Giants-Falcons final score: Giants drop to 0-3 with last-second loss to Atlanta

Giants give up 10 points in closing minutes, manage to lose on day they honored Eli Manning

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants fell to 0-3 on Sunday with a 17-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Younghoe Koe made a 40-yard field goal as time expired to give Atlanta (1-2) the victory.

On the day the Giants retired Eli Manning’s No. 10 and welcomed him into their Ring of Honor, the Giants managed to ruin the festivities.

“We didn’t finish,” said head coach Joe Judge. “We’ve gotta do a better job of finishing drives, finishing the game.”

After three frustrating, mistake-filled quarters of missed opportunities, the Giants took a 14-7 lead with 12:53 to play. Saquon Barkley dove in from a yard out to complete a 10-play, 71-yard, 5:10 drive. Daniel Jones ran the ball in for a two-point conversion.

They couldn’t close the deal.

Atlanta responded with a 15-play, 72-yard, 8:40 drive for a game-tying touchdown. Matt Ryan hit Lee Smith with a 1-yard score to tie the game at 14-14 with 4:13 to play.

On the final drive of the game, Atlanta moved from its 20 to the Giants’ 22-yard line over the game’s final 1:50 to set up the game winner.

The Giants had eight penalties for 53 yards. They had two fumbles, one that came on a shotgun snap and ended up forcing them to settle for a field goal. They appeared to burn several timeouts because of confusion, including two in the fourth quarter. Adoree’ Jackson dropped an interception in the end zone that would have prevented Atlanta’s game-tying fourth-quarter touchdown.

Stats

• Giants quarterback Daniel Jones completed 24 of 25 passes for 266 yards and a 90.9 passer rating. Jones also ran 8 times for 39 yards.
• Saquon Barkley ran 16 times for 51 yards. Barkley had a team-high 6 receptions for 43 yards.
• Collin Johnson, in his first action as a Giant, had 5 receptions for 51 yards.
• Kenny Golladay had 4 catches for 64 yards.
• Kadarius Toney had 2 catches for 16 yards.
• Linebacker Tae Crowder had a team-high 11 tackles and added a pass defensed.
• Azeez Ojulari had a sack for the third straight game, and added a forced fumble.

First-half summary

The Giants trailed, 7-6, at the half. New York committed six penalties for 43 yards and fumbled twice in the first two quarters. The Giants got field goals of 25 and 31 yards from Graham Gano. Atlanta scored on a 4-yard pass from Matt Ryan to Olamide Zaccheaus.

Injury news

• The Giants lost starting inside linebacker Blake Martinez on Atlanta’s first possession. Martinez fell to the turf trying to tackle Cordarrelle Patterson and had to be helped off the field. This was a non-contact injury for Martinez.
• Wide receiver Darius Slayton was ruled out with a hamstring injury near the end of the first quarter.
• Wide receiver Sterling Shepard limped to the locker room with a right hamstring injury mid-way through the second quarter. He was quickly ruled out.

Head coach Joe Judge had no additional information on the injured players immediately after the game.

Eli Manning ceremony

The Giants retired Eli Manning’s No. 10 jersey and welcomed him into the team’s Ring of Honor during a raucous halftime ceremony. Manning won two Super Bowl MVP trophies and holds the following franchise records:

• Most games played — 236
• Most consecutive games played — 210
• Most seasons played — 16
• Most passes attempted — 8,119
• Most completions — 4,895
• Most passing yards — 57,023
• Most passing touchdowns — 366
• Mot 300-yard passing games — 51

Manning broke out his “Once a Giant, always a Giant. I’m glad I’m only a Giant” line during his speech. There were video tributes from Tom Coughlin and Michael Strahan. Manning also re-enacted his famous Super Bowl pass completions to David Tyree and Mario Manningham.

Full arsenal

For the first time this season, quarterback Daniel Jones had his full complement of players. Tight end Evan Engram played for the first time this season. Wide receiver Kenny Golladay, who had been questionable with a hip injury, also played. Those two, in addition to Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, Kyle Rudolph, Kadarius Toney and Saquon Barkley, the Giants all of their primary play-makers for the first time this season.

That didn’t last long with the injuries to Slayton and Shepard. Golladay was also in and out of the lineup.

Giants inactives

CB Josh Jackson
RB Devontae Booker
CB Sam Beal
DB Nate Ebner
LB Justin Hilliard

Booker, usually the primary backup for Barkley, was a surprise inactive. The Giants needed only five inactives to get to the 47-player game day limit as they currently have only 52 active players, one short of the 53-man roster limit.

What’s next?

The Giants are on the road against the New Orleans Saints next Sunday. That game is set for the Mercedes-Benz Superdome despite a recent fire that damaged part of the structure’s roof.