A FOUR-GONE CONCLUSION
Jints' season over after another last-second 'L'
TAMPA, Fla. — The 2017 Giants did what they do best, what they specialize in, what they are now known for. The Giants show up, they play, they lose.
So it was again on a sultry Sunday afternoon, the fourth game of the season, loss No. 4 in hauntingly similar fashion to loss No. 3, on the road, at the very end, with a kicker nailing the field goal that sent the Giants packing after a slow start on offense, a brutal finish on defense and a whole bunch of not-good-enough stuff in between.
So, Buccaneers 25, Giants 23 after Nick Folk’s 34-yard field goal as time expired was quite a bit like last week’s Eagles 27, Giants 24 on another last-second kick. Then, it was a limp out of Lincoln Financial Field. Now, it was a stagger out of Raymond James Stadium. To where? Nowhere good, that is for darn sure.
The Giants are losing on the field and tension is rising. Jason Pierre-Paul said, “I’m on outta here” and exited the locker room without talking to the media. B.J Goodson and Brad Wing also declined comment. Stopped outside the locker room, rookie kicker Aldrick Rosas paused, said, “I’m good” as he brushed off an interview.
“Quiet, man,’’ linebacker Jonathan Casillas said, describing the mood in the locker room. “Everybody’s pissed off. Nobody likes to lose. For us to be a month through the season, four weeks and no wins, very, very, very frustrating. It’s getting old, that’s for sure. It’s getting old.’’ It is past old. “It’s rough, crazy,’’ cornerback Eli Apple said. “Feels like a dark cloud over us at times.’’ Ben McAdoo, after 11-5 in his debut head coaching season, is 0-4 in his second.
“I’m not surprised,’’ he said. “I’m not shocked. I’m disappointed, irritated.’’
Asked about the possibility of a playoff push, the decibel level in McAdoo’s voice rose.
“We need to win a damn game,’’ he barked.
There is some unappetizing slop being served up here as the Giants plunged to 0-4 in a season in which the playoffs were considered not only a realistic goal, but an expected goal.
On cue, they fell behind (13-0) early and took late leads of 17-16 on rookie Wayne Gallman’s 4yard touchdown catch late in the third quarter and 23-22 with 3:16 remaining on Eli Manning’s 2yard scoring flip to Rhett Ellison. The Giants appeared to succeed on the two-point conversion, with Odell Beckham Jr. making the catch in the back of the end zone, which would have boosted the lead to three points. Beckham, though, had stepped out of the end zone and became the first player to touch the ball, a penalty that wiped out the conversion.
“There’s really no point in talking about it,’’ Beckham said. “It’s not like anything is going to change, so we didn’t make the conversion.’’ It was a costly miss. “I thought we were in a good spot,’’ right tackle Justin Pugh said. “Not getting the two-point conversion, though, I was thinking I hope this doesn’t come back to bite us.’’
Everything comes back to bite these Giants.
Protection of a one-point lead was the responsibility of a defense that hemorrhaged big plays all day. A busted coverage left rookie tight end O.J. Howard embarrassingly wide open on an uncontested 58yard touchdown that put the Bucs up 13-0 in the first quarter. A Jameis Winston 14-yard TD pass to tight end Cameron Brate, with Casillas trailing the play and then falling down, put the Bucs ahead 22-17 with 7:44 to go.
Winston made quick work the Giants on the game-winning drive — just as Carson Wentz did seven days earlier.
“As a defense once you get the lead you don’t want anyone to take it from you,’’ Apple said. The Bucs took it without much resistance, with a 26-yard pass to Brate — who flat out beat safety Landon Collins — made the pressure kick a routine one for Folk, who struggled all game, missing an extra point and field-goals attempts of 46 and 49 yards.
“Our offense is the one keeping us in the game these last two games,’’ Casillas said. “Our defense got to be the ones that suck it up and make a damn play when it comes down to it.’’
This was an all-encompassing loss. Rosas was wide right on a 43yard field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter that could have extended a 17-16 Giants lead. Brad Wing, for the second consecutive week, misfired on a punt, this time an unsightly 15-yarder that set the Bucs up, trailing by one point, on their 43-yard line. Brandon Marshall continues to drop passes, none bigger than the one on third down early in the fourth quarter that preceded Wing’s lame punt.
“Just not playing well right now,’’ Marshall said. “I haven’t played a solid game since I’ve been here.’’
It added up to another loss and this grim reality: The only team to ever start a season 0-4 and make the playoffs was the 1992 Chargers.
“There’s a 1 percent chance you can play in the NFL, so anything is possible,’’ Beckham said.
“Odds were crazy at 0-3, but at 0-4 I guess the odds of making it are even more astronomical,’’ Pugh said.
“I didn’t think there was one team at all,’’ added Casillas. “Hopefully we can be the second one.’’