Giants' grades in Week 16 loss to Atlanta Falcons: Failures by offense and coaching
Giants quarterback Drew Lock passes under pressure from Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dee Alford during the first half of a NFL game in Atlanta on Sunday. Credit: EPA-EFE/Shutterstock/Erik S Lesser
OFFENSE: F
When your turnovers lead directly to more opposing touchdowns (2) than you score for yourself (1) it’s a problem. Drew Lock’s two pick 6s plus a fumble gave him three turnovers in yet another game that demonstrated his lack of aplomb at an NFL level. The Giants had five possessions that were either three-and-outs or shorter thanks to those giveaways. And their last drive? They somehow figured out how to gain 103 yards – more than the length of the field! – while netting just 68 due to the 35 yards of penalties they committed and still didn’t get any points out of it.
DEFENSE: D
When Ty Summers and Darius Muasau are the inside linebackers and Raheem Layne is at safety for most of the second half it’s hard to expect anything more than what the Giants delivered. But They did have a turnover on Cor’Dale Flott’s interception off a pass broken up by Dane Belton late in the second quarter. Rookie Michael Penix Jr. completed 18-for-27 for 202 yards in his first NFL start but the real powerhouse of the Falcons offense was Bijan Robinson’s 94 rushing yards and two TDs.
SPECIAL TEAMS: D
The game was already out of hand late in the fourth quarter when Jamie Gillan’s punt went just 21 yards. Gillan said he couldn’t tell if the ball had been tipped or not by the pressure on him on that play; at least that would be an excuse. One sliver of positivity was Eric Gray’s 37-yard kickoff return in the second quarter but Lock fumbled on the very next play so any momentum from that evaporated quickly.
COACHING: F
Say this for Daboll: He doesn’t take the disappointments well. He is still jawing and screaming every time a Giants play blows up, and it happens quite often. Daboll said he didn’t think about swapping Lock out for Tommy DeVito even though no one would have blamed him if he had. The defense started out sending lots of blitzes and pressures to try to affect Penix but none of them got home and the Giants didn’t have a single sack.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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