It was as listless and as lifeless a performance as it gets.
The New York Giants delivered a complete dud on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, falling to the Tennessee Titans 17-0 in a game that left fans feeling both blue and soggy, and that has nothing to do with the weather.
It was almost apropos that this game was played in a cold downpour on a gray and gloomy Sunday afternoon, because that is exactly how the Giants played.
New York managed only 260 yards of offense and 15 first downs the Titans blanked Big Blue, the first shutout loss for the Giants at home since 2013 when they were blanked by the Seattle Seahawks 23-0. That Seahawk team was en route to the Super Bowl. The Titans are mediocre team that may just squeak into the AFC Playoffs.There was no reason to lose to such a team, but the Giants proved once again they are a lousy football team. And when Saquon Barkley is held to only 31-yards on 14 carries and Odell Beckham Jr. is not even suited up for the game, the Giants go from lousy to abysmal. There is no in-between.
After the Giants went three-and-out on its first series of the game, the Titans ran the football right down their throats on a 15-play, 75 yard drive that ate up nearly eight minutes as running back Derrick Henry picked up right where he left off last week against Jacksonville, this team tearing up the Giants. Henry touched the football nine times on the drive, including a one-yard plunge into the end zone for the touchdown to give the Titans a 7-0 lead.
Henry ate the Giants lunch, gashing them for 170 yards on 33 carries, looking more like Earl Campbell each time he touched the football. The Giants had no answer for the 247 pound back out of Alabama.
As for Eli Manning, the questions about whether he should remain the starter moving forward in 2019 only became a talking point again. Manning was bad, throwing for 229 yards and an interception. Not having Beckham hurt him as he couldn't find anyone open, and when he did the passes were dropped or overthrown.
Oddly enough Manning did get the Giants into the Titans red zone to open the third quarter, but an illegal use of the hands penalty pushed the Giants back to the Titans 28-yard line. Two plays later Manning was picked off by Kevin Byard. That was the closet the Giants would come to a touchdown all day.
The next time Manning touched the football, he was strip-sacked, and Tennessee recovered. The Titans eventually scored when (guess who?) Derrick Henry scored again to make it 14-0.
At 5-9, the Giants can forget any fleeting playoff hopes. They were dashed with the loss and wins by the Vikings, Eagles and Redskins. It's time to face facts. The Giants are a bad football team with an identity crisis.
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