New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo had the support his players, if only for one afternoon, during Sunday’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
In several aspects, the New York Giants‘ 12-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at MetLife Studium perfectly, and somewhat sadly, summarized the team’s season. Feelings of optimism and hope quickly subsided to fans waiting for the worst and to be overcome by an unstoppable avalanche of mistakes coupled with injuries, poor play and questionable coaching decisions. Nobody could’ve blamed any Big Blue supporter for believing the Chiefs had the win notched in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Even New York’s defense keeping the Kansas City offense out of the end zone en route to forcing overtime didn’t settle fans’ stomachs. After all, they’d watched this movie before, and they knew the ending. Imagine their surprise, then, when the Chiefs managed only a single first down before punting in the extra period, and then try to fathom their astonishment upon witnessing wide receiver Roger Lewis, who wouldn’t make some pro rosters, complete a diving catch inside the Kansas City 3-yard line to gift Aldrick Rosas with a game-winning field goal even he couldn’t shank.
On its own, the victory is much ado about nothing. At 2-8 after one of the worst season starts in franchise history, the Giants, mathematically, technically still have a prayer at making the postseason. Hey, you can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket. With that said, Sunday’s performance at MetLife served a greater purpose than attempting to climb back to respectability in the standings.
Head coach Ben McAdoo clearly believed he’d lost at least portions of the locker room throughout the fall. Player suspensions were public knowledge, and local and national commentators crushed members of McAdoo’s secondary for offering what appeared to be uninspired efforts during home games. At this point, stories about McAdoo calling locker-room meetings are commonplace.
That's a VIOLENT hit by Landon Collins, wow. pic.twitter.com/Pxc3DxnkW5
— Ethan aka The People’s Insider (@EthanGSN) November 19, 2017
What was different on Sunday? For whatever reasons, McAdoo’s players actually responded. Much-maligned cornerback Janoris Jenkins, suspended several weeks ago for a “violation of team rules”, had his best outing of the season following a midweek that involved fans posting on social media and calling into sports talk radio stations demanding he be cut for allegedly quitting on his team. His interception in the fourth quarter prevented the Chiefs’ offense from accumulating any momentum and stealing a win.
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Jenkins said plenty while speaking to reporters following the game. “I just came out and played hard,” he stated, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. “From a team, we all played together — offense, defense, special teams. Made sure I corrected my techniques and we got a victory.”
The 29-year old will need to display similar corrections between now and January if he wants to remain with the organization past next March.
Safety Landon Collins, meanwhile, performed like the Defensive Player of the Year candidate from a season ago. His spear of Kansas City running back Charcandrick West that kept West from earning a first down early in the contest (video above) won’t soon be forgotten by the ball-carrier, but that moment wasn’t a one-off. Collins accumulated a career-high 15 tackles, and he intercepted what was, essentially, a punt delivered by Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce when Kelce bizarrely sailed a pass into the red zone halfway through the fourth quarter.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and his staff admittedly made life easy for McAdoo and New York defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, and not just by having one of the best tight ends in the game run a play as a quarterback. It appeared the Chiefs reverted to handcuffing QB Alex Smith despite how well he played during the club’s first five games, all wins, and Reid, like McAdoo, may be on the hot seat as the holiday season begins.
One win, alone, won’t save McAdoo’s job, nor will it stop fans from wanting him to be fired the day the season ends, if not earlier. Sunday’s result does, however, allow everyone to step back and remember the train that is this lost season went off the tracks well before McAdoo, general manager Jerry Reese or anybody else could’ve prevented the disaster.
Wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard weren’t supposed to get injured in August. Nobody predicted in July that Beckham and Brandon Marshall wouldn’t last to Halloween. The defense, orchestrated by Spagnuolo, shouldn’t have been so complicated. Perhaps the final six games of the season will be one big learning experience for all involved.
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All who want Giants ownership to blow things up and start over should yearn for players to fight for every yard, every tackle and every win. They should want McAdoo to improve, and for Reese to admit he made mistakes and to right wrongs. Quarterback Eli Manning has, at most, two more seasons to win a title with this franchise, and he’ll likely only do so with McAdoo and Reese leading the charge. Beating the Chiefs was a step, albeit one that’s minuscule, in the right direction.