Brian Daboll punted on the game early
Brian Daboll did some great things in his first season as the New York Giants’ head coach. He led the Giants to a Wild Card spot. They upset the Minnesota Vikings on the road in the Wild Card round. However, the Giants were blown out by their rival, the Philadelphia Eagles, on Saturday night. Giants fans were unhappy with one call Daboll made in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles outmatched the Giants in the Divisional Round. The Eagles arguably have the best roster in the league. To win, the Giants needed to play perfectly and coach perfectly. They were far from playing the kind of football that saw them take down the Vikings the week before. They were from coaching at an elite level as well.
Daboll chose to punt the ball on a fourth-and-six from the Giants’ 42-yard-line. The Giants were trailing 21 points with 13:21 left in the fourth quarter. Fans and analysts were confused by the decision at the time. The Giants had nothing to lose by going for it.
Following the game, Brian Daboll gave his explanation for what happened. According to Jordan Raanan with ESPN, Daboll said the Giants “probably could have went for it.” Daboll said the lack of success from the offense during the game was why the coaching staff justified the punt.
https://twitter.com/JordanRaanan/status/1617014578545582083
Giants fans respond
Giants fans were bummed on social media for the whole game. The Giants were badly outplayed from the opening snap. The talent gap between the two teams accounted for the lopsided result. But fans still felt Daboll and the Giants played way too conservatively in the game and didn’t give themselves a chance late in the game.
(What would it have hurt not to get the first down in that situation?)
Here are the best takes on social media about Brian Daboll punting in the fourth quarter.
https://twitter.com/KingMark56/status/1617015858663985154
https://twitter.com/JOEYdaMUSH/status/1617014920805072898
https://twitter.com/Jay_5er/status/1617015369058721792
https://twitter.com/ChavieHalpert/status/1617015317573550081
https://twitter.com/AndrewLiv/status/1617014668878389248
https://twitter.com/makjak/status/1617015417926717441
https://twitter.com/rational_yankee/status/1617015481268846592
https://twitter.com/YankeesSlut/status/1617015513846091777