With 2-8 mark, Giants should start looking to 2020
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. >> After 10 games, the New York Giants’ 2019 season is pretty much over.
Look at the NFC standings. The Giants are 2-8 heading into the bye week and riding a six-game losing streak after a 3427 defeat to the rival Jets at MetLife Stadium Sunday.
Their only hope of making the playoffs would be to win the NFC East. Dallas and the Eagles share the division lead with 5-4 records and the Cowboys have beaten Pat Shurmur’s team twice.
Even if the Giants went on a six-game winning streak, the best they could do would be 8-8. That means beating Chicago (4-5), Green Bay (8-2), the Eagles twice, Washington (1-8) and Miami (27), which is riding a two-game winning streak.
That’s asking a lot of a young, errorprone team.
“There is a lot to be learned,” Shurmur said Monday. “There’s, I guess, pains that come with growing and we’ve just got to be very consistent, we’ve got to raise them right, we’ve got to coach them hard, and we’ve got to do like you do with any player. But they have the ability to get experience, and we all know there is no substitute for experience.”
To be honest, it’s experience that might be useful in 2020. It’s hard to say whether Shurmur will be the coach, James Bettcher will be the defensive coordinator or Dave Gettleman the general manager. Change happens when a team makes the playoffs once since 2011.
Shurmur has no plans of making coaching changes during the bye. He just wants to win. A couple of games would be helpful after a 5-11 mark in his first season.
Broncos rookie Lock returning to practice this week
ENGLEWOOD, COLO. >> The Denver Broncos are bringing rookie quarterback Drew Lock back to practice Tuesday to see if he’s going to be able to play this season.
The second-round draft pick from Missouri went on IR to start the season after spraining his right thumb in an Aug. 19 preseason game against San Francisco.
His return will start a 21-day clock in which the Broncos (3-6) must decide whether to put him on the active roster or send him back to IR, ending his season and delaying his evaluation until 2020.
It’s that three-week window that prevented coach Vic Fangio from bringing Lock off IR two weeks ago when Joe Flacco (neck) went on IR and 27-yearold waiver wire claim Brandon Allen led Denver past Cleveland 24-19 in his first NFL start.
Fangio didn’t want the 21-day clock ticking on Lock during the Broncos’ Week
10 bye, so he waited until this week to bring him back.
Browns coach Kitchens: Benching of WR Callaway only one game
CLEVELAND >> Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said wide receiver Antonio Callaway’s benching was a one-game punishment.
Callaway didn’t play in Sunday’s 19-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills after being a surprising healthy scratch despite quarterback Baker Mayfield saying the receiver had been included in the game plan.
Kitchens did not divulge his reasons for sitting Callaway, who was suspended four games earlier this season by the NFL for violating the league’s drug policy.
On a conference call Monday, Kitchens said he wasn’t confident the 22-year-old Callaway would respond to the discipline.
“I don’t know if he got the message or not,” Kitchens said. “But I’m not wavering.”
Kitchens said any conversations with Callaway will remain “between Antonio and I” but added the benching “was only for yesterday.”
The benching gave more playing time to wide receiver Rashard Higgins, who caught a 7-yard touchdown pass with 1:44 left as the Browns snapped a four-game losing streak.
Kitchens was asked if he was disappointed or frustrated that he had to penalize Callaway, given his somewhat checkered history in college and during his short time as a pro. The Browns have been patient with him.