New York Giants Vs. Denver Broncos: Key Takeaways In 33-32 Loss

The Giants have repeatedly struggled with kicker problems over the past couple of years. 38-year-old veteran Graham Gano is a terrific kicker, but with age comes injuries. He’s been injured since a Week 3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, a game he might have made a difference in.

The Giants have done a poor job managing the kicker position. With Gano’s injury, they brought in Jude McAtamney, an undrafted free agent. He’s missed three extra point kicks in the last two games for New York.

McAtamney is a young kicker with only five games under his belt. It’s hard to dismiss him so quickly, but he missed two crucial extra points in Sunday’s loss. When the game comes down to one point, the kicker is wildly important.

While the Giants might not cut McAtamney yet, they should start exploring other options for one of the NFL’s most underrated positions. Veteran kicker Younghoe Koo is currently on the practice squad. He’s made 175-182 extra points in his eight-year career; it might be time to give him a shot.

The Defensive Collapse

New York’s defensive coordinator Shane Bowen has made some questionable decisions in his tenure. Fans are frustrated, and even the players might be feeling some displeasure with his playcalling. Star pass-rusher Brian Burns was seen after the game expressing his frustration.

The Giants had a 19-point lead with 14 minutes left in the game. The goal was simple: don’t let the Broncos score. The defense needed to come up big, and everything fell apart.

On Denver’s final drive, Bowen opted to drop heavy into the secondary coverage and ease up rushing at Nix. Sending your dominant pass-rush at the QB with less than a minute left feels like a no-brainer in that situation.

The Giants’ defense is too talented for questionable play calls. It doesn’t seem that Bowen knows how to properly utilize the weapons at his disposal. Calling for someone’s job usually feels wrong, but he may be becoming a liability for this team.

Bowen needs to figure this defense out as soon as possible. If he doesn’t, he might be searching for a new job.

The Bright Side

The expectations going into the 2025 season were simply to see how Jaxson Dart develops. Head coach Brian Daboll is on the hot seat, and staked his job and reputation on the rookie QB. It might be time to say Dart is the guy New York has been waiting for.

Facing off with arguably the best defense in the NFL, Dart had his work cut out for him. He ended this game throwing 15/33 for 283 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. He also rushed five times for 11 yards and another score. The Giants’ 32 points are the most allowed by the Broncos this season.

In his four NFL starts, Dart is 2-2, with wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles. His impact goes beyond numbers, though. With less than two minutes in the game, he led a touchdown drive in Denver against a top defense.

Dart is proving that he has the skills to be a star QB in the NFL. The absence of Malik Nabers is hurting the offense, but he’s still managing to put points on the board in crucial moments. While not without rookie mistakes, the Ole Miss product is on a skyrocket trajectory.

The Brian Daboll Dilemma

Putting the blame on Daboll is starting to feel like a cop-out answer for fans. The playcalling on the defensive side and the roster decisions by general manager Joe Schoen are a massive problem. The kicker position needs to be properly addressed, and Bowen needs to find another gear before it’s too late.

Daboll had this team fired up and ready to go into Mile High and get a win. He prepared them for their toughest challenge yet, and for three quarters, it worked. If the coaching staff around him can step up, the Giants might win some “unwinnable” games.

End Of My Giants Rant

This was a heartbreaking loss, but that’s going to happen this season. The lows will be depressing, and the highs will be out of this world. The expectations were extremely low going in, and despite a 2-5 record, the Giants are exceeding them.

If I had said back in August that the Giants would beat the Eagles and Los Angeles Chargers, and lose to Denver by only one point, I’d have been called a madman. The fact that fans can realistically hope to beat playoff teams is already huge. This whole season is a setup for 2026, and figuring out what works and what doesn’t.