ATLANTA — That didn't happen, but it really looked like it was going downhill for a few sections there.
If you didn't know any better, you would have been forgiven for thinking the Giants were going to lose. Trying to make it 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 bet their draft picks and demand a loss, but the players want to win. If they were really at their best on Sunday, I bet the Giants would actually be bad on the record.
Never say it can't get any worse, because it can and does get worse. The Giants lost 34-7 to the mediocre Falcons inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, marking the Giants' 100th anniversary as a franchise-record season with 10 consecutive losses.
The level of embarrassment cannot be expressed in words alone. The complete dominance and the abject weakness of an offense that allowed more points than they scored had to be felt and experienced. Quarterback Drew Lock took on the challenge, throwing one touchdown pass and two pick-six interceptions, leading to 14 points for the Falcons. Lock also lost the ball on a fumble after a sack. After the Giants took a 7-0 lead, the Falcons scored another 34 points. Lock completed 22 of 39 for 210 yards.
Looking to the future, the Giants retain the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, an award given to those who earn the evaluation and pick. The fate and hiring of head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schon are in doubt, as it doesn't feel like the Giants are on the right path and the trajectory of this dead team is a cruel look on everyone involved. Stability must be unstable.
Michael Penix Jr. made his NFL starting debut with the Falcons (8-7), and the rookie didn't have to do the heavy lifting. He had some great pitches, looked like a novice at times, and threw one unlucky interception that wasn't his fault. It was Penix (18 of 27, 202 yards) who contributed the most, not veteran Kirk Cousins, who fell into disrepute and was benched.
For the Giants (2-13), it was almost unimaginable that there were only two games left, as it seemed completely impossible to contend any further.
At least the Giants can say they made history now that 2024 is mercifully over for them. This franchise has never seen a team lose 10 games in a row. The 1976 and 2019 teams overcame nine-game losing streaks, followed by nine-game losing streaks at the end of the 2003 season (8 straight losses) and at the beginning of the 2004 season (opening game loss). This leaves them with an incomplete score of 10, with two games left to extend their winning streak even further.
Daniel Jones was the starting quarterback who suffered the first five losses in this horrific stretch. Tommy DeVito got the next one, Lock got the next two, DeVito again got the other (with Tim Boyle as a second-half relief pitcher), and Lock got his most recent start. I cut it. He frequently ran around under fire, spitting out the ball with surprising regularity. He has three pick-sixes and an interception in three starts.
Everything started off well for the Giants. After a three-and-out on the first series, he took a 7-0 lead on a 14-play drive punctuated by Lock's nifty roll to the left, finding running back Tyrone Tracy in the back of the end zone. The score was 2-0. Yard scoring catch. Tracy kept jumping up and down and bouncing his feet like the wide receiver he was early in his Purdue career.
The noisy building went quiet after that, but it didn't take long for the Giants to get back to their element. Soon the joint was jumping. Penix hit Darnell Mooney 22 yards to spark a drive that ended with a field goal to make it 7-3. The Giants got the ball back, got a first down, and when they entered Falcons territory, disaster struck. Lock delayed his throw to Wan'Dale Robinson, who was running a curl route, making it easier for safety Jesse Bates to get in front of Robinson. It was a routine interception, and Bates started racing, running 55 yards with no touches for a pick-six to make it 10-7.
Late in the second quarter, Lock was sacked by Kayden Ellis, who hit right guard Greg Van Roten. With 1:21 left before halftime, Lock fumbled and lost the ball, and the Falcons took over at the Giants 31-yard line. They reached the Giants' 7-yard line, but were unable to extend their lead as Dane Belton pulled tight end Kyle Pitts off the ball and Cordale Flotte intercepted it at the goal line.
Two plays into the second half, the right side of the offensive line (Evan Neal and Greg Van Roten) collapsed and put too much pressure on Lock, forcing defensive lineman Zach Harrison to deflect a pass. It will be done. The ball was popped out of the air by outside linebacker Matthew Judon, who returned it 26 yards for his second pick-six on Lock, giving the Giants a 24-7 lead. As always with the Giants, things got worse.
