That’s the only word that comes to mind in describing the New York Giants’ 24-6 loss to the New Orleans Saints, which sent the once-flying hgh Giants crashing back to Earth.
The loss, which saw the Saints score 17 unanswered points in the second half while shutting out the Giants in the game’s final 30 minutes, dropped.
New York to 5-9 and, as if this writing, put them in the running for the seventh overall, pick in next year’s draft.
There were enough things to go wrong for the Giants, but the focus needs to be on the offensive offense, from the execution to the coaching to the play calling.
Early on, there were a pair of dropped deep passes by Giants receivers, which, had they been made, might have set a different tone for the game.
Meanwhile, the Giants’ offensive line continues at an out-of-control pace in terms of sacks allowed, having surrendered another seven in this game.
For those keeping score at home, the unit has now allowed 76 sacks in 14 games, putting it on pace to finish the season with 93 sacks, which would be second most in league history.
We’ll dive into the coaching in more detail in a bit, but can we talk a bit about the game plan?
This was a game in which the Giants were about to face a run defense that had allowed 130 yards per game on the ground.
So after getting off to a slow start in the first quarter with just three yards on five rushes (the rushing play selection being mostly up-the-gut runs instead of the stretch runs that had worked so well previously), the Giants seemed to find something of a groove on the ground in the second quarter when they picked up 43 yards on six rushes.
Then, down 7-6 in the half, they all but abandoned the running game, only rushing five more times for 14 yards, this again against a run defense that came in struggling, an approach that left young quarterback.
Tommy DeVito to fend for himself behind a leaky offensive line that allowed seven sacks, eight hits and a ton of pressures.
Add to that a lack of defensive pressures–only one sack and two quarterback hits– a leaky secondary that gave up some deep plays, and zero turnovers forced, and you have the 24-6 dud.
