EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants and co-owner John Mara may have learned something on their way to tying a franchise record on Sunday.
First of all, the fans are unhappy, and rightfully so. A 2-12 record in the team’s 100th season is a disgrace. So did seven losing seasons in eight years.
There’s no need to fly a small plane with a banner over MetLife Stadium week after week, imploring Mara to change things. Everyone associated with the Giants was disgusted by the outcome.
The bigger lesson from Sunday’s 35-14 loss to the Ravens is the need to find a quarterback who can extend games or make something out of nothing.
Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson was all that and more on Sunday. He completed 21 of 25 passes for 290 yards and five touchdowns, and rushed six times for 65 yards. He’s just different.
New York seems destined to receive the top two picks in next year’s NFL draft. The problem is this isn’t a quarterback-focused draft. Most of the top 10 picks are expected to be defensive players.
The Giants, whether it’s general manager Joe Schoen or his successor, should take turns trading to acquire as many assets as possible to build the team. At some point, they’re going to have to draft a quarterback, but they can’t go too far in pursuing a quarterback.
There are many candidates: Colorado’s Shaydell Sanders, Miami’s Cam Ward, Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, Texas’ Quinn Ewers and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe.
The best advice for them is to take the best player in the draft, regardless of position. The defense was the driving force behind the Giants’ four Super Bowl wins, with timely plays from quarterbacks Phil Sims, Jeff Hostetler and Eli Manning.
Maybe the Giants should return to a defensive team like the one Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick established in the 1980s.
Not every quarterback has to be the No. 1 pick. Excellent quarterbacks can be found later in the draft. Buffalo’s Josh Allen was seventh. Patrick Mahomes was selected with the 10th pick, Jackson with the 32nd pick and Jalen Hurts with the 53rd pick. Tom Brady was drafted in the sixth round at No. 199.
WR Malik Nabers is the key to the Giants’ little offense. He had 10 catches for 82 yards against the Ravens and had several pass interference calls. It was his third double-digit receiving game of the season. He now has 90 catches, one shy of the franchise rookie record held by Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley. He is 99 yards shy of 1,000 yards.
In the absence of secondary starters Deonte Banks, Cordell Float, Drew Phillips and Tyler Nubin, the bench simply couldn’t compete with Jackson, who fell behind on third down. 8-for-9 from the field. Having Banks and Float back would help. Cornerback Adoree Jackson recovered a fumble in the series opener, and safety Dane Belton finished with a career-high 14 tackles.
TE Daniel Bellinger served primarily as a blocker through the first 12 games and had three catches for 31 yards. Since rookie Theo Johnson went on injured reserve two weeks ago, Bellinger has been targeted 10 times and caught eight passes for 80 yards.
Last week, special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial saw his team give up a block on a potential game-tying field goal against New Orleans. This week, Baltimore’s Justice Hill returned a kickoff 59 yards, and Desmond King connected on a short 22-yard return from Jamie Gillan for the Ravens’ first touchdown. .
Quarterback Tommy DeVito is being treated for a concussion.
8 — The Giants are winless in eight games at MetLife Stadium, marking the first time in their history that they have lost eight games at home in a season. They’ll get one more chance when they host Indianapolis on Dec. 28 or 29. The only winless season in franchise history was in 1974, when New York went 0-7 in 14 games at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Conn., which served as home court during the construction of Giants Stadium. .
The Giants travel to Atlanta to take on the stumbling Falcons.
