Giants Off to 4-3 Start After Dismal Season
By: Jordan Jeffers
As the New York Football Giants begin their 2016 season they are hoping for big improvements after a disappointing 2015 campaign. Last season they took the record for the most games lost after holding a lead in the 4th Quarter. The dismal season led to the resignation of head coach Tom Coughlin who led the team to 2 Super Bowl victories in the past 8 years.
Former offensive coordinator and new head coach Ben McAdoo has the team off to a good start with a 4-3 record going into November.an opening week victory over their NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys. The Giants appeared determined to right the wrongs of last season by pulling out a close victory in the match up with a final score 20-19, thanks to some good defense on the Cowboys final drive.
In week two they continued their winning streak against the visiting New Orleans Saints. The Giants were able to pull out another close call by strategically kicking the game winning field goal as time expired.
After opening with two close victories, the Giants have unfortunately not been able to continue the trend. In week three they fell to the division opponent Washington Redskins in a back and forth game where both teams showed their resilience.
The matchup was a highly anticipated rematch between Redskins cornerback Josh Norman and Giants star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. The two clashed last season while Norman was a member of the Carolina Panthers. The two had an on field altercation that resulted in Beckham’s suspension for the following week’s game. In the current match up most would say Norman got the last laugh as the Redskins took the victory 29-27. However Beckham was able to rack up 7 receptions for 121 yards while primarily being covered by Norman. Many have questioned the star receivers ability to maintain his composure in these encounters as he was seen demonstrating his frustrations on the sidelines. He even got into a bit of a scuffle with a kicking net, where the net got the last laugh. Although much of the criticism has been fallen on Beckham’s shoulders’, the team did amass 11 penalties for 128 yards. The penalties included 2 personal fouls against Giants center Weston Richburg which led to his ejection on a crucial play in the 4th quarter where Beckham made a big play to get them deep in Redskins territory.
After the disappointing end to the 3rd game of the year the Giants looked to rebound against the Minnesota Vikings in a Monday night match up. The Giants put on an uninspired performance and lost the game 24-10 and never led. The Vikings defense put on another strong showing and limited the Giants opportunities. Beckham was caught in another skirmish, this time with cornerback Xavier Rhodes. Beckham took a late hit out of bounds but didn’t get the call which seemed gets his temper going. He ended up having the worst game of his young career with just 3 receptions for 23 yards.
