Leading 6-0 with 14 seconds remaining in the second quarter, the New York Giants had an opportunity to tack on some points and take an even larger lead over the Buffalo Bills into halftime.
If the Giants could punch it over the goal line, it would be their first offensive touchdown of the first half all season.
But none of that is what happened.
With no timeouts remaining, quarterback Tyrod Taylor inexplicably checked into a run and Saquon Barkley was stuffed at the 1-yard line. Unable to stop the clock, the Giants watched helplessly as the final seconds ticked away.
Brian Daboll looks flabbergasted with Tyrod Taylor https://t.co/WT26VDM6I8 pic.twitter.com/FsdnN6hPv3
— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) October 16, 2023
That mistake proved costly as the Giants went on to lose by a score of 14-9 as they were again stopped at the 1-yard line with no time remaining on the fourth quarter clock.
“Had a play called, it was a run action pass play and ended up alerting it to a run,” Daboll said of Taylor’s mistake.
Daboll said the coaching staff was very clear that Taylor should have thrown the ball but for whatever reason, he didn’t.
“There was communication, yep. He saw a look based on the play that we had, and he ended up alerting it,” Daboll said.
Taylor didn’t shy away from the mistake after the game, shouldering the blame and admitting that he royally messed up. It was a rookie mistake for a veteran player.
“Yeah, it was a decision, looking back on it, definitely shouldn’t have made. Alerted to a run, thought I saw a look that was beneficial for us, and it wasn’t the right call. That falls on me, as a quarterback, as a leader, as the one that’s communicating everything to everyone –- got to be better in that situation,” Taylor said.
Although the Giants had no timeouts remaining, Taylor believed there was enough time to spike the ball if they didn’t score. However, there was little urgency to get back to the line and a spike wasn’t even close to happening.
“I don’t think age, the amount of years, the guys that were up there playing their butts off mattered in that situation. I think to give ourselves a better chance in that situation, the original play should have been left on and I don’t think we are here talking about it right now,” Taylor added.
Had the Giants even settled for a field goal in that situation, the final controversial play of the game never happens. They could have trotted Graham Gano out there for a chip shot and headed back to East Rutherford with a win.
Instead, Taylor’s uncharacteristic mental blunder resulted in the team’s fifth loss of the season. And exactly one year removed from posting a 5-1 record through six weeks, the Giants are now 1-5 and headed for an early offseason.
