Defense delivers, but it’s not enough to carry Big Blue
The Giants seemed destined for a blowout loss to the Rams Sunday, but they scraped together a solid defensive performance against one of the best teams in the NFL. It just wasn’t enough to overcome the struggles from Daniel Jones and the Giants offense.
A slow start and devastating late turnover doomed the Giants to a 17-9 loss. They faced three fourth-and-19s on their first four drives and Jones was sacked four times within the first 20 minutes of game time. Running back Wayne Gallman was able to break off a 26-yard run, the longest of his career, but for the most part the Giants run game was shut down by the Rams’ front seven.
The Giants were only able to stay in this game because of their defense. After they gave up a touchdown on their first drive of the game, they allowed only a field goal up until halfway through the fourth quarter. Defensive tackle Austin Johnson forced a fumble on tight end Gerald Everett and later sacked Jared Goff near the goal line.
Big Blue’s defensive line performed well against the Rams’ formidable run blocking. It held the Rams to just 2.5 yards per carry and notched seven tackles for loss on 23 carries. Goff averaged only 6.3 yards per attempt for the entire game.
“I think that’s the type of team we want to be, and I think overall it’s something we’ll hold our hat high on, but at the end of the day, it’s a production league,” linebacker Blake Martinez said. “It’s getting wins, and that’s what we want, and I think we’re not going to be satisfied until that happens.”
Unfortunately, the Giants defense broke at the worst possible moment, allowing Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp to score a wide open 55-yard touchdown on a broken coverage halfway through the fourth quarter. Kupp’s touchdown extended the Rams lead to 17-9 and the Giants offense couldn’t respond.
“He kind of just squared me up,” cornerback James Bradberry said about the play. “He had a two-way go on me. I stopped my feet. It was just bad technique by me.”
Jones and the Giants offense faced fourthand-11 in Rams territory with under three minutes left, but they were unable to convert for a first down. Jones’ pass for Golden Tate was a bit off, just barely hitting the top of Tate’s hands.
After a quick three and out forced by the Giants defense, Jones was able to find wide receiver Darius Slayton open for a 33-yard strike as the two minute warning passed. Jones created some magic of his own, escaping a sack from multiple Rams defenders and scrambling for a first down with 90 seconds left in the game. Jones scrambled for another first down, putting Big Blue just outside the red zone on what would be its final drive of the game.
Unfortunately, Jones’ heroics ended there as he threw a game-sealing interception with 50 seconds left. a