Big Blue View
Rookie running back says. he “just didn’t hold the ball correctly” on overtime fumble
Tyrone Tracy was an emotional wreck on the sideline Sunday after his fumble on the first play of overtime set up the game-winning field as the New York Giants lost to the Carolina Panthers, 20-17.
Head in his hands with a towel placed over him by a coach for a tiny bit of privacy, the rookie running back was inconsolable.
After the game, a somber Tracy explained what happened.
“I just didn’t hold the ball correctly,” Tracy said. “I was trying to make a move, so I got in a hole. Got to get the ball up. That’s on me. I’ve got to live with it.”
Tracy, a fifth-round pick, had a 32-yard touchdown run and finished with 103 yards on 18 carries. That is his third 100-yard rushing game since taking over as the Giants’ lead running back six games ago.
Tracy, though, was involved in a pair of costly turnovers late in the game. The overtime fumble was, of course, the play that ultimately doomed the Giants.
Tracy also failed to catch a pass from Daniel Jones on third-and-7 from the Carolina 8-yard that turned into an interception with 6:02 to play, costing the Giants an opportunity for a field goal.
“It was hard,” Tracy said of dealing with how the game ended. “I put a lot into this game — blood, sweat and tears — the same way everybody says, but I play with passion. I feel like you can see that on the field. I have a lot of energy, and I hold myself to a high standard. When things like that happen with the game on the line in overtime, we come all the way back, that’s the last thing on your mind that you want to happen.
“I feel like for me, I hold myself to a high standard. So whenever that happens, all of my emotions kind of came out of me at that moment.”
Tracy leads the Giants in rushing with 545 yards on 107 carries, an average of 5.1 yards per carry. He has a chance at a 1,000-yard rushing season despite not becoming a starter until Week 5.
