A week of gushing over Lamar Jackson almost felt like a setup by Brian Daboll.
It was as if he was preparing everyone for what was likely to take place once Jackson hit the field to face a depleted and overmatched Giants defense. It was as if Daboll was anticipating an impressive showing by Jackson and knew it was highly likely that Jackson’s performance would stand in stark contrast to what the Giants’ quarterbacks would be able to accomplish in a game that always shaped up to be a mismatch.
It was almost as if Daboll wanted to shine a light on what the Ravens have and what the Giants desperately need to find.
“I mean, that’s a pretty important position and [Jackson] is one of the best in the league and you saw that out there,’’ Daboll said.
Yes, we all saw that out there. Although nothing anyone saw in Ravens 35, Giants 14 came as a shock or even a mild surprise. Jackson was given the rest of the day off with more than six minutes remaining and still put up numbers that might have single-handedly won his owners a fantasy football playoff game: 21 of 25, 290 yards, FIVE touchdown passes and 65 rushing yards. His passer rating was 154.6. The Giants used two quarterbacks. Tommy DeVito started and went 10 of 13 for 68 yards before sitting out the second half with a concussion. Tim Boyle made his Giants debut and went 12 of 24 for 123 yards, one touchdown pass and one interception.
Once the Giants after Week 10 decided to bench (and then release) Daniel Jones, this was the way it was going to go. It did not matter much if Daboll went to DeVito first and then Drew Lock or opted for Lock first and then pivoted to DeVito. It brings to mind the old line about rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Cosmetic change that merely makes the disaster look a bit different on the way down.
There were more than six weeks remaining in the season when who was at quarterback for the Giants became irrelevant and who would be their guy in 2025 became the most compelling storyline. Of course, it was far too early for such speculation but rational thought and appropriateness fly out the window at times like this. Rightfully so. Why focus on players who will not be back when the debate between Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward — and, heck, throw two-way cornerback-wide receiver Travis Hunter into the mix — is so much more compelling? Tanking is not real but the impending No. 1 or No. 2 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft is very real.
It is now lore that the Ravens selected Jackson with the No. 32 overall pick in 2018, giving hope to teams out there that it is possible to wait and still land their franchise quarterback. Good luck with that. It does happen, but rarely and the usual course of action is to strike quickly, fully knowing the hit rate on top picks at quarterback is barely a 50-50 proposition. The Giants are in the game now and whoever is calling the shots will be hard-pressed to pass on a quarterback, even though there will be questions with that quarterback. Seven years ago, there were plenty of questions about Jackson and look how that turned out for the Ravens.
More that came out of the Giants’ ninth consecutive loss:
— If you believe it is true that a team and fanbase can learn as much about a player amid adversity as they can during prosperity it is encouraging what Malik Nabers is showing down the stretch of his rookie season. He was targeted 10 times and ended up with 10 receptions for 82 yards and his first touchdown catch since Week 3, when he had two of them in Cleveland. Nabers was accidentally cleated by teammate Chris Manhertz early in the third quarter and limped off the field. He quickly returned — he played 64 of the 68 snaps on offense — and his production would have been higher if not for the Ravens opting to grab and hold him, incurring pass interference penalties. Nabers is high-strung and earlier in his first season it was obvious he took losing exceedingly hard. It is one of the sad realities of 2024 that Nabers, while not accepting all the losing, has been forced to learn how to deal with it.
— This is the first time in franchise history the Giants have ever lost eight home games in a season. They are 0-8 at MetLife Stadium, with one more to play, against the Colts in Week 17. This is the 100th year for the Giants and only one time have they ever gone winless at home. That was in 1974, when they went 0-7 in a 14-game season.
— Teams are supposed to go quarters, not months, between touchdown passes and receptions. Nabers’ leaping grab in the fourth quarter from Boyle was the first passing touchdown for the Giants since Nov. 3, when Jones threw two of them, to tight ends Theo Johnson and Manhertz, in a 27-22 loss to the Commanders. Going four straight games without a touchdown pass is unfathomable but the Giants did it.
— Dexter Lawrence’s hold on the team sack lead is in jeopardy, which it should be, considering he was lost for the season back on Thanksgiving with a dislocated elbow that landed him on injured reserve. Lawrence had nine sacks in 12 games. Brian Burns picked up his eighth sack of the season when he dropped Jackson late in the first quarter for a 10-yard loss. Fairly quietly, Burns is giving his new team exactly what he gave his former team. Burns averaged 9.2 sacks a season in five years with the Panthers, with a low of 7.5 as a rookie in 2019 and a high of 12.5 sacks in 2022. The Giants traded for Burns and then signed him to a five-year deal for $141 million based on what he already accomplished and an anticipated upside, as he is only 26 years old.
— Tossing five touchdown passes in one game is not commonplace. Before Jackson did it, the last quarterback to enjoy such a prolific game against the Giants was Cam Newton, who threw five touchdown passes on Dec. 20, 2015, in a 38-5 victory for the Panthers. The Giants finished 6-10 that season – the last of Tom Coughlin’s 12 years as the head coach – with a bad team that looked nothing like this year’s very bad team. The 2015 Giants averaged 26.3 points a game on offense and allowed 26.4 points a game on defense.
— It is remarkable how invisible Jalin Hyatt is on the field. Sure, he is not the primary target on most plays when he is out there but it is as if he is unseen by the quarterback du jour. Hyatt was used for 20 snaps on offense and he was not targeted for a single pass. The second-year receiver is not out there to do anything other than run routes. Some of this is on the protection up front and the quarterback of the moment, as many of Hyatt’s routes are longer-to-develop options. Still … Nothing is something for a 2023 third-round pick who was expected to take a step forward this season. In 13 games Hyatt has been targeted only 16 times and has seven receptions for 53 yards.