Ladies and Gentlemen, We have a Quarterback Controversy (Giants Saints Recap)
It feels so cliché to do the whole “only the Giants” thing, but show me another team that can dominate a first half, suffer a blowout loss at home, mount a historic comeback, and manufacture a quarterback controversy all within the span of four quarters.
Just another Sunday afternoon in the Meadowlands, I suppose.
The first 28 minutes of this game were going so, so well. Despite some misfires, Jameis was moving the ball, with some much-needed help from the latest evictee from the crowded doghouse: Tyrone Tracy.
We had Reese using O-linemen as projectiles and Carter cooking their sad sack of a left tackle. If we could maintain our double-digit lead, the game script would call for a lot more Abdul, and Shough would eventually make the backbreaking mistake I so desperately craved.
Instead, a long kickoff return allowed the Saints to kick a 58-yard field goal, giving them their first points of the afternoon. Then, on the ensuing kickoff, Charlie Jones fumbled away all our momentum and initiated a series of unfortunate events that only Lemony Snicket could conjure.
New Orleans had 71 yards of total offense at this point. Yet instead of living in a world where we’re up multiple scores heading into halftime, I had to watch Trey Lance’s less talented brother tie the game on fourth-and-goal as time expired.
It feels like this fumbling nightmare will never end. Week after week, it’s somebody else making a uniquely devastating mistake at the worst possible moment. Can’t wait for a long snap to hit Jordan Stout in the dick next weekend!
The second half went on to become the single most embarrassing stretch of the season. The Giants had the ball run down their throats by the most mediocre group of running backs the league has to offer.
Alvin Kamara is closer to claiming Social Security checks than being in his prime, and he’s out here tightroping down the sideline to score.
The Saints have done everything in their power to keep Kendre Miller off a football field for three years, yet he’s gonna turn into some bell cow against us?
While all this was going on, Jameis and the offense went three-and-out, hilarious interception, three-and-out, hilarious interception, and the deficit ballooned to 24 points.
In two shakes of a lamb’s tail, this game went from a presumed Giants victory to one in which JJ McCarthy and Spencer Rattler would appear in mop-up duty. What a treat.
After the offenses exchanged turnovers, things got quite interesting, to say the least. Once JJ led a quick, eight-point scoring drive, Rattler was sent right back to the bench with seven minutes to go.
An insanely quick three-and-out gave McCarthy another chance to blindly chuck the ball downfield in a comical three-play, 73-yard, 48-second scoring drive. This sequence consisted of the insanely bad YOLO ball to Charlie Jones, a called-back interception, and the 24-yard seed to Likely to cut the deficit to 10 points.
Another Shough three-and-out (noticing a trend?) gave the ball right back to the offense, which once again put points on the board, opting for a field goal attempt before the two-minute warning.
Here’s where I need to take Harbaugh to task. I don’t understand the logic of scoring at 2:04 and then kicking the ball off in bounds, potentially wasting the timeout and 40 seconds that probably would’ve come in handy on that final drive.
This, paired with two “way too early” failed onside-kick attempts and a pair of bad blindside-block penalties on returns, cost us almost 100 yards of field position during the comeback.
John Harbaugh has literally changed my life for the better, so trust me, I’m not calling for the guy’s job. But special teams, clock management, and general decision-making need to remain an advantage for this group if we want to stay competitive.
I appreciate the fight we showed in the fourth quarter, but we had a real opportunity to be on the winning side of one of these monumental collapses for a change. Missing this chance to flip the franchise’s fourth-quarter script by the mere seconds we wasted stings, I can’t lie.
Nabers and Likely were once again out of this world. They got open, made acrobatic grabs, and made defenders miss all game long. I sound like a broken record, but I don’t see why we can’t find these guys downfield until it’s an absolute necessity. This might be the best duo of playmakers in the league. Can we design some non-bubble-screen opportunities for them before the fourth quarter, please?
As I previously alluded to, JJ McCarthy’s heroics got us within one potentially missed PI call of tying or winning the game. The stats speak for themselves: he played with some serious balls and probably deserves his shot at starting sooner rather than later.
With that being said, I’m not certain it comes this week. He himself threw an interception and nearly threw at least two more. While his performance was extremely valiant, I’m not sure how repeatable it is given the reckless (yet quite necessary) nature of a lot of those throws.
The primary issue remains that we have no semblance of a running game. Benching Skattebo clearly didn’t fix shit, and for the third week in a row, we were forced into deploying an offense that 12-year-old me would run in Madden 05.
If the coaching staff truly feels like JJ’s read-option and running ability will open things up on the ground, then I fully support him starting next week. I just hope one incredible quarter doesn’t mask the fact that we were once again playing from behind a significant second-half deficit.
Assuming Washington gets embarrassed tonight, it looks like the whole East will lose this week, which means we remain in the driver’s seat of this clown car of a division. Making the necessary offensive adjustments and, more specifically, making the right quarterback decision will likely determine how long we hang around the playoff hunt.
So, where do you stand on the quarterback debate? Does JJ’s near miracle earn him the start against Houston, or do we keep living the Jameis Winston experience for one more week?
Sound off in the comments!
