Jonathan Casillas puzzled why ‘D’ let down Giants again
Mike Evans of the Bucs runs for a first down after a catch against Darian Thompson, left, and Jonathan Casillas of the Giants in the fourth quarter at Raymond James Stadium on Oct. 1, 2017, in Tampa, Fla. Credit: Getty Images / Joe Robbins
TAMPA, Fla. — The supposed strength of this Giants team has become its weakness.
The defense, the group that was expected to be among the top units in the NFL this season, the one that is supposed to be handed a sliver of a lead by the offense at any point in the game and spin it into a victory, failed. Again.
For the second week in a row, the Giants’ offense came off the field ahead on the scoreboard twice in the fourth quarter, and for the second week in a row the vaunted defense handed that lead back to the opponent. On Sunday it was the Bucs who marched down the field in the final 3:16, using a 26-yard pass to tight end Cameron Brate over the top of Pro Bowl safety Landon Collins on third-and-1 from the Giants’ 39 — likely just outside field-goal range — to set up the winning kick in a 25-23 defeat.
“Our defense has to be the one that sucks it up and makes a damn play when it comes down to it,” defensive captain Jonathan Casillas said. “I don’t think we’ve done that in the last two weeks.”
Casillas was part of the unraveling in this one, which took an eerily similar narrative to the loss in Philadelphia a week ago. With the Giants ahead 17-16 midway through the fourth, he slipped in coverage on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Brate that gave the Bucs a 22-17 lead (they failed on a two-point conversion pass).
Even after that, the Giants were able to retake the lead, 23-22, with 3:16 left. And they seemed poised to keep the Bucs out of field-goal range on that key third-down play with 41 seconds left.
“I played hard inside, tried to force him out,” Collins said of his coverage. “My foot got stuck. I tried to make a play and tried to get the ball out. Good play, just a good play.”
The performance left the Giants’ decorated defense scratching their heads.
“I wish I could put my finger on it, man,” All-Pro tackle Damon Harrison said. “It’s just not clicking right now.”
“It’s crazy,” cornerback Eli Apple said. “The whole team is counting on us to finish the game and we have to do that better.”
Casillas said he felt confident in the group as it took the field for the final two drives.
“Talking to the guys before the plays, we were all thinking it was gonna come down to it being on us, and we prepared for it,” Casillas said. “And then all of a sudden a big play happens and a touchdown happens, and gosh. We’re up for the challenge, so I think. In hindsight, you look back and were we ready? I don’t know.
“I know at the end of the game when we’re out there and we have a lead, we have to protect it. There is no panic in me, personally. I wish I could say that for everybody else, but I’m not in everybody else’s head.”
Whether the players panic or lack confidence or are starting to have doubts creep in, the defense just flat out came up short when the team needed it the most. Again.
“It’s our job to keep the lead and extend the lead if possible,” Harrison said. “It’s all on us.”
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.
