The New York Giants fell to 2-7 on the season following a 27-22 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday afternoon, and there is no shortage of blame to go around.
Within all of that is a micro-debate over head coach Brian Daboll’s decision to rely on analytics and attempt two separate two-point conversion attempts.
The first came with just under 10:00 remaining in the fourth quarter when the Giants were trailing, 24-10. Quarterback Daniel Jones had just truck-sticked two Washington defenders en route to the endzone and momentum felt like it was shifting.
However, instead of kicking the point-after attempt and cutting the game to seven, Daboll once again relied on analytics and called for a two-point conversion attempt.
It failed. Again.
“That’s something that we talk about during the week. If we get in that situation, that’s what we’re going to do. But it’s analytics-based,” Daboll told reporters after the game. “I felt good about what we had and they did a good job of stopping it.”
The problem with Daboll’s approach is that the Giants simply don’t convert. The statistics do not back up the analytics.
The #Giants have not made a 2-point attempt this year and converted just 25% last season.
Maybe they’re an exception to the rule? #Math pic.twitter.com/5dGq88hB4e
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) November 3, 2024
The argument could be made that the play-calls have also been poor, including a sprint out on Sunday that reduced the size of an already small field. But that’s neither here nor there when the team is converting at a zero percent clip on the season and only 25 percent a season ago.
The Giants are not a team that scores a ton of points, so leaving additional points on the field never feels like a good decision. Had the Giants kicked the PAT after that Jones touchdown, the game would have been cut to seven and the momentum swing would have been secured. Instead, it breathed life back into Washington.
The second two-point attempt came with just under 3:00 remaining and was a necessity because the Giants had failed on the previous attempt. Instead of being down just three points at the time, the Giants found themselves down five. Had the defense managed to stop Washington, the offense would have been forced to score a touchdown instead of opting for a field goal to send the game into overtime.
When a team is put in a position where it has to score extra points to tie or win, its odds of both decrease exponentially. We’ve seen that repeatedly with the Giants, including in both games against Washington. Granted, in Week 2, that was a necessity due to poor personnel handling.
