Big Blue View
When Theo Johnson plucked a Jaxson Dart pass that had bounced out of the arms of Wan’Dale Robinson out of the air on a third-and-17 and rumbled 41 yards for a touchdown to give the New York Giants a 26-8 lead over the Denver Broncos on Sunday, there was euphoria in Giants land.
It might have been the most fortuitous bounced since Phil McConkey caught a touchdown pass in Super Bowl XXI that squirted through the fingertips of Mark Bavaro.
Former Giants placekicker Lawrence Tynes let out the massive, jubilant exhale that Giants fans everywhere had to feel. A third victory in four weeks, all over good, playoff-bound teams, seemed certain. So, Tynes, posted this:
Tynes should have been right. This should have been a euphoric “We are back” sort of evening for the Giants to celebrate.
It wasn’t.
These are the Giants. Epic, historic, seemingly impossible failure is part of the deal. The Fumble. The Trey Junkin Game. The Matt Dodge Game. The 1997 playoff collapse against the Minnesota Vikings, giving up 10 points in the final 1:38 to lose 23-22. Blowing a 21-3 halftime lead and losing 25-24 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014 to fall to 3-9.
This loss is now on that list. The first time in 1,602 NFL games a team with an 18-point lead and less than six minutes to play found a way to lose the game.
The stunned Giants were — like everyone watching the game — having a hard time digesting how they lost a football game they had control of until there were nearly five minutes to play.
You have likely seen a hobbling, heartbroken Brian Burns’ reaction heading to the locker room:
“Tough loss,” was head coach Brian Daboll’s understated reaction. “We put our heart and soul into it. [There is] not a lot of talking that needs to be done when you lose a game like that. Everybody gave everything they had.
“It’s tough to lose any game. But certainly, this was a tough one.”
Tight end Daniel Bellinger, who had a career day with a 44-yard touchdown and 88 receiving yards, struggled for an explanation.
“I mean at the end of the day, it’s tough to even think because my mind is just on us not finishing the game,” Bellinger said. “To be honest, that’s just where my mind is at right now. We just got to find ways to win.”
Quarterback Jaxson Dart, who led the Giants on what should have been a game-winning drive and scored the go-ahead touchdown with :37 to play, was
“I think right now, it’s just really frustrating. I’m trying to put it all together,” was similarly at a loss to explain what happened. “We had chances to win the game and we didn’t do it. It’s frustrating.
“I never felt like we’re gonna lose the game.”
No one did. Until they actually lost.
When you do something no NFL team has accomplished in the previous 1,602 times it was in...
