East opponents, may tell us a lot about the Giants. Philly is 9-1, Dallas(7-3) just routed the Vikings, and the Commanders have won five of their last six, so it won’t be easy for New York to get right.
