At 0-4 Giants Season Sinks Into Abyss

BUCCANEERS 25, GIANTS 23 

Don't blame the offensive line for this one. Don't blame Odell Beckham Jr. and his antics either. Don't blame Eli Manning, who put his team on his shoulders for 60 minutes on Sunday. The Giants 25-23 loss to the Buccaneers, which has dropped this team to 0-4, is all the fault of head coach Ben McAdoo.

Why? Because he has allowed this team to be this bad. It's no longer about one unit being bad. The Giants are finding ways to lose, especially games that they should win.

Throw away last week's loss to Philly, because this was the game the Giants should have won. They fell behind 13-0 and stormed all the way back to make it ball game. Eli Manning engineered a 7-play 62-yard drive and scored a touchdown by himself before the half to cut the deficit to 13-10.

Early in the third quarter, Manning had the Giants rolling again, hitting Beckham, Brandon Marshall and Sterling Sheperd on short precise throws to keep the chains moving on an 11-play 61 yard drive. A drive that culminated with Manning finding Wayne Gallman of all people for a four-yard score to make it 17-16 Giants with 4:19 to go in the third quarter.

Eli was great.

Odell was also great. In the fourth quarter, he made two huge catches, one for 42-yards to the Tampa Bay 33-yard line, and another one on a huge third and five conversion. He did this all while battling a high ankle sprain that seemed worse now than when he tweaked it six weeks ago in Cleveland. In some ways it was Odell's Willis Reed moment to play while hobbled. The Giants scored on that possession too, when Manning rolled right and hit Rhett Ellison for the go-ahead score with 3:16 to go in the game. The Giants led 23-22.

But one common theme Sunday was this, the Giants once vaunted defense was pathetic on Sunday. Forget the fact that Bucs kicker Nick Folk missed three field goals, because the Giants were giving away opportunities to the Bucs like it was going out of style. From allowing a 58-yard bomb from Jamies Winston to O.J. Howard early in the game that gave the Bucs a 13-0 lead, to allowing the Bucs to answer every single Giants score, they had on answer on Sunday.

When the Giants cut the deficit to 13-10? The Giants allowed Winston to march the Bucs 72 yards in 12 plays for a field goal to make it 16-10.

When the Giants finally had a 17-16 lead? The Giants defense gave it back, when Winston connected with Cameron Brate on a 14-yard score to give the Bucs a 22-17 lead.

Then there was the finish. With the Bucs in a no-huddle the Giants put no pressure on Winston, who scrambled for a first down, and hit Mike Evans for 14-yards to move the ball to the Giants 48. Winston remained perfect as he hit his next three passes including a 26-yard pass down the sideline to Brate who beat Landon Collins on coverage. That catch set up a cheap shot field goal for Folk, which he made barely. Even if Folk had missed the kick, the Giants were called for off-sides when Collins jumped the snap, which would have given Tampa another shot.

It's not even the Christmas season and the Giants are in the giving mood. Merry X-mas Tampa Bay signed McAdoo Claus.

Speaking of Ben McAdoo, what the heck is with his comments after this disaster? When asked by the Daily News' Gary Myers about the defeat, McAdoo said he was "not surprised" by the defeat, adding success one year doesn't translate to the next year. Well ain't that encouraging from the HC of the NYG? McAdoo's comments are totally ignorant and emblematic of a coach who has no clue of what he is doing. In week 1, he threw his quarterback under the bus. Last week he wouldn't take any responsibility for his wide receiver's childish actions. This week, he's not surprised. This guy has put more feet in his mouth than Rex Ryan did in six years destroying the Jets. If this continues, hopefully McAdoo won't be "surprised" when the Giants can him after the season.