Giants set franchise record with 10th straight loss
ATLANTA — It did not happen, but for a few stretches there it looked like it was actually going down.
If you did not know any better you would have been justified in thinking the Giants were trying to lose. Trying to look bad. Trying to … tank. This is a terrible thing to insinuate about a team and the players who are part of that team. Fans can call for losing for draft picks but players want to win. If they were indeed giving it their all on Sunday, then it must be that the Giants are actually as lame as their record says they are.
Never say it cannot get any worse because it can and it has. The Giants were thrashed by the mediocre Falcons, 34-7, inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium to stamp this 100th year for the Giants as the season when they set a franchise record with their 10th consecutive loss.
The extent of this embarrassment cannot be measured by mere words. It had to be felt and experienced, the total domination and the abject feebleness of an offense that gave up more points than it scored. Drew Lock, the quarterback to draw this assignment, tossed one touchdown pass and threw two Pick Six interceptions to hand the Falcons 14 points. Lock also lost the ball on a fumble after a sack. After the Giants took a 7-0 lead, the Falcons scored the next 34 points. Lock finished 22 of 39 for 210 yards.
Looking ahead, the Giants maintained their hold on the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, a prize for whoever gets to make the evaluations and the call. The fate and job security of head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen must be teetering, as there is no sense that the Giants are on the right path and this dead team walking is a brutal look for all involved.
Michael Penix Jr. made his NFL starting debut for the Falcons (8-7) and the rookie did not have to do any heavy lifting. He made some nice throws, at times looked like a newbie, tossed one unfortunate interception that was not his fault. Mostly, Penix (18 of 27, 202 yards) brought some juice and was not Kirk Cousins, the veteran who fell into disfavor and was benched.
For the Giants (2-13), it is almost unimaginable that they have two games remaining because they looked completely incapable of competing any further.
At least the Giants can say they made history as 2024 comes to a merciful end for them. Never before has this franchise put a team on the field that lost 10 consecutive games. The 1976 and 2019 teams labored through nine-game losing streaks and the tail end of the 2003 season (eight straight losses) and the start of the 2004 season (opening day loss) added up to a nine-game skid. Now there is an Imperfect 10, with two games left to add onto the streak.
Daniel Jones was the starting quarterback for the first five losses in this horrid stretch. Tommy DeVito got the next one, Lock the next two, DeVito again for one more (with Tim Boyle as a second-half relief pitcher) and Lock got the most recent start. He ran around, under fire far too often, and coughed the ball up with alarming regularity. He now has three Pick Six interceptions in his three starts.
It all started so decently for the Giants. After a three-and-out on their first series, they took a 7-0 lead on a 14-play drive punctuated by Lock’s nifty roll to his left to find running back Tyrone Tracy in the back of the end zone for a 2-yard scoring catch. Tracy leaped and kept his feet in bounds, looking like the wide receiver he was during the early stages of his college career at Purdue.
The loud building got quiet after that but it did not take long for the Giants to revert into what they are and the joint was jumping soon enough. Penix hit Darnell Mooney for 22 yards to spark a drive that ended with a field goal to make it 7-3. The Giants got the ball back, picked up a first down and moved into Falcons territory before disaster struck. Lock was late on his throw to Wan’Dale Robinson, who was running a curl route, making it easy for safety Jessie Bates to step in front of Robinson. It was a routine interception and it was off to the races for Bates, running untouched 55 yards for a Pick Six to make it 10-7.
Lock later in the second quarter was sacked by Kaden Elliss, who badly beat right guard Greg Van Roten. Lock lost the ball on a fumble with 1:21 remaining before halftime and the Falcons took over on the Giants’ 31-yard line. They made it all the way to the Giants’ 7-yard line but failed to add onto their lead when Dane Belton separated tight end Kyle Pitts from the ball and Cor’Dale Flott came up with an interception at the goal line.
Two plays into the second half, Lock had his pass deflected by defensive lineman Zach Harrison as the right side of the offensive line — Evan Neal and Greg Van Roten — caved in and allowed way too much pressure. The ball was plucked out of the air by outside linebacker Mattthew Judon, who returned 26 yards for a second Pick Six on Lock to put the Giants down 24-7. It got worse, as it usually does for the Giants.
