Coaching scared.
That’s what Tom Coughlin did when he went completely against his time-tested better judgment and did not send Josh Brown out to kick what would have been a 21-yard field goal to give the Giants a 23-10 lead with 8:50 remaining in Sunday’s clash with the Jets. Coughlin has been an NFL head coach in 316 regular-season games, and he did not earn his reputation by eschewing points to extend his team’s lead to 13 points.
This decision was not about being aggressive. This decision was about Coughlin’s absolute distrust of his defense. He looked at the two options and decided he would rather trust Eli Manning with the ball in his hands, fourth-and-2 from the Jets’ 4-yard line, to provide a 17-point lead rather than entrust his defense to protect a 13-point lead in the final 8:50. Coughlin wanted to end the game right there, though he’s made a living of adding onto leads and not being obsessed with ending something before it can be ended.
It was a bad choice, and deep down, Coughlin probably knows it, even after he said following the 23-20 overtime loss that he stood by his decision. Coughlin was not going to stand behind a lectern and say what he truly felt: Have you seen our defense this season? Have you seen how nearly any quarterback with two arms and two legs has taken us apart in the fourth quarter? Have you seen us once – just once – make a defensive stand to close out one of these games?
This is no way to coach, but this is the box Coughlin must feel he’s been trapped inside. He pointed out a 13-point lead still gets you beat with two touchdowns, which is exactly what he feared if he put the game in the hands of his defense. Well, as it turned out, 10 points in the final 4:33 got the Jets even and forced overtime. This time, the loss was delayed, but it arrived nonetheless.
Coughlin is an offensive-minded head coach, and he tends to trust Manning in almost every situation. This season, though, the Giants have had a lousy red-zone offense, incapable of running the ball into the end zone — they have three rushing touchdowns in 12 games. Three! Manning is not a threat to take off and run, so that is never an option down near the goal line. The drive that got the Giants deep into Jets territory was not a crisp, well-executed drive, it was a penalty-filled mishmash and included a 9-yard sack of Manning on second down. Getting three points out of this slop would have been a great bonus for the Giants, not a consolation prize.
Plus, in the second quarter, when the Giants were leading 7-3 and faced a third down on the Jets’ 1-yard line after Andre Williams lost a yard on second down — typical powerless power running by the Giants — Coughlin sent out Brown for a 20-yard field goal. Take the points when you can get them — until the fateful fourth quarter, running scared.
These are not the decisions that vaulted Coughlin toward the top of the coaching charts. He knows better. This was a desperation move by a veteran head coach who opted for what he felt was the better of two evils. He juggled his feeble red-zone offense and his sieve-like defense and dropped the ball.
The decision to ignore three gift points was Coughlin’s, but it was born out of his belief that his defense cannot stop anyone when it counts. The defense was built by general manager Jerry Reese, and he must take ownership of this, as well. In this case, the Giants should be All In when it comes to distributing the blame.
Other observations coming out of the Giants’ third straight loss:
• Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: The Giants have no idea how to spark their running game. Once again, they split the workload among four running backs: Shane Vereen (20 snaps), Rashad Jennings (17), Orleans Darkwa (15) and Andre Williams (13). Once again, none of them was allowed to get into a rhythm and none of them averaged more than 3.7 yards a carry as the ground game “produced’’ 74 yards. None of this really makes any sense, but offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo continues to force-feed all four of his backs into the game. Hey, at least they’re all fresh for the stretch run and will no doubt feel great heading into a playoff-less offseason.
• The rebuilt-on-the-fly offensive line held up in pass protection — barely — even after rookie left tackle Ereck Flowers went down in the third quarter with yet another sprained ankle. Rookie Bobby Hart made his first NFL start, at right tackle, and stayed in for all 65 offensive snaps. Hart was not overrun by the talented Jets defensive front, a good sign, though Pro Football Focus had Hart for one sack allowed and three quarterback hurries allowed. Weston Richburg made it for every play coming off a high ankle sprain. Justin Pugh, after missing two games with a concussion, played 33 snaps at left guard and the last 32 snaps at left tackle subbing for Flowers, with Dallas Reynolds moving in at left guard. This unit cannot get out of its own way as a power-blocking outfit, but often has been solid providing Eli Manning enough time to make plays in the passing game. Manning was under pressure on 50 percent of his drop-backs against the Jets, according to PFF, tied for third most of any quarterback in the league in Week 13.
• Odell Beckham Jr. can do wondrous things, but he can’t do them by himself. He received virtually no help from the other receivers. Rueben Randle (six targets, two catches for 22 yards) continues to show he is not a legitimate starter, and Dwayne Harris used all his energy on that darting 80-yard punt return for a touchdown. He had little left for his 37 offensive snaps, with only one catch for eight yards. In 21 snaps, Hakeem Nicks was targeted only once and should have had an 8-yard touchdown instead of a 7-yard reception, had Manning made a better throw and Nicks run his route a yard or two deeper into the end zone. When rookie tight end Will Tye (3-70) is the most dangerous threat after Beckham, something is wrong.
• Lost in yet another defensive meltdown: Robert Ayers had his best game, with two sacks, two tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and one batted pass. It allowed Ayers to take over the team lead in sacks, with four. Hey, somebody has to be at the top of the list.
• In overtime, Beckham failed to locate a floating pass over his shoulder near the right sideline, and might have been influenced by an oncoming Jets safety. When the ball fell near his two outstretched hands and hit the turf, Beckham reacted by kicking it back toward the line of scrimmage. That’s a delay of game penalty, pure and simple, but Beckham did not see it that way. “If I would have thrown it back, I really don’t see the difference,’’ Beckham said. “It’s not like I’m screaming F-bombs and kicking the ball back. I really don’t think it’s a penalty.’’ Of course it is a penalty and was correctly called as such. Frustration got the best of him, for an instant. On the next play, fourth-and-6, he reached down in traffic for a 20-yard reception. Pretty decent response.