Daboll Fumbles Giants' Second Loss

It would be unfair for the New York Giants to fire head coach Brian Daboll before he gets his pick of the franchise quarterback litter in the NFL Draft .

But after Sunday’s 21-18 loss against the Washington Commanders, the third-year coach has left his team with more questions than answers.

The Commanders won with seven field goals . Daboll’s pregame decision ensured the Giants would hit zero.

On Saturday, kicker Graham Gano popped up on the injury report with a groin injury. His status for Sunday wasn’t immediately in doubt, but it opened the door for hesitancy and, presumably, a higher likelihood of an injury.

Daboll elected not to elevate kicker Jude McAtamney.

Doing so would have allowed New York to profit twice over. By taking over on kickoffs, the Giants would have a seamless replacement for Gano while giving him extra rest. Of course, he would also provide insurance in the event Gano went down with an injury.

Spoiler alert, he did.

Instead, New York asked punter Jamie Gillian to kick an extra point, which he missed, rightfully scaring the team into two-point conversions. The Giants scored two more touchdowns on Sunday. Both conversion attempts were unsuccessful.

On New York’s final offensive drive of the game, tied at 18, the offense faced a fourth down and four from the Washingnton 22-yard line—a textbook field goal situation. The Giants instead forced themselves to go for it, and predictably fell short.

This marks the second time in two weeks that Daboll misfired in the final roster decisions of the week. Trusting receiver Gunner Olszewski’s hampered groin proved to be the wrong decision. He would re-aggravate his injury and leave the team without its punt returner.

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It would be meaningless in an embarrassing 28-6 loss, but a blemish nonetheless.

As the losses stack, pressure is bound to mount. And after last year went sideways in a flash, New York seems to be on the fast track to the worst-case scenario. Getting Daboll his franchise quarterback is the end goal, but how many blunders can he commit before he loses the trust of his superiors?