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Giants DT makes concerning admission after historic collapse
New York Giants defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches. Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Giants DT makes concerning admission after historic collapse in loss to Broncos

The New York Giants fell to 2-5 on the season when they suffered a historic collapse during what became a 33-32 loss at the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

Following that defeat, Giants defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches offered a concerning comment regarding the state of a team that was flying high coming off its 34-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 9.

Collapse vs. Broncos is in Giants' "nature"

"I would say currently that’s our nature," Nunez-Roches said about the Giants surrendering 33 fourth-quarter points against the Broncos, per Dan Duggan of The Athletic. "We’ve done it multiple times. We’ve been in situations where we could have teams suffocated, and in some way, we gave them momentum, we gave them life, and we never recover from that." 

Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post was among those who noted that it's difficult to imagine Giants head coach Brian Daboll will retain his job through the winter following Sunday's result. Daboll was the subject of numerous hot-seat rumors before his team turned wins into losses twice from Week 2 of the ongoing campaign through Sunday. Under Daboll, the Giants have now gone 5-19 in their last 24 contests. 

"We’ve got young guys, and we’ve got older guys depending on younger guys," Nunez-Roches continued, according to Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "We’re trying to redefine our culture. Sometimes, early success can go to our head. So how do you take that energy and keep applying it? Don’t just take it and ease off the gas. We’ve got the killer instinct. You see killers everywhere [on the roster]. It’s just the fact of finishing. Finish your food. Finish your meal. Finish the game."

Giants' Jaxson Dart takes blame for costly mistake vs. Broncos

One of the young guys mentioned by Nunez-Roches is rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, who did more than enough to earn a win in Denver on Sunday. That said, Dart also tossed an inexcusable interception with under five minutes to play in regulation that gifted Denver with an opportunity to complete a quick touchdown drive. 

"My feet got a little stuck in the ground," Dart said about that play, per SNY's Garrett Stepien. "I've got to be way better than that. That s--t's unacceptable. I've got to be better. ...I can't do that. We were in full control of the game. In that situation, you can't do that. So, that was an unacceptable mistake by me."

Things get no easier for Dart and Co., as the Giants will next face a 5-2 Eagles side that will be looking for revenge after it picked up a win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. As of Monday morning, ESPN BET had the Eagles as 6.5-point favorites for the Oct. 26 matchup that will be held at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field.

How Dart bounces back from his latest rookie mistake could determine whether or not the Giants get blown out in Week 8. 

"It's really frustrating, man," Dart added after the debacle in Denver. "I'm trying to put it all together. We had chances to win the game. Didn't do it. It's frustrating."

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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