Big Blue Review: Week 11 vs. Packers; L; GB: 27, NYG: 20
I called for it, and it happened. The Giants fired Brian Daboll.
Another fourth-quarter meltdown in Week 10 and an injury to Jaxson Dart combined to form the dagger that led John Mara and Steve Tisch to fire their head coach. Despite making his NFL debut in Week 4, Dart led all quarterbacks in designed runs by Week 10, something for which Daboll received extensive criticism. Once Dart, the Giants’ prized possession, got hurt, so did Daboll’s job.
At one point on that fateful Chicago afternoon, the Giants were faced with a critical fourth-quarter fourth-and-one decision at the Bears’ one-yard line with 10:19 remaining. Analytics would have told Daboll to attempt a conversion, but he opted to kick a field goal instead. This led to another epic defensive collapse, and the Giants lost the ballgame.
Last Sunday, at home against Green Bay, interim head coach Mike Kafka started Jameis Winston over Russell Wilson, and the former first-overall draft pick offered a serviceable performance. However, the Giants’ defense collapsed in the same way it has all season, and as Green Bay went four-for-four in the red zone, New York lost the game 27-20.
One story that came out of this game was that pass rusher Abdul Carter, last year’s first-round pick, was sidelined from the Giants’ opening defensive drive. He got to play every snap after that, but after the game, Kafka wouldn’t specify why he chose to bench Carter.
“It was my decision,” Kafka said. “We’ll keep the rest of that in-house.”
A couple of days after Carter said, “I made a mistake during the week that was detrimental to the team,” it was reported that he had slept through a walkthrough the previous week. Carter denied those statements, claiming he wasn’t sleeping but instead receiving treatment. Further reports by Paul Schwartz acknowledged that Kafka held Carter accountable for not reviewing his new practice schedule, which included a new time for the weekly walkthrough.
However, those reports came out after Carter publicly defended himself online.
Meanwhile, Cam Skattebo, the Giants’ injured rookie running back, was written into the script of a Monday Night Raw event this week. Skattebo quarrelled with some of the fighters and received criticism for potentially putting his ankle at risk. Granted, these matches are almost always staged.
The concern here isn’t about Skattebo’s decision to enjoy himself during rehab, but more about how he’s another example of young players taking to social media to defend themselves to reporters. Such actions suggest a poor accountability culture within the Giants’ organization, and with the coaching change that occurred two weeks ago, this is no surprise.
As the Giants’ record has worsened to 2-9, players seem to be losing their focus. This season is as good as over, but the future still matters. Kafka must maintain some level of urgency while the Giants search for their next head coach.
Speaking of the Giants’ head coaching search, ownership decided to retain general manager Joe Schoen, despite dropping Daboll. Schoen and Daboll came to New York together. They were seen as a team. Schoen hasn’t done much right for a franchise that’s about to finish in the NFL’s bottom five for the third straight season, but drafting Jaxson Dart, the “quarterback of the future,” might have been enough to save his job.
But for John Mara to let Schoen hire another head coach, just to eventually fire him (which appears to be the case), doesn’t bode well for the Giants’ long-term success.
The main focus of this report is the future of Big Blue. As the losses pile up each week, from the front office to the field, it becomes more difficult for the Giants to achieve that coveted future success. Firing Daboll was crucial, but the Giants now find themselves at a crossroads when it comes to their future, and they cannot afford to make the wrong decision – again.
“The past few seasons have been nothing short of disappointing,” Giants ownership announced after Daboll’s dismissal, “and we have not met our expectations for this franchise. We understand the frustrations of our fans, and we will work to deliver a significantly improved product.”
That “improved product” was nowhere to be found on Sunday as the Giants fell to the Packers 27-20. In his season debut, 31-year-old Jameis Winston couldn’t do enough to support his team’s disastrous defense.
Midway through Kafka’s first week, the Giants picked up their former wideout, Isaiah Hodgins, and on Sunday, he led all Giants receivers in catches (five) and yards (57). Go figure that the Giants’ most productive receiver on Sunday hadn’t played for them all season.
The Giants also ran the ball well, gaining 142 yards on the ground, and Devin Singletary scored two touchdowns. Plus, the offensive line had its best game of the season, and center John Michael Schmitz was the Giants’ highest-grading pass protector, allowing zero pressures against Winston. He has allowed only two pressures in his last five games.
“When you don’t have the reps with some of your teammates, you’ve got to capitalize on those moments and continue to work even harder and find solutions, because when the game really matters, timing and execution are the most important things,” Winson said.
Once the fourth quarter arrived, the Giants’ defense collapsed. The defense’s resume clearly demonstrates an uncanny inability to handle fourth-quarter leads, and after the Giants took a 20-19 lead on an eight-minute, 17-play drive, a collapse felt inevitable with 7:22 left on the clock.
“We’ve just got to make better plays,” said star pass rusher Brian Burns, who somehow ranks second in the NFL with 13 sacks despite his team’s disgraceful defensive stats.
Green Bay was trailing by one point as they began their eventual game-winning drive at their own 35-yard line. Four plays later, they were faced with third-and-10, which was where the Giants blew the game.
Instead of dropping eight in coverage like they did in the fourth quarter to lose to Dallas and Denver earlier this season, the Giants rushed Burns, Darius Alexander, Dexter Lawrence, and Abdul Carter as part of a blitz package. Green Bay’s offensive line was ready, though, and they granted quarterback Jordan Love all kinds of time to make a play. He fired a ball deep to Savion Williams, who maneuvered his hands around Cor’Dale Flott’s tight coverage to make the 33-yard catch.
On their next play, Green Bay took a 10-yard offensive holding penalty, but Romeo Doubs cut loose for 13 yards on first-and-20, and Christian Watson hauled in a 17-yard deep shot over Korie Black for the touchdown. Black didn’t have much of a chance against one of Green Bay’s top receivers.
“If we go out there and they call the same plays, I expect Flott and Korie to make those two plays,” said safety Jevón Holland. “I wouldn’t draw it up any differently.”
At least, overall, Mike Kafka called a good game. Some gritty fourth-down plays highlighted his aggressive play-calling. But he is not the coach calling the defense.
Now, we’ll end today’s edition of Big Blue Review by once again calling for somebody’s job. The lucky winner today is Shane Bowen, the Giants’ defensive coordinator.
After Daboll was fired, Bowen said, “There’s a responsibility that falls on me. We haven’t been good enough defensively, particularly closing out games. […] We have to find ways to win these games and not give it up in the fourth.”
When Bowen served as the Tennessee Titans’ defensive coordinator in 2022, his unit boasted the best rush defense in the NFL. Meanwhile, in 2025, the Giants have allowed the most rushing yards in the league. Also, the Giants have surrendered the fourth-most yards (375.1) and points (27.3) per game this season.
On WFAN, Keith McPherson pointed out that the Giants are probably going to fire Bowen by the end of the season anyway, so it isn’t worth complaining anymore. However, a mid-season firing, if we can even still call it that, would suggest further signs of accountability as the Giants try to plan for…
The future.
Team Stats:
Scoring Breakdown:
Scoring Drives:
Sunday Funday Injury Report (As of 10/21):
CB Paulson Adebo (knee) did not practice on Thursday.
TE Thomas Fidone II (foot) did not practice on Thursday.
CB Cor’Dale Flott (personal) did not practice on Thursday.
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder) did not practice on Thursday.
LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (illness) practiced in a limited capacity on Thursday.
CB Rico Payton (illness) practiced in a limited capacity on Thursday.
WR Darius Slayton (C) (hamstring) practiced in a limited capacity on Thursday.
CB Deonte Banks (hip) practiced in a limited capacity on Thursday.
QB Jaxson Dart (concussion) practiced in a limited capacity on Thursday.
DL Chauncey Golston (neck) practiced in a limited capacity on Thursday.
S Tyler Nubin (neck) practiced in a limited capacity on Thursday.
DL Rakeem Nuñez-Roches (toe/elbow) practiced in a limited capacity on Thursday.
CB Nic Jones (hamstring) practiced in a limited capacity on Thursday.
The 2-7 Giants’ next game will be on Sunday at 1 PM (12 PM CST) as they visit the 6-4 Chicago Bears (FOX, FOXONE).
