New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) on the field after losing to the Seattle Seahawks, 24-3, at MetLife Stadium on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, in East Rutherford.
Syndication: The Record
(East Rutherford, NJ) – There were plenty of bad plays to go around for the New York Giants on Monday night during the loss against the Seattle Seahawks.
Some in particular stand out, including the pick six that sealed the game, and the failed fourth down “tush push” that also left several players injured. Defensively, failing to bring down Noah Fant when he went for 51 yards just before half time was ugly and indicative of the team’s inability to tackle.
But focusing on the offensive side, where the Giants failed to score a TD and mustered just 3 points total, it seems like everything is going wrong everywhere you look.
And the general ineffectiveness, miscommunication, and lack of cohesiveness was on perfect display with 1:14 left to play in the second quarter. The Giants were trailing 14 to 3, and on third-and-11, Daniel Jones handed the ball off to Matt Breida for a four-yard gain. As he failed to pick up the first down, boos rained down from the MetLife Stadium stands. Jones looked confused and seemed to be discussing the play call with head coach Brian Daboll and quarterbacks coach Coach Shea Tierney, saying he “thought” something different than what the coaching staff actually intended to be called.
After the game, Dabbol told reporters that, “(it) was a miscommunication. It was not [the play call]. It was a miscommunication. Daniel thought he heard something, one thing, and it was another thing, and a miscommunication.”
But it’s fair to wonder if the miscommunication and disorganization goes deeper. During the Giants furious second half comeback against the Arizona Cardinals, TV cameras showed Daboll holding a play sheet in front of his face. Typically, that’s done by whoever is calling the plays – but offensive coordinator Mike Kafka calls the plays, per Daboll. The botched play call on Monday night could be an indicator things are messy, and getting messier.
Later in the game, after Jones threw the backbreaking and game-ending pick six, Daboll was shown yelling at his QB along the sideline. The coach referenced something on an iPad and then angrily tossed it to the ground. Afterward, Daboll downplayed the incident, and maintained he wasn’t tossing the tablet at Jones, saying: “Yeah, I’m not doing that. I wouldn’t throw a tablet there. I just tossed it to the side, because there was obviously a little bit of frustration. But no, I wouldn’t throw a tablet at him. I’m just coaching. I’m coaching Daniel when he comes off the field. Again, the tablet thing, I’d have to go back and see it. But I remember exactly what it is. We were talking about a particular play and I just tossed it off to the side.”
Missed play calls. Multiple injuries on missed fourth-down plays. Tossed tablets. It’s bad vibes in the Meadowlands for these Giants. And it could get worse. Can Daboll keep it together? That remains to be seen.
