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Giants living through another nightmare season: ‘It feels like it just can’t be real’

November 24, 2025
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DETROIT — The Giants’ offensive linemen didn’t move for what felt like an eternity after quarterback Jameis Winston was sacked on fourth down in overtime to end Sunday’s 34-27 loss to the Lions.

A mix of familiar emotions — disbelief, frustration, hopelessness — seemed to freeze the linemen after the Giants again inexplicably blew another late lead. This time it was a 27-17 advantage with 12 minutes remaining that evaporated as the Lions scored the game’s final 17 points.

The line was excellent in providing third-string quarterback Jameis Winston, again starting for injured rookie Jaxson Dart, enough protection to throw for 366 yards. But the valiant effort came to an end on fourth-and-5 from Detroit’s 27-yard line when Pro Bowl defensive end Aidan Hutchinson beat right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor around the edge and dropped Winston for the Lions’ only sack of the game.

“I feel the same way everyone else does,” Eluemunor said. “I’m just tired of losing these games. Very, very tired of losing these games.”

The bitter finish was nothing new to the Giants. Sunday’s crushing defeat was the fifth time they’ve blown a double-digit lead this season. Three of those losses came when the Giants led by at least 10 points in the fourth quarter.

The frequent late collapses are so incomprehensible that star wide receiver Malik Nabers, who has been sidelined since tearing his ACL in Week 4, posted on Twitter immediately after the game that, “Sometimes I think they b makin us lose on purpose!” Nabers quickly deleted the tweet that sharply questioned interim coach Mike Kafka’s “football common sense.”

The sequence that drew Nabers’ ire came late in the fourth quarter when the Giants drove deep into Detroit territory while leading 27-24. The Giants reached the Lions’ 2-yard line when running back Devin Singletary was stuffed in the backfield for a 4-yard loss on third down. Left tackle Andrew Thomas believed the Lions were offside on the play, but there was no flag from the officials.

That left Kafka with a decision. He could attempt a chip-shot field goal and put the game in his defense’s hands with a six-point lead and three minutes remaining. But having seen the defense blow leads regularly, Kafka took a more aggressive approach, electing to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 6-yard line.

“Our decision was a correct one,” Kafka said. “I stand by it.”

Winston couldn’t connect with tight end Theo Johnson, who made three big catches for 77 yards, in the end zone so the Lions got the ball on their own 6-yard line needing only a field goal to force overtime. Anyone who has watched a Giants’ game this season knew what was coming next.

The Lions moved the ball down the field with a series of short passes against zone coverage, while defensive coordinator Shane Bowen mixed in some blitzes. Lions quarterback Jared Goff hit running back Jahmyr Gibbs for a 12-yard gain to the Giants’ 41-yard line with a minute remaining. As Gibbs tried to get the ball to an official in the hurry-up offense, Giants safety Jevon Holland knocked it away. That drew a flag for a delay of game penalty. Those five yards would prove to be crucial.

The Lions actually went backward from there, with safety Dane Belton dropping Gibbs for a 5-yard loss on a swing pass to set up a fourth-and-15 from the 41. Again, any Giants observer knew what was coming. Lions kicker Jake Bates calmly kicked a 59-yard field goal with 28 seconds left to force overtime.

The Giants won the coin toss in overtime and elected to kick off. Gibbs took a handoff on the first play of the extra session and sliced through the middle of the Giants’ defense untouched for a 69-yard touchdown.

It was notable that All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence was on the sideline as Gibbs burst through a hole created by defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris getting blown off the ball by a double team. It brought to mind Lawrence being on the bench as the Broncos made a big play to kick-start the game-winning drive in their 33-32 comeback from a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit in Week 7.

But Kafka and Lawrence both said the run-stuffer was “nicked up,” so his workload was being managed. Lawrence was preserved for passing situations after the first quarter, with him rarely on the field on early downs. Lawrence wouldn’t disclose the injury, but he said it was “nothing serious.”

“He was battling,” Kafka said. “He gave us everything he had for as many plays as we could possibly get him in there.”

The new overtime rules allowed the Giants an opportunity to answer. Things were looking bleak when they immediately faced a fourth-and-10, but Winston scrambled for 11 yards to keep the drive — and game — alive.

Short passes and some runs advanced the Giants to the Lions’ 29-yard line. That’s when Winston missed a wide-open Wan’Dale Robinson on a corner route that would have put the Giants deep in Lions territory. Two plays later, the Giants were facing fourth-and-5 from Detroit’s 27 and Hutchinson came around the right end and closed the game with a sack.

“How do I say this respectfully: He did not do a damn thing all f—ing game,” Eluemunor told The Athletic. “He strikes me as the type of guy who would try to celebrate that one play, but for most of the day I was on an island with him, and he didn’t do anything. Obviously, I’m pissed about the last play, but at the same time, there’s not much you can do. They know what you’re going to do, and he still tries to give me his best move, and I run him by the quarterback, and he just manages to run back upfield and get the sack.”

No matter what changes for the Giants — they were on their third quarterback and second head coach Sunday — the results remain the same. No one makes the play to win the game when the opportunity is presented in crunch time.

The Giants have now lost six games in a row and 12 straight on the road dating back to Week 5 of last season. The loss dropped them to 2-10, giving them double-digit losses for the eighth time in the past nine seasons. The Giants have made the playoffs just twice in the 14 seasons since winning Super Bowl 46. They became the first team eliminated from the playoffs this season with Sunday’s loss.

“I feel like I’m in a movie sometimes,” Robinson said. “It’s just not believable sometimes. A lot of movies are fake, so it just feels like it just can’t be real. But obviously, we’re living in reality.”

It’s tricky

Kafka knows he’s not getting the full-time head-coaching job by conservatively guiding the team to the finish line of this lost season. He needs to put his imprint on these final seven games to have a shot at the job. He nearly made his mark on Sunday.

Kafka dialed up a pair of daring trick plays that resulted in touchdowns. On third-and-2 from Detroit’s 39-yard line on the game’s opening possession, Singletary took a pitch to the right and threw back to Winston on the left side of the field. Center John Michael Schmitz got enough on a block of defensive lineman Tyleik Williams to allow Winston time to uncork a 39-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Robinson in the end zone.

Then in the fourth quarter, Kafka dialed up a reverse pass by seldom-used wide receiver Gunner Olszewski. Olszewski avoided rushers in the backfield before lofting a pass to Winston, who made the catch and then stiff-armed Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes to score a 33-yard touchdown to put the Giants up 27-17 with 12:16 remaining.

“I did the Heisman, and we got in the end zone,” said Winston, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2013.

The trick plays shouldn’t overshadow the masterful job Kafka did with a game plan that shredded a potent Lions defense. Bolstered by the pass protection, Kafka had the answers to Detroit’s man-heavy pressure defense.

Robinson was unguardable, finishing with nine catches for a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown. It was the full Winston experience, as he completed 18-of-36 passes for 366 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He peppered the intermediate area of the field, completing 11 passes of at least 20 yards against a Lions defense that had limited explosive plays entering the matchup.

Winston’s performance the past two weeks makes it impossible to understand how he was behind Russell Wilson on the depth chart for the first 10 weeks of the season. But the hope is that Winston returns to the bench, with Dart potentially returning next week for a Monday Night Football game at New England. Dart made the trip to Detroit, which is a promising sign for his progress in the concussion protocol.

Better than it looked?

Giants ownership fired Daboll because the team blew so many games late. Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen was spared, but the defensive shortcomings continue to doom the team. Still, Kafka has stood behind Bowen.

“I have a lot of confidence in Shane and his entire staff,” Kafka said.

Without reviewing the tape, it felt like Bowen called a good game on Sunday. The dynamic Lions passing attack couldn’t find a rhythm despite the Giants being without No. 1 cornerback Paulson Adebo (missed a fifth straight game with a knee injury), cornerback Deonte Banks (hip) and starting safety Tyler Nubin (neck).

Cor’Dale Flott, who has been pressed into the No. 1 corner role in Adebo’s absence, mostly traveled with explosive Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams, who finished with no catches on three targets. The Giants had no answers for Amon-Ra St. Brown, who had nine catches for 149 yards and a touchdown while lining up in the slot and out wide.

The Giants had three sacks from unexpected sources: A pair by rookie defensive tackle Darius Alexander and one by defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches.

The biggest breakdowns were three plays by the run defense. There was Gibbs’ 69-yard touchdown in overtime, a 49-yard touchdown by Gibbs to pull Detroit within 27-24 with 10:50 remaining in regulation and a 49-yard scamper by Gibbs to the 3-yard line to set up a touchdown late in the second quarter. Lawrence wasn’t on the field for any of those runs.




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