Giants head coach Pat Shurmur stands by his decision to punt late in the fourth quarter on Thursday night.
Golden Tate came up two yards shy of a first down at the Giants' 33-yard line with 7:54 left in the game, trailing 28-14. Following quarterback Daniel Jones' incompletion, the Giants had an opportunity to either go for the fourth-and-two conversion or punt the ball into New England's possession.
Shurmur chose the latter, sending Riley Dixon to deliver a 30-yard punt. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady carried the ball into the end zone seven plays later and New England cushioned its already distant lead to three possessions over the Giants.
"I felt like it was the right thing to do," Shurmur bluntly told reporters following the loss.
Shurmur's decision forced the Giants to attempt the nearly improbable comeback, down 19 points with only 3:49 left on the clock. Jones and the Giants offense fell flat, gaining 12 yards on six plays before they turned possession over to New England for the remainder of the game.
He attempted a last resort challenge when New England's Jonathan Jones appeared to interfere with Tate on the team's final drive of the game. Shurmur and the Giants lost the challenge, relinquishing their final timeout.
After review, no pass interference on Golden Tate #patriots #NYGvsNE #nygiants pic.twitter.com/vcOKfXyOrZ
— Sports Gifs & Videos (@Supreme_gifs) October 11, 2019"I thought we had a solid chance to get it," Shurmur said. "But we've seen that replay doesn't overturn much so (I'm) not surprised"
