The New York Giants were happy to welcome fans back to MetLife Stadium for the first time since 2019 yesterday, although unfortunately, the game didn’t work out as they had hoped.
"I'd like to go ahead and thank the fans for coming out and obviously this was an atmosphere that we've been waiting for for some time," coach Joe Judge said. "They were great today. We have to earn their cheers, they were very supportive, they were great, it was great energy in the stadium. We've got to do something more as a team to make them want to go ahead and stay into the game longer than they can and give us their support. That's something we have to earn."
A 27-13 loss to Denver that was never really as close as the score indicates in the second half – Daniel Jones scored on the final play of the game, after Denver had scored 24 unanswered points – and the stadium grew very quiet as the second half unfolded.
"Certainly disappointing," quarterback Daniel Jones said. "The fans showed up and brought a lot of energy, brought a lot of excitement and we've got to do a better job performing and playing well. We appreciate that and we're determined to get it right."
There were some stumbles – Daniel Jones had a bad turnover, Kenny Golladay was non-existent for three quarters, and Judge made an uncharacteristic mistake by throwing a challenge flag on a touchdown play that had already been reviewed, costing the Giants a second-half timeout at a point the team was only down 10.
“I know the rule there, it was just an emotional moment for me,” Judge said.
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Perhaps the biggest disappointment, however, was the way the Giants’ defense, usually a strong unit, performed in the final 33 minutes or so, starting with a two-minute drill at the end of the first half where the Broncos scored a go-ahead touchdown by netting 50 yards on four plays in less than a minute.
"It wasn't our standard, and we have to be better. Our first game was their first game, too, and we have to get off the field on third and fourth downs,” safety Logan Ryan said. “I believe their defense probably would have been bad too if they would have played longer, but they didn't. Extended plays, the pass-rush needs to be better and in the secondary, I mean, we have to be much better at what we do and I'm confident we can have that fixed and it's a different game if we get that, but credit to them."
Indeed, Denver owned time of possession, and in five trips inside the red zone, they scored 20 points and fumbled inside the five. They were also 10-for-18 on third and fourth downs, and one of those fourth down conversions was the third-quarter touchdown pass to Albert Okwuegbunam that Judge challenged – a play where even if somehow the TD was reversed, the Broncos’ tight end already had the first down.
"It's extremely backbreaking. I think we had a lot of chances, but it came down to us just executing the play call, and we didn't do that. Obviously, they made us pay for it,” linebacker Blake Martinez said. “At the end of the day, we're a team. We have to play better and keep it a game going through. It’s just one of the things and you just have to keep fighting through."
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And, in the end, the offense didn’t help that team effort, including two fourth-quarter possessions where they came away with zero points despite two trips into the red zone.
"We certainly expect to score more points and expect to convert those opportunities in the red zone," Jones said. "I think as a group we're not going to get emotional about it or get too discouraged or down but look at actually what happened and what we can correct in certain situations to score those touchdowns."
And, once again, Jones fumbled in a key spot, truncating a drive where the Giants had gone more than 50 yards and were approaching the red zone by fumbling inside Denver’s 15, leading to a field goal that made it 20-8.
"Turnovers are always going to hurt you at any point in the game and they're big plays," Jones said. "We've got to do a good job of taking care of the ball. You certainly try to protect the ball better. You try to get two hands on it, but didn't secure it tight enough. But we'll keep moving forward and keep improving.
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"We've got to do a better job as a team eliminating the penalties and turnovers," Judge added. "That's a team focus right there, so this isn't about any one player. It's about a team improving and, look, good teams improve week-to-week."
The Giants have a short week, and will head to D.C. for Thursday Night Football against a Washington Football Team that lost the game and their starting quarterback on Sunday, and Judge is hopeful that when they return to MetLife on September 26, the day they retire Eli Manning’s No. 10 and induct him into the team’s Ring of Honor, the Giants will give the fans something to cheer for before and after that halftime ceremony.
"We've got to earn the fans respect, point blank," Judge said. "These people come out here and spend their hard-earned money. They sit in the seats, they cheer for us, they give us energy within the seats. We have to give them something to cheer about. It's not their job to show up and cheer just the cheer. That's not their job. Their job is to be entertained. They buy a ticket, that means they buy the right to cheer, boo, stay, leave, whatever they want to do. We got to give them something to stay for."
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