Bad Luck or Bad Plan? Giants Make History in Commanders Loss

And New York Giants fans thought starting last season with a 40-0 loss to the Dallas Cowboys was ugly.

On Sunday, not only did they lose a NFC East "cellar showdown" to the lowly Washington Commanders but in doing so they also became the first team in NFL history to lose a game when scoring three touchdowns and allowing no touchdowns. How in the world does that happen?

By not having a healthy kicker, that's how.

When Austin Siebert kicked his seventh field goal as time expired to lift the Commanders to a quirky 21-18 victory at Northwest Field, Giants' coach Brian Daboll slammed his headset into the turf in anger. But he only has himself to blame.

Kicker Graham Gano showed up on the Giants' injury report on Saturday with a sore groin. The staff thought he was fine, and didn't activate another kicker just in case. Jude McAtamney sits on the practice squad, for just these kinds of situations.

Oops. Likely overcompensating for his groin, Gano strained his hamstring on Sunday's opening kickoff.

While some teams have punters who can kick in emergency situations, others have position players who were former high-school or college kickers and serve as Plan B. The Giants - inexcusably - were unprepared without Gano, who was injured trying to chase down Washington's Austin Ekeler on the opening kickoff return.

After their first touchdown, punter Jamie Gillan tried the PAT but missed badly to the right. He made a 40-yard field goal last year for New York against the New Orleans Saints. But seeing the miss, Daboll then went for two points after New York's next two touchdowns, but the plays failed.

It left them with 18 points, and vulnerable to be beaten by a Washington team that never found the end zone but got seven field goals from its kicker.

"Feel bad for Graham. Feel bad for us," Daboll said. "But no excuses."

Related: 'It's On Us!' Okereke Takes Blame for Giants Loss

The game was tied at 18 late in the fourth quarter with New York deep in Washington territory. But Daboll elected to go for it on fourth-and-4 from the Commanders' 22-yard line rather than attempt a field goal.

Said Gano, "Of course it was bothering me but I was fine. I was hitting the ball great, making a lot of kicks. The hamstring, that's just bad luck."

The Giants, who are 0-2 for the first time since 2021, travel to Cleveland Sunday to play the 1-1 Browns.