Giants need dramatic change to avoid becoming embarrassment after loss to Commanders

LANDOVER, MD – Brian Daboll kept composed. Give the Giants head coach credit for that. The five-second death glare held following the first question regarding his job security illustrated his true feelings, though. And that was before he looked over again, cracked his neck, and walked off the podium in disgust.

The Giants played the Commanders on Sunday. Their defense didn’t allow a touchdown while their offense scored three. They still lost, 21-18. Bad teams find ways to lose, but this was a feat accomplished by just one other in NFL history.

In case you were wondering: These Giants are not just bad. They’re teetering on becoming a league-wide embarrassment. Something dramatic needs to change to change that, or dramatic changes will be made.

“I’ve been doing this a long time,” Daboll said. “My focus is on this football team.”

Will that be enough to turn this around?

Quarterback Daniel Jones, a national punchline the last seven days, was an efficient 16 of 28 for 178 yards with a pair of touchdowns against Washington. Devin Singletary (16 carries, 95 yards, touchdown) made fans forget Saquon Barkley for a moment. Malik Nabers (10 catches, 127 yards, touchdown) looked like the rookie phenom who dazzled throughout the summer.

You’d think that would make this loss pale in comparison to the Vikings debacle – show the Giants are, at the minimum, trending upward. Hardly. Those offensive numbers, while effective, came against one of the league’s worst defenses – a unit that allowed 37 a week ago to the Baker Mayfield-led Bucs, lack a pass-rush presence outside, and own a secondary ripe for bullying. The Giants still couldn’t eclipse 20 points.

Their defense allowed 425 yards, including 210 on the ground. Brian Robinson led the way there with 133 on just 17 carries. Rookie Jayden Daniels completed 23 of 29 passes (79.3 percent) for 223 yards. He ran for another 44.

This would have been another Big Blue blowout had Washington shown even baseline competence in the red zone (0-for-6). Their 21 points came on seven (yes, seven) Austin Seibert field goals.

“When you shoot yourself in the foot,” said pass rusher Brian Burns, who finished with three tackles, no quarterback hits and no sacks, “You’re just f—- yourself.”

The Commanders converted 50 percent of their third downs. Six of their seven failures came in the red zone. Their seventh came on a stalled drive at the Giants 27. They did not punt the ball. They scored on every possession except for a kneel-down to end the first half.

Bend but break anyway.

Maybe the most damning indictment of the state of the Giants organization, though, was the decision to roll out Graham Gano. He tweaked his groin during practice on Friday. They have a kicker on their practice squad (Jude McAtamney). They chose not to activate him.

Gano looked uncomfortable — which is putting it lightly — during pre-game warmups. He then suffered a hamstring injury on the opening kickoff chasing down Austin Eckler. He did not return. The Giants allowed punter Jamie Gillan to attempt one point after attempt — he missed it. They unsuccessfully went for two after their other two touchdowns. They decided to go for it on 4th-and-4 with 2:04 left in the game instead of attempting a 39-yard field goal to win the game.

Gillan made a 40-yard field goal in New Orleans last season.

That calls into question coaching, management, and the overall competence of the entire operation. Reporters in a press box some 100 yards away can see something doesn’t look right, yet the team trots out the player anyway? With zero contingency plan in place if something were to happen?

Daboll was expectedly combative with the horde of kicker questions hurled his way after the game. He said Gano would have been fine had he not hurt his hamstring, lamenting it was his groin he hurt in practice. He insisted the Giants felt “good” about him and that it was his decision to not activate McAtamney. Players get hurt, he said. It happens. They couldn’t possibly control this. No one could have seen this coming.

Players dealing with soft-tissue issues are often at an increased risk of re-injury — a two-second WebMD or Google search can enlighten even the novice of that. Anyone who has dealt with even a minor physical inconvenience understands the tendency to favor that area, which can inadvertently lead to extra strain and injury elsewhere.

“I’m not a doctor,” Daboll said when posed those two questions.

The Commanders are not good. Daniels might be eventually, but he’s a rookie. Their line is OK in the middle, but poor at the tackle positions (Brandon Coleman, Andrew Wylie). Terry McLaurin is a very good receiver, but there’s very little opposite him. Their defense can’t pressure or cover.

This was supposed to be the game the Giants won — maybe their most winnable opportunity until they face the dreadfully inept Panthers in Germany. If they couldn’t get this one, when will they?

Against the Browns next week? They just beat the Jaguars. The Cowboys? Ha. Seattle in Seattle? Cincinnati? The Barkley-led Eagles? In Pittsburgh?

Daboll can stare all he wants, but once he stops he should fixate on what he can do to prevent this inevitable spiral.

If he can’t?

Change may not only be coming, but welcomed.