SAM ERA BEGINS
Jets QB’s career takes off tonight
When it was over, when what felt like a gigantic wasted opportunity was finally official, when at last the Giants did not have to knock heads anymore with perhaps the NFL’s best defense, there was this from Eli Manning:
“We can get things going and we can play at a high level,’’ the seen-it-all-before 37-year old quarterback said. “We will make it work.’’ Will they? Will the Giants be able to look back on Sunday’s season-opening 20-15 loss to the Jaguars at cool and soggy MetLife Stadium and uncover evidence they are on the right track? Pat Shurmur witnessed in his first game as head coach what Tom Coughlin and Ben McAdoo learned in recent years, that a substandard offensive line, lowlighted by Ereck Flowers (new position, same slop) ruins most everything. One touchdown is not going to cut it, even if that one is a brilliant 68-yard run by rookie Saquon Barkley that included an outrageous jump-cut and sprinter’s speed down the right sideline.
Other than that o ne h i g hlight run, Barkley (18 carries, 106 yards) was mortal in his debut . Odell B eckham J r. in his f irst game in nearly a year caught 11 passes for 111 yards, often matched up with Ja l en Ramsey, one of t he l e a g ue’s top cornerbacks. He did Odell things, although he never busted through the superior Jag uars defense for that one uplifting burst his team needed.
“There have been a lot of times where OK, cool, you had a good game but you still lost,’’ Beckham said. “This time there is so much positive to take from it. This is a brand-new team. It’s a great starting point for us. We have something to build off of.’’
This was too much too soon for the Giants’ rebuilt offensive line, going against such a rugged defensive front. The Giants trailed 13-6 at halftime and 20-9 early in the fourth quarter after linebacker Myles Jack waltzed in on a 32-yard interception return that was al l about Manning’s protection leaking badly. Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue beat Flowers so quickly that when Manning received the snap he was immediately under siege and forced to step up in the pocket, into danger. Right guard Patrick Omameh could not contain nose tackle Abry Jones, who reached up and deflected the pass intended for Barkley into the air, where Jack was waiting.
“If a defensive lineman tips the ball, at the end of the day, got to keep their hands down,’’ Omameh said.
Manning defended Flowers — who was called for penalties on the f irst and third plays of the season.
“They had a pretty good fake blitz that put Ereck in a bind trying to block two guys,’’ he said. “Bad things happen and sometimes you can’t control those things.’’
Barkley’s one-play brilliance pulled the Giants within 20-15 with 10:39 remaining, but the t wo- p o i n t c o nve r s i o n t r y, a middle run to Barkley that was stopped short, meant a touchdown was needed to win the game. Still, the joint was jumping.
“It was amazing; it was a great feeling, but it was a feeling that came and went,’’ Barkley said. “One touchdown is not going to win the game, and that touchdown didn’t win the game this week.’’
There were two more possessions to do it. The f irst ended when Barkley came up a yard short of the f irst down on a 4-yard reception and the second, after completions of 21 and 19 yards to Beckham, fizzled when Manning’s fourth-down pass was hurried — again, Flowers’ blocking was suspect — and Sterling Shepard could not break free of D.J. Hayden’s coverage.
“We bat t l e d a re a l ly go o d defense,’’ Shurmur said. “You’re looking at a top-10 defense and we battled them. We can prob- ably all point to individual bad pays by everyone, me included.’’
With bruising running back Leonard Fournette forced out in the second quarter with an injured hamstring, the Jaguars’ seven offensive possessions in the second half all ended with punts. There should have been one l ast- gasp chance fo r the Giants, with 45 seconds remaining and no timeouts to work with, but Kaelin Clay signed a week ago, committed the cardinal sin of muffing the punt, leaving Manning, Beckham and Barkley on the sideline.
“That was tough,’’ said tight end Evan Engram, who lamented t hree passes he dropped. “We got to find a way to secure that ball and give us a shot. You never know what can happen. It def initely was breathtaking we weren’t even able to get a shot.
“We’re close and we’re a lot better than we were last year. That’s why I feel a little encouraged, but it still sucks we weren’t able to get it done.’’