Stats that Told the Story of the Giants 34-7 Loss to the Atlanta Falcons

A few repetitive mistakes led the way of the select numbers that marred the Giants in their blowout loss to the Falcons.

Dec 22, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Giants quarterback Drew Lock (2) is helped up by guard Greg Van Roten (74) after an interception for a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The New York Giants gave their fans a glimmer of success before the real side of their team reared its ugly head in an even uglier 37-7 road loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

The game between the two sides featured a duel of two backup quarterbacks earning starting time after their respective predecessors were benched in the middle of the season. 

The Giants, led by Drew Lock, who returned from his heel injury suffered in Week 13, were looking to avoid a historic 10-game losing streak while the Falcons kicked off their first regular season game with rookie arm Michael Penix Jr. with their playoff dreams on the line. 

New York began the game looking like a competent football team. They orchestrated a 14-play, 70-yard drive to take a rare 7-0 lead over Atlanta, their first lead in a game since the first quarter of Thanksgiving Day against the Dallas Cowboys. Then, a series of untimely mistakes flipped the script, and the Giants went back into their true tanking form and never came back. 

Atlanta returned from the halftime break after some miscues of their own. They rediscovered their offensive groove behind Penix, who went 18 of 27 on his throws for 202 yards and an interception in his first taste of full-length regular season action. 

They would put together another 17 points on the board to seal the deal of a much-needed win in front of their home fans and salvage their postseason odds. Meanwhile, the Giants would suffer from another landslide performance and officially secure their new franchise record losing skid, which adds to a year of miserable events for the team. 

The Giants only have two games remaining on their schedule to figure out how to notch a win before it's all over, with likely the top draft pick in their possession. Before they can do that, they’ll have to digest these statistics that tell the story of their latest blowout loss to another mediocre opponent.

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Dec 22, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Giants quarterback Drew Lock (2) throws a touchdown pass over Atlanta Falcons defensive end Grady Jarrett (97) during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

For as decent as Giants quarterback Drew Lock looked in his most recent start against the New Orleans Saints in Week 14, it was the opposite in Atlanta Sunday as the gunslinger returned with a horrific day from the pocket. 

Returning to the starting role after missing the last game with a heel ailment, Lock played like a quarterback that had nothing to lose, costing him a few possessions at big moments during the game. 

With the Giants still in reach of the Falcons in the first half, he proceeded to commit three turnovers, two as interceptions on both sides of halftime, to bury the team into a deficit it hasn’t been able to touch all season. 

The first came on the Giants’ third possession of the first half, with a 7-3 advantage over the Falcons that New York was looking to build upon. Instead, they went five plays and 22 yards before Lock darted an ill-timed throw to Wan’Dale Robinson, which was read easily and picked off by Falcons safety Jessie Bates III, who took it back 55 yards for a pick six and a 10-7 lead. 

On the two ensuing Giants drives, Lock and company would convert one first down before punting in five snaps and then fumbling the ball at their own 41-yard line to give Atlanta excellent field position for more points before the break. The Giants were lucky as Michael Penix would suffer his fatal throw that Kyle Pitts bobbled and intercepted back by Cor’Dale Flott to maintain a respectable 17-7 deficit. 

However, it was the Christmas season, and so the Giants were able to give and take at the same time. Lock and the offense got the football back to start the second half, but just two plays into their possession, the quarterback’s pass was tipped up into the air and taken away by edge rusher Matthew Judon, who returned another 27 yards for the second pick six of the afternoon, giving the Falcons a surefire 24-7 advantage in a flash. 

With those mistakes, the Giants earned their first multi-turnover game since Week 10 against the Carolina Panthers, when Daniel Jones threw two interceptions in the loss and Tyrone Tracy had a game-sealing fumble in overtime. 

Lock would rebound a little in the second half to finish with 22 completions on 39 attempts for 210 yards and a touchdown, but he could not lead the Giants into another positive possession that cut into their huge deficit. It was the perfect showing that proved to the Giants there is as much a glaring need at the backup position this summer as the starting role on the roster that has looked worse since Jones left almost two months ago. 

In all likelihood, the outing by Lock will lead to a benching for these last two games. It’s hard not to argue that he was a huge reason why the team lost to the Falcons on Sunday, and that’s not what you want from a guy who is supposed to be an insurance option when something goes wrong at the quarterback position.

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Dec 22, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) scores a touchdown against the New York Giants in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

In my “Keys to the Game” piece leading up to the game in Atlanta, I mentioned that the Giants needed to find a way to contain lead running back Bijan Robinson from gashing the defense and adding a second element to the Falcons scoring production. 

That advice fell on deaf ears, as the Giants might have contained Robinson to a total stat line below the 100-yard mark he’s seen several times this season, but not before he could contribute a chunk of the opponents’ points in his modest workload. 

Robinson finished the day with 22 carries for 94 yards and two touchdowns to help Atlanta put the win to rest, along with the defensive efforts.

The 22-year-old’s first score came on the Falcons’ fourth possession of the first 30 minutes to cap off a nine-play, 86-yard drive that heavily featured a rushing attack by Robinson and Tyler Allgeier. 

The former back took it in four yards on the final snap of the turn, pounding it up the gut of the Giants defense to hand Atlanta their 17-7 lead with 1:43 left before intermission. 

If the Giants thought they’d seen the best of Robinson and the Falcons offensive operation, they were forced to think again at the beginning of the third quarter. After notching the second pick-six to go up 24-7 on the visitors, the Falcons went downfield again in a game-high 12 plays and 69 yards to hand it off to Robinson, who bounced to the outside and secured his second two-yard touchdown. 

Along with their former first-round pick’s efforts, the Falcons would earn ground yards from three other ball carriers and finish with 38 carries for 117 yards and two scores on the ground. They were held to just 3.3 yards per carry in the same span, which was good for one of the lowest numbers allowed by New York in 2024. 

Still, moral victories do no good when a team gives up this much success in the trenches. The Giants might have kept a third opponent’s start running back below 100 yards amid their positive campaigns and the third team in the last five. Still, it allowed the Falcons to become two-dimensional and wear out a unit already exhausted with injuries. 

In return, quarterback Michael Penix and the passing offense didn’t have to fret to come up with all the big plays to win the football game. The final result was a 329 total yardage output that was just the perfect script to handle a hapless Giants team that struggles to pull off comebacks once they’re out in a trailing situation.

What made it worse was the Giants couldn’t find any success with the combo of Tyrone Tracy and Devin Singeltary all afternoon. The rookie did make a remarkable catch in the back of the endzone to earn his sixth touchdown of the season, but the backfield was swallowed up and held to a miserable 13 carries for 45 yards for their second-lowest stat line of the year.

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Dec 22, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Giants linebacker Darius Muasau (53) sacks Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

After starting to wake their pass rush up again over the past few weeks, it was back to the doldrums for the Giants, whose defensive front couldn’t get their hands on another vulnerable quarterback in Michael Penix Jr. 

Entering the contest in Atlanta, the Giants knew they finally had an opposing offensive line that was beatable around the edge. The Falcons were ranked 21st in the NFL in team pass rush win rate at the onset of Week 16 and could have left Penix scrambling a little if their protection didn’t hold up against a hampered yet still hungry New York pass rush. 

Nevertheless, Penix’s blockers pulled up to the occasion for their new starter and offered him pretty flawless security upfront. Having the mobility to escape any potential pressures was a plus for his game, but the rookie remained upright the entire game, and the Giants were again held scoreless in the sacks department. 

In terms of overall pressures, the Giants recorded seven total tackles for loss, the most notable coming from linebacker Darius Muasau, who led the team in tackles with 11 and four solo. They also had two quarterback hits on Penix and four pass deflections, which could be deemed a minor positive in putting the Falcons into long yardage scenarios and proving their worth. 

Without any ability to pin the Falcons' offense back on any takedowns behind the line of scrimmage, it created opportunities for the home team to command the time of possession and execute long drives that resulted in points four times. 

The Falcons had five drives spanning at least eight plays on Sunda,y including two for 12 and 15, respectively, that landed a combined 10 points on the scoreboard. 

One could go as far as to blame this factor as part of the reason why the Giants have trailed for so many minutes this season (they lead for 10:30 against Atalanta) as the defense has done them no favors in getting back the football with timely negative plays. 

Of course, the injuries to their key rushers don’t help, but there has to be some sort of next-man-up mentality in order to remain competitive at the professional level.

The Giants have not had that sort of element to their team in recent weeks, including from starters who are still healthy, such as Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux.

It’s been a sad fall from grace for a team that was racking up the sacks in the first half of the regular season and is now experiencing famine as the final two games emerge.

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Dec 22, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) runs after a catch against the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

If one were looking for any positives from the Giants’ latest disparaging game, rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers brought one with his new record-setting performance in just his 15th NFL game. 

Nabers has been on a fast track for not only one of the best-receiving campaigns by a first-year player on the Giants but also in the entire league. He came into Sunday with 90 catches for 901 yards and four touchdowns, which led the team in the receiving department and included an average of 64.3 yards per contest in the same span. 

The catch number was also just one shy of surpassing the Giants single-season rookie record held by former receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who accomplished it with 91 hauls during the 2014 season. 

Nabers, who was already pacing Beckham in catches in the last few games, had no problems overcoming the veteran’s title with his outing against the Atlanta Falcons, tallying seven catches for 68 yards to put himself into the throne for the feat. 

As per usual, Nabers’ production led New York in the loss and came off the heels of a fourth game with at least 10 targets in the last five contests. 

The Falcons were expected to pay close attention to the novice and his athletic abilities, but he still managed to secure a few big catches while opening up opportunities for his teammates to make plays well. The Giants had two other guys complete at least four catches for 43 yards each. 

The targets didn’t come in bunches for Nabers, but he secured a long ball of 21 yards in the fourth quarter to push the Giants deep into Atlanta territory on their final afternoon drive. 

Before that, he also brought down two catches for a combined 22 yards to juice his lasting statistics, but in typical fashion, his team couldn’t punch in the score to finish off a 12-play drive on a high note. 

Still, Nabers left with something to lean his helmet on as a product of the effort he has supplied to a struggling offense all season long. The rookie has shown his worth and has a long-term future in the offense that could be even scarier with him if they land a competent quarterback in the draft. 

It means little to him when the Giants aren’t winning. He would rather see his production result in team wins than individual accolades, and that was expressed in his response about the record-breaking day after the loss.

“Kudos to me, but we didn’t get the win,” Nabers said with a gloomy expression on his face in the locker room. 

Heading into the offseason, it’s going to be up to the franchise to do their part to surround Nabers with an offensive huddle capable of working with him to produce and win collective-style games every Sunday. 

The Giants have seen what can happen when a talented player becomes disgruntled with losing, as it didn’t pan out well when they were blessed with Beckham’s presence 10 seasons ago. 

Until then, Nabers has one more goal to accomplish before the season is over: amassing 1,000+ yards from scrimmage alongside fellow rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. to form the third duo in NFL history to earn that recognition.

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