Giants Country

Giants Julian Love Takes Ownership of Botched Interception Attempt

Julian Love had a forgettable play against the Eagles in Week 14 that led to a touchdown.

Andrew Parsaud

Giants Julian Love Takes Ownership of Botched Interception Attempt
Giants Julian Love Takes Ownership of Botched Interception Attempt /
In this story:

New York Giants defensive back Julian Love led the Giants in tackles on Sunday with 10, but it’s the one he missed that could stick out for the rest of the season. 

On 4th-and-7, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts lofted a pass to second-year wideout DeVonta Smith. Love made a great break on the ball and ultimately misjudged how to play it, leading to Smith easily running in for a touchdown that put the Giants into an early 14-0 hole they could not dig themselves out of.

“Made a great break on the ball. (I) thought I had it. And in that situation, either I take him out or just highpoint it. I judged it, I thought, well. And I (said), ‘I got to go up and get it,’" Love said.

“I read it perfectly, I thought. Ball was in the air. I thought it was slightly overthrown, so I thought I had an easy ‘catch it’ opportunity. I didn’t realize his positioning. I just misjudged. So, in that situation, I’ve got to make contact and go up and get it.”

Love got some feedback from defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and head coach Brian Daboll, who also mixed in some encouragement to move on and forget about the mishap.  

“(Daboll) said, ‘What happened?’ I told him I thought I had it, and he said, ‘Okay.’ That’s pretty much it. I’ve said it before: The best players have to play the best. In that situation, yeah, I got to make the play. That helps out our team. That changes things drastically. You don’t know where the game could be (if I’d made the play). There are a few plays out there that, if we make the play, things change. And I wish I could be perfect. I misjudged it. I’m going to be working on that in practice next week.”

The Giants lost by four scores against the Eagles, a 48-22 beating that left a bad taste in many fans and players’ mouths and accentuated just how far the Giants still need to go with their roster rebuild. 

Despite that, the Giants need to learn from their mistakes and move on to another big game coming up next week.

“Sometimes, you get your (butt) beat," Love said. "But we can’t let this fester. We got to go in tomorrow and make corrections. And then our morale has to stay high because it’s been high all year. That’s what has brought close games home for us. So, that’s kind of the story. That’s the message: We got to correct this. It sucks. You’re going to feel a little hurt, but you have to bounce back because we still have important stuff in front of us.”

A lot of the blame for the Giants lack of production across the board is injury related. The secondary has arguably taken the most damage, with cornerback Adoree’ Jackson and safety Xavier McKinney missing multiple games. 

The Giants have been banking on the ‘next man up’ mentality all season, and they, unfortunately, haven’t had the same success as they did earlier in the year.

Regardless, the Giants can't let this bad loss to the Eagles fester, as next week’s matchup against Washington is far more important for playoff seeding among the wild card contenders. 

If the Giants win, they will own a tiebreaker over Washington. If they lose, their path to the playoffs becomes more difficult. 

Love, who has been through the lean years since being drafted out of Notre Dame in 2019, knows that the Giants are in a unique situation to finally reach the playoffs.

“This is an emotional game. You put your heart out there, and sometimes the result isn’t what you want. That’s life, and it’s a good depiction of the game of football. We prepared hard all week, and we fell very much short today. But that’s the life of an NFL player; that’s the life of an NFL team," he said. 

"So, for next week, you got to pick yourself up, fill the tank back up, and go at it again. That’s why we’re out there – not only for what we do on the field, how physical we are, all that stuff, all the talents, all the gifts we have – but (for) the mental fortitude that we have as well. That’s what this team is; that’s what you’re going to see next week.”

 

Join the Giants Country Community

Published
Andrew Parsaud
ANDREW PARSAUD

Andrew Parsaud is currently attending Penn State, where he is studying digital journalism and media. He is an avid follower of the major New York sports teams. 

Home/Game Day