Big Blue View
The New York Giants lost 27-20 to the Green Bay Packers in Week 11. Despite out-gaining Green Bay 336-296 yards and out-possessing the 35:56-24:04 the 2-9 Giants earned their ninth loss of the season, and their fifth in a row. We didn’t receive the whole Jameis Winston experience, for the wind and conditions at MetLife Stadium stifled the deep passing attack. Still, Winston did provide several clutch throws, while also putting the football in harm’s way a few times.
Winston almost threw two interceptions to Carrington Valentine, who was the outside corner squating on the No. 2 receiver’s out-breaking route. Winston also targeted a deep seam that was double-covered to Jalin Hyatt, which appeared to be predetermined. Then there was a back-breaking interception that we’ll discuss in a bit. Overall, Jameis Winston did enough to give the Giants a chance to win against a quality defense. Still, he finished 19 of 29 for 201 yards with a rushing touchdown and two turnovers.
The Packers were without Jordan Love for part of the first half, and star running back Josh Jacobs left the game with a knee injury in the second quarter. Interim head coach Mike Kafka was aggressive and, according to his post-game interview, he was planning on going for the win with a two-point conversion if the Giants scored at the end of the game. New York did not receive that opportunity. Here are five noteworthy plays from the Giants’ loss.
Jameis Winston is known for a lot. His entertaining and bubbly personality is coupled with a gunslinger mindset that can light up a scoreboard. However, he’s also known for putting the football into precarious situations; he did it on a few occasions in Week 11. It’s easy to assign blame to Winston when an interception is thrown, but Jalin Hyatt did no favors for his quarterback here:
With 40 seconds left in the game, on a third-and-6 down seven points, Hyatt stopped his route, and Winston threw a corner route to a Green Bay Packers’ defensive back. Valentine (24), who had outside responsibility, sat on Wan’Dale Robinson’s (17) stick route, giving Hyatt (13) the one-on-one against safety Evan Williams (33). Williams did well to read through the stick route and to Winston’s eyes, but the quarterback perhaps believed that Hyatt would be in position to undercut the safety. Hyatt broke his route off, and Williams was the only possible recipient for the football.
The Giants had a 15-play, 85-yard drive that took just under eight minutes off the clock at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Winston found Tyrone Tracy Jr. on a third-and-5 for 20 yards; Theo Johnson on a third-and-7 for 14 yards; and completed a fourth-and-2 pass to Isaiah Hodgins for a first down — his second fourth-down conversion of the game. Winston tush-pushed himself for six to give the Giants a one-point lead.
After that drive, Love faced a third-and-10 where...
