The New York Giants saw their three-game winning streak snapped on Sunday in a 24-6 loss to the New Orleans Saints that wasn’t as close as the score indicated.
The Giants were soundly beaten after a solid first offensive series, with the game becoming more and more out of reach with each passing minute.
Watching the game was like watching a person in quicksand — the more they struggled, the deeper they got — and it was all an agonizingly slow process.
Whose stock is up and whose is down after the Week 15 loss? Let’s take a look.
Stock up: Jamie Gillan
Punter Jamie Gillan deserves all the credit in the world for his performance on Sunday. Not only did he average nearly 48 yards per boot with one landing inside the 20, but he stepped in on a whim and replaced kicker Randy Bullock, who injured his hamstring.
Despite being hurt himself, Gillan stayed in the game and kicked a 40-yard field goal that briefly narrowed the game to within one point.
“It almost got to that point (where we were without a kicker and punter), but Jamie toughed it out,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “You don’t anticipate two guys possibly going down. So, give him credit, He fought threw it. He kicked off.”
Stock down: Coaching staff
After winning three straight games and positioning themselves for a shot at the NFC Playoffs, the Giants’ coaching staff fell completely flat on Sunday afternoon.
The Giants were out-coached in all phases of the game, their players were unprepared, there were no quality second-half adjustments and the play-calling on both offense and defense was atrocious.
It was as bad a performance from Brian Daboll & Co. as we’ve seen this season.
Stock up: Jason Pinnock
Safety Jason Pinnock did surrender a touchdown late in the game and he did miss a tackle in the first half, but let’s be honest: There wasn’t much to pick from on the positive end of things in Week 15.
What Pinnock did do was lead the team with eight tackles and register their only sack of the game. He was clearly playing hard, which is a lot more than we can say about the rest of the defense.
Stock down: Jalin Hyatt
Rookie wide receiver Jalin Hyatt was targeted three times on Sunday and wasn’t able to haul in any of those passes. One was a clear drop and another was knocked out of his hands.
For Hyatt, who had a breakout game in Week 12 against the New England Patriots, his production has fallen off a cliff. Over the past two games, Hyatt has made two receptions on six targets for 13 yards.
Stock up: Darren Waller
In his return from injured reserve, tight end Darren Waller hauled in four receptions on six targets for 40 yards. He didn’t have a drop and that’s good enough for his stock to rise in comparison to his teammates.
Stock down: Offensive line
What an ugly, ugly performance.
The interior offensive line was an unmitigated disaster against the Saints, allowing seven sacks and nine QB hits. Guard Justin Pugh routinely tipped the snap, while the group couldn’t handle the most basic of stunts.
Pugh, rookie center John Michael Schmitz, and guard Ben Bredeson deserve the brunt of the blame but tackle Tyre Phillips didn’t exactly dazzle, either. And Mark Glowinski took only a single snap and somehow managed to log a penalty.
This unit continues to hold the Giants back…for more than a decade.
