Giants Week 11 Report Card: Not Enough Improvement

Grading the New York Giants 27-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Offense: C+

Interim head coach Mike Kafka sure did put his stamp on the offense this week by remaining committed to the running game. The Giants finished with 38 rushing attempts for 142 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, while taking to the air 29 times, 19 of which were completed for 201 yards and no touchdowns plus that backbreaking interception by Jameis Winston, which really was more on receiver Jalin Hyatt, who cut off his route in the end zone, thereby gift-wrapping the pick to the Packers. 

Receiver Isaiah Hodgins, in his first game back with the Giants, finished as the team’s reception leader with five catches for 57 yards, the yardage also leading the team. Is it us, or is anyone else wondering if, on Winston’s fateful interception in the fourth quarter on a ball intended for Jalin Hyatt, Hodgins might have been the better choice in such a critical situation? 

Defense: D

Another week, another fourth-quarter collapse. Will this finally be what ends the Shane Bowen era? Who knows, but the Giants were unable to get a stop at two critical points in the game, starting with the go-ahead touchdown by Christian Watson in the fourth quarter and then the 2-point conversion on a pass to Emmanuel Wilson.

At this point, we really have to wonder if the players are just this bad or if they’re not in a position to succeed.

Speaking of which, the Giants' run defense was once again a problem. New York gave up 128 yards on 23 carries, a 5.6 yards per carry average. That’s just not going to get it done, nor is it going to allow for that vaunted pass rush to be turned loose. 

Jordan Love and Malik Willis combined for three touchdown passes, both quarterbacks finishing with passer ratings over 105.2. The pass defense sure misses Paulson Adebo, who was a late scratch due to knee soreness.

Situationally speaking, the Giants allowed the Packers to convert 63.6% of their third downs and 100% of their red-zone opportunities (4-for-4). Not good at all. What’s even worse is if the Packers did more points-wise with less yardage than the Giants (296 to 336).

Special Teams: B

The Giants have something there with Deonte Banks as a kickoff returner, as his 27.0 average bested the Packers’ 23.3 average.

Heads up move by Gunner Olszewski on one punt in which he appeared uncertain if a ball he let bounce grazed him. Rather than let it roll, he went after it to make sure it stayed in the Giants’ possession.

Younghoe Koo was perfect on a very windy day, save for one PAT attempt that was pushed back by a penalty, not that it ended up mattering in the final score.

Coaching: C-

Kafka called a solid enough game in his first game as interim head coach. Kudos to him, by the way, for holding rookie linebacker Abdul Carter accountable for whatever infraction he committed during the week that led to him being benched for the opening series. It’s high time that the coaches hold the players accountable for their indiscretions.

Shane Bowen continues to stay with the vanilla-looking defenses in which he rarely calls for a stunt or twist or anything fancy of the sort to create confusion up front. Rushing three on the Packers’ 2-point conversion was unforgivable. How many more fourth-quarter collapses will the Giants tolerate before a change is made?