From the sun-filled stands inside MetLife Stadium, blanketed by a sea of blue jerseys, only one member of the home team was greeted by a roar of unstoppable, deafening cheers. That person was a retired quarterback and newly inducted member to the organization’s Ring of Honor.
For the rest–the real performers on what was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in northern New Jersey–it was an onslaught of boos that could only come from a crowd tired of watching the same old, disappointing act unfold before their eyes.
While the entire Giants organization–past and present–came together on Sunday to celebrate the career and legacy of Eli Manning with a jersey retirement and Ring of Honor induction ceremony, it was the players on the field that did not bring the same effort for the two-time Super Bowl MVP.
Behind a late game rally and a 40-yard field goal by kicker Younghoe Koo as time expired, the Atlanta Falcons rained on the Giants parade and stole their first win of the season, including that for first year head coach Arthur Smith, 17-14. The win removes Atlanta from the winless team club while for New York, the membership continues with another 0-3 start to the season.
For any Giants fans still recovering mentally from last Thursday’s heartbreaking loss to Washington, Sunday’s affair was deja vu all over again. The Giants began the fourth quarter with a big touchdown by Saquon Barkley that, along with a 2-point conversion by Daniel Jones, gave them a one score lead with 12 mins left. Then the mistakes kicked in–the dropped wide open interception by Adoree Jackson, the incomplete passes, the penalties, a fumble barely recovered by Jones but that killed the most important drive of the game–and it felt like the old script was coming out.
With 1:58 left on the clock for Atlanta following a Riley Dixon punt, the script unveiled itself in a span of just seven plays. As Taylor Heinicke and Washington did the week prior , Matt Ryan and the Falcons marched down the field with the help of two 20+ yard passes to Cordarrelle Patterson and Kyle Pitts to put the ball at the foot of Younghoe Koo at the NYG 22-yard line. Koo came through on the first attempt for the Falcons win and no amount of music could drown out the boos from a disgusted Giants fanbase.
Before any of that came to fruition however, the Giants faithful had already found their perfect opportunity to voice their displeasure to the top of the organization’s totem pole.
Introducing his former Super-Bowl winning quarterback turned business operations coworker during the halftime ceremony, with his team down 7-6, Giants owner John Mara was showered with boos as he tried to remind the crowd of the successful past exemplified by Manning. Mara went public before the season with comments about his high expectations for this year, and so with his team now sitting at their third 0-3 start in the last five seasons he understands the reception he received.
“I would boo too,” he said before the third quarter. “We’re 0-2 and down at the half.”
Many within the locker room felt the attitude towards Mara and the rest of ownership was uncalled for, and perhaps that the boos should have been directed elsewhere. Saquon Barkley was one of those defenders of his team’s owner.
“I don’t think that is fair to Mr. Mara,” Barkley said of the fan reaction after the game. “He’s done a great job.”
While Saquon Barkley surely did the right thing by standing up for any member of the Giants organization, it’s hard to convince any passionate sports fan like those in New York when staring at ten years since championship level success and an 18-50 record since the end of the 2016-17 season.
Nevertheless, Barkley continued to find his way back into a rhythm and contribute to the offense’s production on Sunday. In his third game back from 11 months of grueling ACL rehab, he took 16 carries for 51 yards and scored the Giants lone touchdown of the game with a stylish goalline dive over parties of linemen that gave Big Blue a 14-7 lead in the fourth quarter.
For what it’s worth, Daniel Jones also had himself another respectable performance for the second straight week. Jones completed 24 passes for 266 yards while gaining another 39 yards using his legs on eight carries. He finished with zero turnovers and was only sacked twice for a total loss of 20 yards. The Atlanta defense struggled to put any real stop to Jones’ play action capabilities which was one reason the Giants looked sharper offensively in the first half.
Even Jones had to come to the defense of one of his teammates who was treated with “undeserved” boos and sarcastic jeers. Tight end Evan Engram returned to the active roster Sunday after missing the first two games with a calf injury, and as the poster boy for the fan’s displeasure his welcome back reception was not warm either.
Engram finished the game with 2 catches for 21 yards on 6 targets but it was his dropped passes and one fumble late in the second quarter with the Giants pinned deep in their own territory that became his lasting impact on the game. The Ole-Miss product received a boisterous share of booing on his repeat offenses, yet when taken off the field after a Jones pass was tipped out of his grasp he was greeted by halfhearted cheers from the fans in attendance.
“I don’t think that was deserved. It was a tipped ball. Could’ve thrown it better at the end. I’m not really sure I understood that,” Jones said. “[Evan] played hard all game and fought back from an injury a few weeks ago to be back out here. So he’s a big-time player for us and is going to be huge for us down the stretch.”
That statement by Jones defending Engram isn’t hyperbole, as the Giants will need multiple players to step up moving forward in the wake of several key losses beyond the field.
Early in the game, middle linebacker and captain Blake Martinez went down untouched with a knee injury that according to sources is a torn ACL. The second captain in two weeks is now out for the season for the Giants, and Martinez leaves a gaping hole to fill and a resume of 4 years of 140+ tackles per season to match.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Giants also lost two reliable targets for Jones in Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton. Both receivers left abruptly in the first half with hamstring injuries, and their statuses for next Sunday are up in the air. Their exits led to wide receiver Collin Johnson getting an opportunity at reps, in which he had five catches for 51 yards.
Beaten up and in an 0-3 hole with the win ripped out from underneath them for the second consecutive week, the Giants are the sole bottomfeeders of the NFC East and are now looking for answers before the stands at MetLife Stadium lose their blue hue. Everyone from John Mara to the third stringers are hearing the boos from opening kickoff to final play, an utter embarrassment that has been building for the last ten years since New York claimed their fourth Super Bowl title.
Things are quickly heading in the wrong direction before the calendar even hits October. The biggest question has now become where do the Giants find their win amid an approaching schedule filled with playoff-caliber opponents. Still, the usual conversations of hope and patience are being delivered by Joe Judge and his players to the disgruntled market.
“We’re going to be alright, guys. Alright?” Judge said calmly as he exited the stage in his postgame news conference with a reporter pressing him about a questionable penalty charged to corner Xavier McKinney.
“The key for us right now is to make sure that we go back to work, we correct the mistakes, we keep being productive on things we’re doing well and we stay together as a team,” Judge added.
“I think starting 0-3 is where you’re going to hear a lot of noise outside and as long as we stay strong in the locker room we’re going to be alright,” said Barkley.
By the way things sound, the Giants aren’t ready to fold on this season nor make any radical changes any time soon. Yet if Sunday’s loss told them anything, it’s that the fanbase is tired of hearing coaches speak and reassuring messages of patience. The witching hour is drawing near for numerous leaders within the organization if things don’t change fast, and it doesn’t look like that is going to be the case with the Giants upcoming schedule.
Perhaps Joe Judge should consider altering his stance on making radical changes within his own capacity while he still can. Because if not now, then when? The answer can’t be when it is too late.
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