Giants Q&A: Was that the worst passing game this century?
Mike Glennon of the Giants reacts after fumbling in the first quarter of the game against the Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday in Chicago. Credit: Getty Images/Quinn Harris
Did the Giants just have the NFL’s worst passing game this century?
Yes. Mike Glennon completed 4 of 11 passes for 24 yards and was sacked four times for a loss of 34 yards, giving the team a net of minus-10 passing yards. The last time a team had a worse day than that was in 1998, when the Ryan Leaf-led Chargers were held to minus-19 in a game against the Dolphins that was played in monsoon conditions.
All Joe Judge could muster in defense of the numbers was a meek "it is what it is" and the no-kidding observation that it "wasn’t good enough." Glennon called it "embarrassing," but the fact that he had to stop and think for a moment when asked if he’d ever had a performance as bad as that — and that backup Jake Fromm remained on the sideline the entire game — tells you all you need to know about the current state of the Giants at quarterback.
Where does this passing performance rank in team history?
Minus-10 is the worst, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. And for a team that has been around since 1925 and played in an era when passing wasn’t yet the game’s preferred mode of transportation, that’s pretty bad. Strangely enough, some of the other all-time bad passing games resulted in Giants wins. Their 11 pass attempts on Sunday were the fewest since 1992, when Jeff Hostetler threw nine passes (completing five) in a 23-10 victory over Seattle. The four completions was the Giants’ lowest total since 1978, when Joe Pisarcik hit three of 10 throws in a 17-6 victory over Washington. And the Giants’ 24 gross passing yards were their fewest since they had 24 in a 17-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in 1978.
Why did the Giants pretty much give up on the pass?
A number of factors, including an offensive line stretched even thinner than it has been (starting center Billy Price did not play because of a family matter), the lack of viable receivers (Kenny Golladay was the only one of four the Giants dressed who was not a practice-squad promotion), and the anticipation that weather would play a large factor in the day.
"The plan was to run that much," Judge said. "We were worrying about some of the things we were going to have to deal with.''
At one point, the Giants ran the ball on 15 straight offensive plays.
Did the loss at least help the Giants’ draft position?
No. They remained penciled in with the fifth overall selection, although they would have moved up to fourth had the Jets held on to beat the Buccaneers or if the Texans had beaten the 49ers (it would have been third overall if both of the other four-win teams had won). As for the first-round pick they have coming their way from the Bears (6-10), that remained at eighth overall but could go as high as 10th depending on next week’s results.
What the heck happened on that kickoff?
Pharoh Cooper clearly thought the ball would carry into the end zone as he waved his arms to indicate his expectations of a touchback. It instead plopped down at the 3 and was a live ball that Cooper had to pick up. Judge said the play was "not acceptable" and "inexcusable" but added that no one should expect a roster move or demotion for Cooper because of it. Cooper, despite his distinguished resume as a returner in the NFL, is still a practice-squadder for the Giants and, thanks to injuries, one of their most accomplished receivers, so he likely isn’t going anywhere.
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.
