It didn't take long for Jake Kubas to fit right in with the rest of the error-prone Giants.
The undrafted rookie, who made his NFL debut on the short-handed offensive line, committed a penalty and missed a block Sunday in a 14-11 loss to the Saints at MetLife Stadium, and the Giants effectively lost two field goal attempts. Lost 6 points in the 4th quarter.
The Giants had a number of penalties, including one that canceled out a touchdown on a punt return, but he also dropped a pass, missed a tackle and evaded him, grabbed a leaping Peyton Turner by the shoulders, and Kubass Flagged for unnecessary roughness, two big men tumbled out. ground.
The penalty nullified Graham Gano's 48-yard field goal (which would have turned an 11-point deficit into a one-point game) and forced the Giants to punt instead.
“I think he said I grabbed his leg when he jumped into the air,” Kubas said. “I was just trying to block him as physically as possible and finish the play. It turned out to be a penalty. I was just trying to get my hands down to not block his kick. .”
Gano said it was “very hard to believe” that the ball was still in the air when the flag was thrown, meaning it was not a dead-ball foul for which points would count.
Head coach Brian Daboll clearly didn't agree with the decision, saying, “They're running right through the middle of him, and he's just trying to finish.” “And they called a penalty.”
Perhaps sensing that Kubas might be a little hesitant about taking the next field goal snap, Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi, one of the NFL's best special teams coordinators, said the Giants would tie the score. When they lined up for 35 points, they targeted Kvass. Yarder with 11 seconds left.
“We changed our technique a little bit based on some of the things they were doing on the rush,” Daboll said.
At this moment, Nathan Shepard immediately pushed Kvass to the ground, and Brian Brisey jumped over Kvass' back to create an airway and block the kick.
It was similar to a play the Giants used to prevent a last-minute field goal in their previous win, Oct. 6 against the Seahawks.
“They kind of pushed the top of my shoulder pad down,” Kubas said. “He's a good athlete. He's got to get better.”
Kubas joined the Giants' roster from training camp, but was not used until Sunday when John Runyan Jr. was injured.
“When it executes as well as they do, it's hard to stop,” Gano said. “I don't think you can blame our staff at all for that. I felt like we hit some good kicks. We were still pumped when he blocked.”
It was part of a roller coaster day for the Giants' special teams, stopping a fake punt and preventing a field goal.
However, cornerback Greg Stroman Jr. was penalized for holding to take Ihimir Smith-Marsette's 56-yard punt return touchdown off the board.
“I'm just fighting as hard as I can,” Stroman said. “Lev saw me having it. There's nothing I can do. Things like that happen. It's a tough day.”
