Giants lose to the Falcons 17-14

"This was the first time the Giants were favored to win in a game, and it made no difference. This was Eli Manning day, and while you could soak in the fan enthusiasm you saw at MetLife stadium from the start, it was a bit diminished as the Giants let the Falcons take over the lead not long before they started the halftime activities.
Looking at the two Super Bowl trophies they had on display as Eli Manning spoke, you almost felt as though you were hearing your parents talk about the good old days, as though they could never be repeated. Today, the current Giants team gave you no hope to doubt that thought as you watched them take their third loss of the season.
In the first two games the Giants faced teams fielding, what many would call, subpar quarterbacks. In this third one, there was Matt Ryan, an established quarterback, but he was playing on a team that just went through a major upheaval. There was a new coaching staff as well as a number of players, and they had lost their first two games by a wide margin.
The Giants should be at least 2-1 at this point, but they have now lost all three games. I hate to sound so down, but people felt that Daniel Jones was holding them back with all his turnovers. He's had just one this season, a fumble in the first game, deep in Denver territory. Meanwhile, Jones is the team's leading rusher, and has thrown no interceptions.
Yet the Giants continue to lose games. What is the problem? Maybe it's that their drives run short, and they score field goals instead of touchdowns. Today, in the first quarter they had a first down on the Falcons 8-yard line. Jones was sacked for an 11 yard loss. The result of this drive was a field goal.
In the second quarter they're first-and-10 at the Falcons 17 yard line. A bad snap that Jones manages to fall on loses 11 yards. Result of this drive is another field goal. It took one touchdown by the Falcons to wipe out the Giants two scores, and gave Atlanta a 7-6 lead going into halftime. I was hoping the good time would later translate to something good happening on the field.
After the festivities, punts were exchanged by the two teams until near the end of the third quarter. Jones started off his next drive scrambling for 11 yards, and Saquon Barkley finished things up with a 1-yard dive into the end zone. Jones topped it off with a 2-point conversion run. The Giants 14-7 lead held up until near the end of the fourth quarter, when Atlanta scored a touchdown to tie the score.
The Giants drive went down to the two minute warning before they had to punt.. The Falcons ran the clock all the way down before kicking a field goal, which gave them a 17-14 win. This is the second game in a row the Giants have lost on the last play of the game to a field goal. This is really not how I thought things would end up on Eli Manning Day."

"In the first half the Giants were winning in most areas except red zone production. They got down there two times to the Falcons one, but field goals aren't touchdowns, so the Giants were down 7-6 at the half. It didn't help that they started this game without left guard Shane Lemieux and center Nick Gates. Overall, the offensive line didn't play all that bad, but they chose exceptionally poor times to do so.
On their very first drive, the line gave up a clear path to Daniel Jones for an 11-yard sack, which resulted in a 3rd-and-19 from what had been a 2nd-and-goal from the Falcons 8-yard line. That turned a possible touchdown into a field goal. In the second quarter a 1st-and-10 from the Atlanta 17-yard line became a 2nd-and-21 after the center snapped the ball over Jones head for an 11-yard fumble loss. Once again, a touchdown drive opportunity resulted in a field goal.
In the third quarter, on a 1st-and-10 at the Giants 44-yard line, Jones threw a screen pass to Saquon Barkley for a 20-yard gain, but it was nullified because Will Hernandez was an ineligible player downfield. They could have had a first down at the Falcons 36-yard line, but this drive ended up with a punt.
Overall Jones did a good job with the offense, considering he lost wide receivers Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton to hamstring injuries in the first half. Kenny Golladay was the top receiver on the day catching catching 4 out of 5 passes for 64 yards. Collin Johnson was next with 51 yards on 5 receptions, and Saquon Barkley caught 6 of 7 passes for 43 yards, as that other catch did not count.
Evan Engram had a bad outing. Engram, who missed the first two games with a calf injury, was targeted 6 times, and caught only 2 for 21 yards. Engram fumbled one catch away, giving the ball over to Atlanta at the Giants 36 yard line. Engram was let off the hook when Matt Ryan was sacked 2 plays later by Azeez Ojulari, and Lorenzo Carter recovered the ball.
The defense had their ups and downs, and it didn't start well for them when Blake Martinez fell to the ground while trying to make a tackle on the fifth play of the game. Martinez, the leading tackler on the team didn't return, and rookie Tae Crowder took over for him. Adoree Jackson had a good game, but dropped a sure interception in the endzone. On the next play, Ryan completed a 4-yard touchdown pass that gave Atlanta their 7-6 lead near the end of the half.
In the fourth quarter, right after the Giants scored a go ahead touchdown, the defense allowed Atlanta to control the ball for over eight and a half minutes. They completed their 15 play, 72 yard drive with a touchdown to tie the game at 14-14. They might have been held short, but on a 3rd-and-goal, Logan Ryan, who earlier dropped a possible interception, was flagged for pass interference.
That gave Atlanta a 1st-and-goal from the Giants 1-yard line, and two plays later they were in.
After that, Atlanta's game winning 40-yard field goal drive took 7 plays that covered 58 yards.
It was another tough loss for the Giants today, and you wonder with the Saints, Cowboys, and Rams coming up, if things can get better.

Daniel Jones has thrown 104 passes this season without an interception.

Graham Gano hit field goals of 25 and 31 yards, to extend his streak to 37 consecutive makes.

Rookie Azeez Ojulari had a QB sack for his third straight game, and caused a forced fumble.

Giants have lost two consecutive games on field goals as the clock wound down.

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