Big Blue View
The New York Giants’ 33-32 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday is the most painful, hard to understand, loss by the Giants in a long time. Let’s get to the ‘Kudos & Wet Willies’ review. Yes, we have to. Sorry!
Daniel Bellinger — So, maybe it was a good thing I talked to Bellinger 1-on-1 last week. He had three catches for a career-high 88 yards, besting the 52 yards he compiled against the New Orleans Saints two weeks ago. He had a 44-yard touchdown catch, a 29-yard catch and nearly had an 18-yard touchdown catch.
Why is it, though, that Bellinger keeps doing his best work in games the Giants lose?
Wan’Dale Robinson — I continue to be amazed by the 5-foot-8 Robinson. He had six receptions for 95 yards (15.8 yards per catch), including a 19-yard fourth-and-19 grab with 1:08 to play and the Giants needing a touchdown. Poor quarterback play can’t be the only reason the Giants weren’t able to unlock this kind of play in Robinson’s first three seasons.
Dane Belton — Whatever else Belton did or did not do, and he did a lot with 10 tackles, his touchdown-saving tackle of Courtland Sutton on fourth-and-2 with the Giants leading 13-0 late in the second quarter, is ‘Kudos’ worthy by itself.
Cor’Dale Flott — Flott was outstanding on Sunday, and his four-tackle, two passes defensed, one tackle for loss stat line hardly tells you why. Flott was in perfect position on an incomplete deep ball at the goal line intended for Marvin Mims. He also knocked the ball away from Troy Franklin on a beautifully thrown deep out. The last time I saw Pro Football Focus numbers before they were taken down, Flott had allowed just two completions on 10 targets.
Brian Burns — Two more sacks give Burns 9.0 on the season. He is a talented, relentless player even when he is not 100%, which he clearly was not as Sunday’s game wore on. Burns also had three tackles for loss, two quarterback hits and a pass defensed.
I won’t kill Burns for his offsides penalty on Denver’s final drive. Reporters on the scene said he left the stadium with a walking boot on his right foot.
Burns was not happy at the end of the game.
Andrew Thomas — The star left tackle neutralized Nik Bonitto, who entered the game leading the league with 8.0 sacks, to the point where Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph eventually moved Bonitto to the other side against Jermaine Eluemunor. Thomas also caved in the entire side of the Broncos’ defense on Tyrone Tracy’s 31-yard touchdown run.
Defense … for three quarters — The Giants held Denver scoreless for three quarters, and entered the fourth quarter not having surrendered a point since the first half of the Week 6 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. That was five scoreless quarters. They pressured Denver quarterback Bo Nix, defended the run well, covered well and hit with...
