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The New York Giants came up just short against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football — literally — and head coach Brian Daboll didn’t sugarcoat that fact after the game.
“It came down to one yard, and we just missed it,” Daboll acknowledged (per New York Daily News reporter Pat Leonard) as the Giants were unable to punch the ball in from the one-yard line on two separate occasions. He was also brutally honest about the idea of taking moral victories from the narrow defeat and improved effort level in Week 6.
“You don’t get trophies for trying,” Daboll stated bluntly (via NorthJersey.com beat reporter Art Stapleton). Adding later: “We don’t really want to hear about small strides, we want the results.”
Giants HC Brian Daboll Confirms Run Call Before Halftime Was QB Decision by Tyrod Taylor
After the primetime outing, ex-NFL offensive lineman Damien Woody shared the following message: “That was a clear hold by the Bills but that end of the half mistake by the Giants cost ‘em.”
Woody is obviously referring to the decision to run the ball with no timeouts and 14 seconds left on the clock in quarter two. “There was time for two, maybe three passes to the end zone before settling for a field goal,” Big Blue View’s Ed Valentine wrote after the game. “Unless …. unless they did the unthinkable and tried to run the ball.”
Of course, that’s what they did, and Daboll was furious at quarterback Tyrod Taylor after Saquon Barkley was stuffed and time expired with a score of 6-0.
“Daboll didn’t put Tyrod Taylor on blast, but said there was communication with the QB that the Giants needed to pass in the situation at the end of the first half,” Stapleton reported live from the podium. “Was run-action pass and alert needed to be killed.”
The veteran quarterback didn’t deny the crucial mistake while speaking with reporters either. “Taylor said he thought there would be time to spike the ball if the run play failed,” Valentine relayed, quoting the QB: “I did but ultimately should’ve left the okay on, shouldn’t have alerted it.”
Accountability is good, but it still hasn’t translated to wins in 2023. The Giants are now 1-5 heading into Week 7.
Tyrod Taylor Played ‘Tough’ for Giants Despite Key Mistakes
He was unable to finish drives in the clutch, but Taylor did show some fight starting in place of the injured Daniel Jones on October 15.
“Rough miss here for Tyrod, who missed a few other guys on the night as well,” The Giants Wire voiced while quoting a video clip of Taylor overlooking an open receiver for a deep attempt late in the game. “Had a fumble and that horrible check to end the first half.”
“Played tough, though,” The Giants Wire added. “It’s hard to play behind that OL but Giants did a solid job moving the pocket to compensate.”
Overall — putting aside the mistakes — it was a solid performance from the backup QB. He finished with a higher QBR than Bills counterpart Josh Allen (50.5 compared to 45.9), but a lower passer rating (80.8 compared to 86.7).
Taylor had more passing yardage with 200 through the air, while Allen had the two touchdowns (plus an interception). Barkley’s return appeared to help — the star running back led the team with 98 scrimmage yards — as did Justin Pugh stabilizing the offensive line.
Even if Daboll won’t take the easy way out, there was progress in Week 6. The question is whether or not the Giants can build off this performance against the Washington Commanders.
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