Defense, special teams major mess
Ever wonder what might happen if the Giants’ defense and special teams struggled in the same game?
Wonder no more. Because the perennially broken offense — led Sunday by backup quarterback Mike Glennon — vacuums up all the margin for error, the Giants learned during a 37-21 loss to the Chargers that mistakes in the other two parts of the game is a quick path to a 30-point fourth-quarter deficit.
“We put ourselves in a bad spot early in the game. That’s not OK,” safety Logan Ryan said. “That’s not OK in our situation with the season. That’s not OK for the fans, for the franchise. It’s not OK how we performed.”
There’s a tried-and-true formula for head coach Joe Judge’s Giants to stay competitive: Hold opponents under 21 points — as has been the case in all 10 wins over the last two seasons combined — plus win the field-position battle and hope to scrape together enough scoring.
“We were giving up too many touchdowns in the beginning of the game,” Ryan said. “By the second half, when we tried to get some things under control, it was too much damage done early.”
The Giants allowed two identical touchdown drives (nine plays for 60 yards) over the first 18 minutes and another 10 points over the final 4:15 of the first half. But the firsthalf problems go deeper than just points allowed: The Chargers gained a first down (18) on nearly half of their offensive snaps (40), converted 4 of 7 on third down and possessed the ball for more than 18 minutes.
“When you practice a play in practice and see it in the game and don’t make it, that’s on you,” Ryan said after he allowed a 59-yard touchdown strike. “When some of our communication wasn’t as good as it needs to be, that’s on us. We preached turnovers all week — worked really hard at them —and we didn’t get them. We have to go make some of those game-changing plays just for our season, just for our franchise.”
It wasn’t any better on special teams.
Punter Riley Dixon’s miserable season continued when he booted a touchback from the 50yard line instead of pinning the ball inside the 20-yard line. Then he shanked an 18-yard punt leading to a touchdown, when a longer punt would have likely ended the half. Then he fired an incomplete pass out of bounds on a fake punt in the third quarter.
Normally reliable kicker Graham Gano sent a kickoff out of bounds.
“With how close every game is in this league and how fine a line it is between success and coming up short, you can’t afford to make mistakes,” Judge said. “There were too many opportunities out there we didn’t take advantage of.”
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Daniel Jones left town. The Giants stayed behind.
Jones and Ronnie Barnes, the senior vice president of medical services, returned to New York on Sunday night to meet Monday with neck and spine specialist Dr. Frank Cammisa at the Hospital for Special Surgery. The rest of the Giants’ contingent stayed on the West Coast on Sunday after the 37-21 loss to the Chargers and will return home Monday.
Jones will get another MRI of his neck, which was injured Nov. 28 in a victory over the Eagles. The Giants continue to maintain there is no information that points to Jones missing the remainder of the season, but he will not be cleared for contact until the medical experts determine he will not risk further damage if he plays.
Jones’ replacement, Mike Glennon, completed 17 of 36 passes for 191 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
“Not my best,’’ Glennon, wo fell to 6-23 as an NFL starter, said of his performance. ➤ Coach Joe Judge said “we considered everything’’ when asked if there was any thought to play Jake Fromm in the second half. The Giants signed Fromm two weeks ago off the Bills’ practice squad.
“We’ll play our players in the game based on how they practiced and prepared and who gives us the best chance to have success,’’ Judge said.
➤ Defensive lineman Leonard Williams, who never misses a game and rarely misses a snap, did not make it into the second quarter, leaving the field because of an elbow injury. After heading into the locker room, Williams returned to the sideline and put on his helmet, looking as if he would return to the game late in the second quarter. He did not, and then sat out the entire second half.
“I know it hurts him beyond the injury not being out with his team,’’ Judge said. “Hopefully it’s something that’s short term.’’
➤ Matt Peart was dusted off and actually got in the game on offense. He replaced Nate Solder for two series in the first half. Ben Bredeson also got time at left guard in place of Matt Skura, as the Giants went back to the rotations on their offensive line that were prevalent early in the season. … The 60-yard run-andcatch for TE Kyle Rudolph in the first quarter was the longest reception of his 10year NFL career.
➤ The Chargers were forced to go without Derwin James, their star safety. He was added to the injury report Saturday with a hamstring issue and he was inactive for the game. They also were without their top wide receiver, Keenan Allen, who is in COVID-19 protocol.