Greg Joseph's motto is that one kick doesn't define him.
If so, Joseph's picture would appear next to the words “Bad Timing.”
On Sunday, Joseph made the first of two fourth-quarter fumbles during a 17-7 loss to the Bengals at MetLife after the Giants had a fourth down on an 11-play drive. He hooked a 47-yard field goal to left that could have decided the game. stadium.
“It felt good. [off my foot]” said Joseph. “You have to go watch the film and be hard on yourself and re-evaluate and see what you want to fix mechanically and mentally in the process and go from there.”
The field goal operation looked good with 10:27 left, but longtime snapper Casey Kreiter handed the ball to new holder Matt Haack, who then passed the ball to injured Jamie Gillan. He served as punter and holder in place of .
“Every ball I put my foot on was on me,” Joseph said. “I look forward to making every kick.”
Haak signed on Saturday, so there was little time for all three to get on the same page before game day.
“We felt comfortable with him,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “We're not going to make excuses for that.”
This mistake may have shaken Daboll's trust in Joseph.
Instead of going for a 54-yard field goal that could have tied the game again with 3:01 left, Daboll left the offense on fourth-and-3 and Daniel Jones threw an incompletion.
“I thought we had really reached the pinnacle.” [of his range]” Daboll said. “We felt it was best to go for it in that quarter.”
Joseph is 17-of-29 from 50 yards or more in his career, including a 61-yarder to beat Daboll's Giants on Christmas Eve in 2022.
“It's the coach's choice,” Joseph said. “When my number is called, I'm ready to go.”
Joseph finally got his second chance with 51 seconds left when the Giants attempted an onside kick to try to make it a one-score game. He missed again, missing to the left from 45 yards.
Joseph was playing in his fourth game after being signed because Graham Gano suffered a hamstring injury.
Gano is eligible to return from injured reserve this week, but the timing was even worse for Joseph, who has yet to carry a heavy workload in practice.
It was just two weeks ago that Joseph made all five of his field goals in his home debut with the Giants. It was a significant rebound from the previous week, when Jones missed a 48-yard right-wide fielder and Daboll did not respond in the ensuing vote of confidence.
The Giants have rookie kicker Jude McAtamny on their practice squad, but he is currently considered a kickoff specialist.
