I'm not sure what's more disappointing about Sunday's debacle against the Eagles, the fact that the Giants completely fell apart and blew a three-touchdown lead in the last eight minutes, or the fact that I knew it was coming.
The Giants are still, in fact, the Giants. Sunday's nightmare wasn't the first time they've found a way to lose a game they should have won, although it is probably the worst loss I've experienced in more than 25 years as a Giants fan.
My introduction to Giants heartbreak was during the playoffs following the 1989 season, when the Giants threw away a playoff game at home against the Rams, and lost when Flipper F'ing Anderson scored in overtime. I'm pretty sure I cried for an hour. I was 10, give me a break.
Eight years later, the Giants hosted the Vikings in a Wild Card game at the Meadowlands. Danny Kanell and company built a 19-3 halftime lead and were ahead 22-13 with under two minutes left, then watched the Vikings score 10 points in the last 90 seconds to steal the game.
Fast forward to January, 2003, when the Giants went to San Francisco for the Wild Card game and suffered the second-biggest playoff collapse in NFL history. Ahead 38-14 with less than four minutes left in the third quarter, the Giants were in complete control, while my father and I started talking ourselves into believing they could go to Tampa and beat the Buccaneers the next week. Then the defense completely fell apart, Jeremy Shockey dropped a sure touchdown pass and Matt Bryant missed a field goal allowing Jeff Garcia to lead a comeback that ultimately put the 49ers ahead 39-38.
But as we all know, it wasn't enough for the Giants to blow a 24-point lead, they had to then give us all hope they would still find a way to win by moving into field goal range as time ran out. Trey Junkin's snap was horrible, Matt Allen heaved the ball down the field, and the refs completely mangled what should have been pass interference against an eligible receiver. In truth, the Giants deserved to lose anyway, and not even a solitary six-pack on my front stoop was enough to forget that disaster.
There are other games on the list too. The Brian Westbrook punt return game in 2003. The blown 21-0 lead in Tennessee in 2006. Jim Fassel throwing away a game against Steve McNair and the Titans in 2002. It goes on and on.
All of that pales in comparison to Sunday, which was a complete nightmare and cost the Giants the NFC East title and may end up keeping them out of the playoffs entirely.
As far as I'm concerned, the game was lost when Tom Coughlin and the special teams coaching staff failed to recognize an obvious onside kick situation following a Philly touchdown that brought the Eagles within 31-17 with just over seven minutes left. There is absolutely no excuse for not having the "hands" team on the field in that spot; I was half-drunk and stated out loud to "watch out for the onside kick." The fact that the entire kick return unit turned their backs on David Akers is damning when it comes to their preparation, and falls at the feet of Coughlin above all. If the Giants handle that onside kick, the game is over, and they're on their way to a first round bye and homefield playoff game.
Instead, the Eagles grabbed the ball and momentum. Michael Vick ran wild on the next drive and scored two minutes later, and the game was OVER despite the fact that the Giants still lead by a touchdown. If you disagree with that, you obviously haven't been a Giants fan long enough to see these things coming.
On the next Giants drive, they were actually able to move the ball for one first down, then shot themselves in the foot when Dave Diehl was hit with a false start penalty that turned 2nd-and-6 into 2nd-and-11. (Penalties at the worst possible time, another staple of the Coughlin regime) The Eagles got the ball back at their own 12, and marched 88 yards in less than two minutes to tie the game at 31 with 1:16 left.
Stupidly, I allowed myself to believe that with three timeouts, Eli Manning had plenty of time to salvage the game in regulation. Two incomplete passes and a sack later, I'd seen enough, and was sitting outside on the curb before the fateful Matt Dodge punt to DeSean Jackson.
I have not seen the play. I will not watch the play. Ever. If I live to be 200 years old, I'll turn away from the television whenever it is shown.
The Giants lost long before that play, and in reality it served as a fitting end to a disastrous day for a special teams unit that has been waiting to screw us all over for years. And, honestly, it saved us all from the agony of losing in overtime anyway, which was a foregone conclusion, regardless of what happened on the (hypothetical) coin toss.
What happens next is what's important to the 2010 Giants and the direction of the franchise in the years to come. Tom Coughlin's December record is pathetic, and a loss to Green Bay on Sunday virtually guarantees there will be no playoffs this season. I'm not a Coughlin-hater, but there is ample justification for getting him the hell out of here. For all his talk about disciplined play, the Giants still make critical errors by mentally and physically far too frequently. I didn't even mention the ridiculous fumble by Mario Manningham in the third quarter that gave the Eagles a pulse down 24-3.
Furthermore, the failure to recognize fairly obvious game situations like the onside kick is completely Coughlin's fault. He builds the coaching staff, and no matter how much we all want to blame Matt Dodge for kicking the ball directly to Jackson on the last play of the game, that never happens if the Giants were prepared for an obvious onside kick.
I consider myself lucky that my travel plans this weekend will prevent me from seeing even a second of the game in Green Bay. I'm still disgusted by Sunday's loss, and taking a week off can only be beneficial to my longterm health and sanity.
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