Giants’ grades: Few bright spots in another loss
New York Giants quarterback Geno Smith (3) passes against the Oakland Raiders during the first half of an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017. Credit: AP / Ben Margot
OFFENSE: D
There were a few blips of optimism in the offense under the control of Geno Smith. The Giants had touchdown drives of 74 and 88 yards, their longest since a 90-yard garbage-time drive in the fourth quarter against the 49ers. But mostly there were the same problems that have dogged the team all year. The Giants were 5-for-14 on third downs, ran for just 65 yards (13 of them from the scrambling quarterback), and had two turnovers on Smith fumbles in Raiders territory.
DEFENSE: D
More than a quarter of the Raiders’ 401 total yards came on two plays: a 51-yard touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch on Oakland’s opening drive and a 59-yard screen pass to Cordarrelle Patterson in the fourth quarter. Lynch managed 50 yards on his other 16 carries and was stuffed on a fourth-down attempt. Landon Collins and Brandon Dixon each dropped an easy interception.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C
Shane Smith came up the middle and tackled punter Marquette King at the Oakland 9 late in the second quarter, and while it technically wasn’t a blocked punt because no kick took place, it was just as good as one. The Giants did a good job of avoiding Patterson with short kickoffs, and Aldrick Rosas kicked a 52-yard field goal. Busy Brad Wing had seven punts, one downed at the 1. Oakland’s shaky returner Jalen Richard muffed several punts, but the Giants could not recover any of them.
COACHING: C
Considering the news swirling around the team the past week, the coaching staff did a decent job of keeping the players as focused on the game as they could be. They also did well getting new faces, some of whom joined the team this week, up to speed and ready to play. The Giants burned their timeouts earlier in the first half, so were forced to throw from the 4 on the final plays of the half, the second of which resulted in a fumble.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
