About this time two years ago, the New York Giants were finding ways to win during their first season with coach Brian Daboll.
They had a 6-1 record, and everything seemed to go right, from Saquon Barkley’s 2-point conversion run for a season-opening 21-20 win over Tennessee to Julian Love, Xavier McKinney, and Fabian Moreau tackling Jaguars receiver Christian Kirk at the New York 1-yard line on the last play in a 23-17 win over Jacksonville in Week 7.
When the Giants needed a big play in 2022, they delivered.
But things have changed over the last two seasons. New York finished with a disappointing 6-11 record in 2023 and fell to 2-6 on Monday night, losing 26-18 to the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh.
The game felt similar to earlier losses against the Commanders, Cowboys, and Bengals this season. The Giants had opportunities but couldn’t capitalize.
Good teams make big plays, while bad teams don’t, leading to frustration—and the Giants are feeling that frustration deeply right now.
Giants co-owner John Mara expressed support for Daboll after the team was blown out by Philadelphia. The Giants played hard against the Steelers and stayed competitive, but that was about it.
“I think we’ve got to do everything better,” Daboll said Tuesday. “Let’s coach better, play better, make timely plays. It’s all-encompassing. We haven’t done that yet. So, we’re doing everything we can to try to do that, and we’ll continue to do that.”
The frustration was clear on Monday night, whether it was quarterback Daniel Jones showing anger after a failed 2-point conversion attempt, Pro Bowl tackle Dexter Lawrence yelling on the bench after a poor defensive play, or Daboll benching cornerback Deonte Banks, a 2023 first-round pick.
“You’re never happy after a loss,” Daboll said. “That’s why you do this, to win.”
