ATLANTA — “It wasn’t good enough,” New York Giants coach Brian Daboll said after his team’s latest embarrassing loss.
Then Daboll said it again. And again. He said some variation of “not good enough” nine times in a postgame news conference that lasted less than six minutes. There was really nothing else to say.
The Giants’ 100th season was supposed to be a celebration of the franchise’s history. Instead, they’re plummeting to depths they’ve never experienced, even in their darkest times. Sunday’s 34-7 loss to the Atlanta Falcons was the Giants’ 10th straight defeat, which set a franchise record.
The Giants dropped to an NFL-worst 2-13, matching the franchise record for losses in a season. That’s a mark that assuredly will be surpassed with two games remaining in this wretched season.
The only potential silver lining to this season from hell is that with every loss, the Giants move closer to securing the No. 1 pick in the draft for the first time since 1965. They are now the only two-win team in the league after the Las Vegas Raiders’ defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, so they control their fate in this regard. If the Giants lose their final two games, the top pick is theirs.
Updated NFL Draft order (NYG clear favorites for No. 1 pick)
1. Giants (2-13)
2. Patriots (3-12)
3. Jaguars (3-12)
4. Titans (3-12)
5. Browns (3-12)
6. Raiders (3-12)
7. Panthers (4-11)
8. Jets (4-11)
9. Bears (4-11)— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) December 23, 2024
But it’s hard to feel any encouragement about the direction of the franchise, even if it lands a quarterback in next year’s draft. The Giants are tumbling in the wrong direction under the leadership of Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen.
They have been out-scored 140-59 in the five games since Schoen declared that the team was “not far off.” The Giants have the second-worst point differential in the league despite Schoen lamenting the team’s disproportionate amount of losses in “close” games.
Of course, Schoen made those comments before the team benched — and eventually released — quarterback Daniel Jones. The four-year, $160 million contract Schoen gave Jones during the 2023 offseason was obviously regrettable. Compounding matters — and raising serious questions about Schoen’s quarterback evaluations — is a bad offense that has become completely dysfunctional without Jones.
Schoen had serious reservations about Jones this offseason, so adding a quality No. 2 quarterback was a top priority. He landed on Drew Lock, giving the veteran a one-year, $5 million contract. Then, the Giants had such little faith in Lock that they leapfrogged him for third-string quarterback Tommy DeVito when they benched Jones.
A comedy of poor play and injuries has followed from both quarterbacks as the team has descended into the abyss. Lock threw two pick-sixes and lost a fumble Sunday, but Daboll didn’t even make a quarterback change because DeVito hasn’t proven to be any better.
Jessie Bates house call with the Primetime celly in the throwbacks 🔥
📺: #NYGvsATL on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/7FZqDIR7pc— NFL (@NFL) December 22, 2024
The Giants averaged an NFL-low 15.6 points in Jones’ 10 starts. They’ve averaged just 11.8 points in the five games since his departure. Overall, they’re scoring 14.3 points per game, which is their lowest average since 1974.
Co-owner John Mara offered a vote of confidence to Schoen and Daboll in October. That was eight losses ago. And long before the season careened off the rails into complete humiliation.
Mara looked perturbed when shown during the third quarter of the Fox broadcast with his team trailing 31-7. He could at least take solace that the Mercedez-Benz Stadium roof was closed, so no planes could fly overhead before the game imploring him to “fire everyone” and “fix this dumpster fire.” Those will surely return for next Sunday’s against the Indianapolis Colts when the Giants try to avoid going winless at home for the first time since 1974.
It seems impossible that Daboll can survive this disaster. He has taken over the play calling for the offense, which ranked 30th last season, and it has somehow gotten worse.
The offense’s ineptitude was on full display on the Giants’ final possession against Atlanta’s backups on Sunday. Trailing 34-7, the Giants were driving for the type of garbage-time touchdown they’ve scored routinely this season to cosmetically shrink their margins of defeat.
The Giants advanced to Atlanta’s 5-yard line with two minutes remaining. Rookie running back Tyrone Tracy scored a touchdown that was negated by a holding penalty on wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson. A pair of incompletions and two false start penalties on right tackle Evan Neal had the Giants facing fourth-and-goal from the 22-yard line before Lock’s desperation heave fell incomplete.
That sequence was emblematic of the sloppy mess the Giants have become. They committed 10 penalties for 85 yards on Sunday. That’s the third time in the past four games that they’ve been flagged 10 or more times.
Wide receiver Malik Nabers has been one of the few bright spots, recording seven catches for 68 yards Sunday to set the franchise’s rookie record with 97 receptions this season. But Nabers was flagged twice for illegal shifts — one that negated his own 23-yard catch and another that was declined because it occurred before a 55-yard pick-six by Falcons safety Jessie Bates. Nabers has been flagged for five illegal shift penalties this season, which is a league high.
“Unacceptable,” Daboll said. “Can’t have it. Again, put it on me.”
It’s unfair to place all of the blame on Daboll. Schoen is equally culpable for the unwatchable product on the field. His failure to acquire impact players in his first two drafts has left the team devoid of depth.
Yes, the Giants are banged up at this point, but there’s no excuse to get completely out-classed by a mediocre Falcons team that had been reeling. Atlanta had lost four straight before squeaking out a 15-9 win on Monday over the lowly Raiders, who were starting their No. 3 quarterback, Desmond Ridder.
The Falcons’ slump caused them to bench veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins and give rookie Michael Penix Jr. his first career start. The Giants elected to pick Nabers with the No. 6 selection in this year’s draft over Penix, who surprisingly went two picks later to Atlanta. The book is far from written on Penix’s career, but a start against an accommodating Giants defense allowed for a solid debut (18-for-27, 202 yards, no touchdowns, one interception).
A trial balloon was floated last week about firing Daboll and retaining Schoen. That’s a realistic outcome since Mara said at the owners’ meetings in March that he doesn’t see the coach and GM who arrived together from Buffalo as a “package deal.”
“They both have different jobs, different responsibilities and could have different levels of success,” Mara said.
Well, neither is experiencing any level of success. And with each loss, it becomes harder to look at the situation and come to any conclusion other than “it’s not good enough.”
