The New York Giants experienced some deja vu on Sunday, squandering a late fourth-quarter lead and falling to the Detroit Lions, 34-27, in overtime. It was the fourth fourth-quarter collapse of the season and the fifth time Big Blue has lost a road game in which they led by 10-plus points this year.
The loss dropped the Giants to 2-10 on the season, leaving them officially eliminated from the playoffs — the NFL’s first team this season and the organization’s earliest exit since 1976.
New York will visit the New England Patriots on Monday night in Week 13 before finally entering their bye.
Here’s a look at whose stock is up and whose is down after Week 12 of the regular season.
Stock up: WR Wan’Dale Robinson
Wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson is in a contract year, and he’s going to get paid. In the absence of Malik Nabers, he’s stepped into the leading role and is on pace for more than 1,100 yards. It feels like a lifetime ago that Robinson was being lambasted for his lack of size and yards per reception, but he’s now averaging a career-high 12.0 yards per catch and has morphed into one of the NFL’s most productive receivers (No. 9, to be exact).
Stock down: DC Shane Bowen
What can even be said at this point? Have injuries plagued the Giants’ defense? Yes. Are personnel issues also causing issues? Yes. But none of that wipes away the historic meltdowns that plague Shane Bowen’s defense. Sunday marked the fifth time this season that Bowen’s defense surrendered a 10-point-plus lead on the road, and the fourth such instance of them surrendering a late fourth-quarter lead. It’s the worst kind of history, and he’s clearly lost the trust of interim head coach Mike Kafka.
Stock up: HC Mike Kafka
Kafka was correct to go for it on fourth-and-goal, and no one can convince me otherwise. The logic behind it is sound: Bowen’s defense can’t hold onto leads, and a six-point edge wasn’t going to be enough to win the game. Had the Giants gone up 10 points late, maybe they would have had a chance to secure victory, and Kafka deserves applause for recognizing that. Moreover, his offensive play-calling was largely on point, the trick plays were masterful, and his players clearly believe in him. Kafka can not allow Bowen to blow his opportunity to secure the full-time head coaching job. If there’s one knock on him to date, it’s that he remains committed to a defensive coordinator who is failing at historic levels.
Stock down: RB Eric Gray
Running back Eric Gray returned to the field on Sunday and brought his kick return issues back with him. Gray muffed a kickoff and left the Giants’ offense pinned deep in enemy territory — something that had become a theme of Gray’s pre-injury. Why the Giants continue to use him as a return man when he’s proven time and again that he’s incapable of it is baffling. Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial must answer for that later this week.
Stock up: QB Jameis Winston
The interception stung, but that’s part of the Jameis Winston experience — something the NFL world got in spades on Sunday. The veteran quarterback, starting in place of rookie Jaxson Dart (concussion), completed 18 of his 36 pass attempts for 366 yards, two touchdowns, and the aforementioned INT. He also rushed for 13 yards and, in a career first, hauled in a 33-yard touchdown reception off the arm of wide receiver Gunner Olszewski, in which he stiff-armed a Lions defender to the ground and rumbled into the endzone. Jameis is a blast; a national treasure.
Stock down: P Jamie Gillan
What in the world has happened to punter Jamie Gillan? Over the past month, it feels like he’s fallen off a cliff. After struggling on kickoffs, he has been replaced by kicker Younghoe Koo and relegated back to punt-only duty. The issue? He’s struggling in that area, too. Shanks have become all too common, and that theme continued again on Sunday with two bad punts (one slightly aided by a nice roll).
More stock up
More stock down
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Stock up, down after New York Giants’ Week 12 loss to Detroit Lions
Reporting by Dan Benton, Giants Wire / Giants Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
