NO SHOCK HERE
Herbert, Chargers way too much for hopeless 4-9 Giants
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — There was a generational talent on the field with the Giants on Sunday.
His name was Justin Herbert. The Chargers’ quarterback was the best player the Giants have faced all year. They had no answer for his cannon arm in a 37-21 loss at SoFi Stadium, the $5 billion palace that will host Super Bowl LVI in February.
“He’s gonna be one of the best quarterbacks in the league for a long time,” Giants QB Mike Glennon said, “because there’s just not many guys on this planet that can throw the ball like that.”
Herbert’s talent was on display in all its glory on a jaw-dropping 59-yard TD pass to Jalen Guyton with
17 seconds to go before halftime.
The throw traveled 63 yards in the air from L.A.’s 34-yard line to the Giants’
3. There was no excuse for safeties Logan Ryan and Xavier McKinney getting beaten over top, but they didn’t know what hit them.
“It’s just very frustrating,” Ryan said. “I’m frustrated with myself. You have to make split-second decisions as a pro athlete, and I didn’t make the right one there. I’m frustrated for my teammates, I’m frustrated for my coaches. We practiced that play. We were prepared for that play, and I just didn’t make that play. It’s on us, it’s on me. I’m frustrated, but the kid’s got (an) arm and he ripped it down the middle of our defense.”
Ryan said “95%” of quarterbacks can’t make that throw.
“It’s rare,” he said. “I thought I was in a spot to go steal it and he put it on a rope. You don’t see that every day … (but) I feel like I let a lot of people down with that.”
Saquon Barkley, Dave Gettleman’s “generational” running back, meanwhile came up small in another game the Giants needed him to star in to have a chance.
He caught an 18-yard TD pass from Mike Glennon on a double move in garbage time, but it was too late to make an impact on the game. It was his first TD since Week 4.
He had 95 total scrimmage yards but 28 of them and the TD came in the fourth quarter. He had two bad first-half runs that helped stall drives as the Chargers were building a lead that ballooned to 30-7 with 5:05 left in the third quarter.
“I felt a little more explosive today getting comfortable with the rock, but I’ve gotta go back and watch film before I can better answer,” he said.
Daniel Jones (neck strain), the QB the Giants drafted in 2019 after Herbert decided to stay at Oregon an extra year, went through a long pregame workout but remained sidelined and helpless to do anything but watch.
Brandon Staley’s Chargers (8-5) beat Joe Judge’s Giants (4-9) in every conceivable way. Herbert didn’t even have to play the whole game. Chase Daniel replaced him late in the fourth after Barkley’s TD.
Herbert’s offense ran the ball at will with Austin Ekeler and a committee of backs behind an offensive line that pushed around the Giants defensive front.
Herbert threw touchdown passes to Guyton, Josh Palmer and Jared Cook. The Giants in no way took advantage of the absences of Chargers receiver Keenan Allen and safety Derwin James.
Glennon was bad for a second straight loss, often throwing to the wrong receiver or behind guys. He accounted for three TDs, two passing and one rushing, an interception and a lost fumble. Two of the TDs and the INT came in garbage time. “Disappointing,” Glennon said. When he was on target, Darius
Slayton dropped a pass and Kenny Golladay hauled in only one of his first six targets—all contested—for five yards.
Sterling Shepard returned after missing four straight games and didn’t make a catch until his second target with under three minutes to play in the third quarter.
Everyone chipped into the misery. The offense answered Ekeler’s 1-yard TD to open scoring with a 3-yard Glennon TD pass to running back Eli Penny at 1:29 of the first quarter.
It was set up by Kyle Rudolph’s career-high 60-yard catch and run on a nice throw by Glennon, who stood strong to make the throw and got walloped on a blitz.
But the good feelings didn’t last long. Graham Gano put the ensuing kickoff out of bounds, giving Herbert the ball at L.A.s 40 and setting up a second-straight nine-play, 60-yard Chargers TD drive.
Jarren Williams committed a holding penalty on one punt coverage. Riley Dixon punted a ball 18 yards in the second quarter, providing breathing room for Herbert’s ridiculous TD throw with 17 seconds left in the half.
The Giants have been outscored 59-0 this season in the final two minutes of first halves: 42-0 in the first six weeks, 3-0 in the next five, and 14-0 in the last two.
Dixon also airmailed a throw intended for a wide-open Keion Crossen on a fake punt that would have been an easy first down.
“You gotta go out there and execute,” Judge said. “You can’t afford to go out there and make mistakes. There were too many opportunities out there today that we didn’t take advantage of. There’s plenty of things where we’ve got to be better.”
Gano, Cam Brown and Crossen successfully executed an onside kick late in the fourth quarter, but it was too late to make a difference.