Seven points. That was all the Giants could manage to score against the expectedly-weak Bengals defense. However, the clash did not turn out how it was thought to be. The 2-3 Giants seemed meek opposite the 1-4 Bengals, with the Cincinnati defense finding its grooves at the correct time.
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Addressing the situation in the post match conference, head coach Brian Daboll seemed frustrated with his offensive players. The coach highlighted how this loss was a bitter pill to swallow. With the defense executing their plays well, it was the missed opportunities from the offense that received all the blame:
“I thought our defense played very good football. Missed the quarterback run early on a rush lane. But they played winning football, to hold those receivers to what we held them to in the pass game…Missed two opportunities in the kicking game. And then didn’t score enough points offensively.”
While the HC did mention the errors made, he put the blame of the loss on himself before anyone else. He noted how the change in execution of offensive strategies to play fiercely needs to begin from his end and further progress to others.
For the Giants, nothing seemed to be working on the field. From aggressive play-calling to giving it all on fourth down, rarely anything bore positive results. Still, the coach stood by his decision and the strategies they had made.
“We didn’t have any points, and I felt good about what we had going. But when you score seven points, there’s hardly anything you can do. That’s the reality of it. We’ve got to do better.”
Amidst all the concerns, Daboll did have one particular persisting issue to point his finger toward.
HC Daboll admits lack of explosive plays cost the Giants
Answering the question on why the Giants’ offense struggled so badly during SNF, Daboll had a simple and direct point to state. While he started by mentioning how different things contributed to it, the coach majorly raised concern on the lack of explosive plays made by the team:
“Whether it be run, whether it be pass. We turned the ball over down there on that drive, which was a good drive, to come away with no points. I think we were 5-of-15 (on third-down), somewhere around there. We just couldn’t generate any explosive plays.”
Daboll emphasized on the missed opportunities throughout the game, along with even the special team faltering during the clash. Greg Joseph missed two field goals, adding to the concerns of the coach.
The Giants host the Eagles next week, and the HC would hope to turnaround all these offensive errors in their favor by then.
