There were several head-scratching coaching choices and plays at the end of the Giants’ 34-27 defeat against the Saints that certainly raised some eyebrows.
For instance, while trailing 34-24 and driving into New Orleans territory, it seemed puzzling why the Giants didn’t attempt a field goal with around three minutes left to quickly narrow the gap to one score.
They had managed to reach the New Orleans 27-yard line with 2:56 remaining and still had two timeouts at their disposal, yet chose to go for a touchdown instead.
Unfortunately, right tackle Marcus Mbow was flagged for a false start, and then quarterback J.J. McCarthy faced an 8-yard sack. After a couple more attempts, the Giants settled for a 41-yard field goal by Dominic Zvada, trimming the lead to 34-27 with just 2:04 on the clock.
Head coach John Harbaugh defended the decision, stating, “We went for the field goal as soon as we could with a reasonable chance to make it.”
Harbaugh indicated that his intent was to secure a touchdown there, which would have cut the lead to three points. “We had a chance to take a couple of shots and maybe score,” he mentioned. “So, at that point, we were aiming to accomplish that by 2:13. That’s the time management situation. We weren’t able to quite hit that mark because of the clock. Ideally, we would have liked to get it done by 2:13; that’s what we were aiming for.”
He added, “We’re trying to score twice, and the two-minute warning is important if we can manage it right. We want that two-minute warning to work in our favor. That’s our goal.”
Another misstep occurred when Zvada’s subsequent kickoff was short enough that Bryce Lance managed to return it from 5 yards deep, effectively negating the chance for the Giants to utilize the two-minute warning as a timeout.
Lance’s return ended with 1:58 left on the clock, costing the Giants a valuable opportunity.
“We want to kick it out of the end zone; that’s the goal, what we were hoping for,” Harbaugh remarked.
If Zvada had succeeded in doing that, it would have compelled the Saints to run a play before the two-minute warning.
When asked about the decision not to kick the ball out of bounds, Harbaugh replied, “We thought he could get it out of the back of the end zone.”
Zvada acknowledged the mistake, saying, “That was on me, and it’s something I need to improve on. The aim was to get it out of the end zone so we could stop the clock before the two-minute warning and save a timeout.”
