Giants coach claims refs missed key call that helped Jets win
New York Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey spoke with reporters Thursday and insisted Big Blue's offense should've been able to run the clock out during what became a 13-10 overtime loss to the New York Jets this past Sunday.
Per Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, McGaughey said that Jets rookie defensive end Will McDonald illegally lined up over Giants long snapper Casey Kreiter when the Giants attempted a field goal on a fourth-and-1 with 28 seconds remaining in regulation:
"It was an illegal play," McGaughey explained. "It was. You can’t cover the center, and he was covering the center. If you align inside the framework of the center, that’s illegal formation. You can’t do that. You have to be completely outside the framework of the center."
Had a ref thrown a flag, the Giants would've earned an automatic first down and a 10-7 victory because the Jets had no timeouts remaining. Instead, quarterback Zach Wilson helped the Jets secure a game-tying field goal before Gang Green won the contest in the extra period.
"You can jump over the line of scrimmage," McGaughey continued. "...But if you line up within the framework of the shoulders of the center, it’s illegal formation. No one can line up inside the framework of the center."
Some media members disagree with McGaughey's assessment of what occurred and believe McDonald lined up legally. Slater wrote that McDonald "maybe...somewhat aligned within the framework of Kreiter’s shoulders, which is still illegal. But it was not a blatantly obvious missed flag."
ESPN's Rich Cimini addressed the topic via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter:
What's done is done, and the Giants coaching staff should put Week 8 in the past and instead focus on this coming Sunday's matchup at the 3-5 Las Vegas Raiders. OddsChecker listed the 2-6 Giants as 1.5-point underdogs against the Raiders as McGaughey offered his comments.
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