The New York Giants were trailing by 14 points against the Pittsburgh Steelers on ‘Monday Night Football’ in Week 8 when running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. broke a 45-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to eight.
The Giants then did what many NFL teams have begun to do when down by that margin in the age of analytics. They attempted a 2-point conversion after the play hoping to cut the deficit to six points.
The gamble didn’t pay off, as New York failed to execute what would have been a slick, trick play on the try.
Giants 2-point conversion vs. Steelers
The Giants split most of their offense out wide on the 2-point attempt. Daniel Jones was protected in the pocket by just two offensive linemen and a tight end but quickly fired the snap to Malik Nabers on the left side of the formation.
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Nabers had a convoy of blockers in front of him. There were just a few Steelers defenders standing between him and the end-zone, so he should have had a chance to earn a walk-in score.
Instead, Nabers couldn’t catch the ball, as Steelers edge rusher Alex Highsmith barreled into him just as it reached him. The Giants had failed to block him on the play.
The usually stoic Jones was visibly frustrated going to the sidelines after the play. He was animated as he undid his helmet strap and jawed briefly with Brian Daboll on the sidelines as the duo discussed what had gone wrong.
Brian Daboll explains Giants’ 2-point conversion failure
So, what went wrong?
”Motor’ (Devin Singletary) was actually checking with the official to make sure he was on the line of scrimmage, and Daniel saw the look that we needed to get to where we were just gonna throw the ball out there to Malik,’ Daboll explained. ‘We had a bunch of blockers, but he was talking to the official when Daniel snapped it and threw it out there. They only had two guys out there and the guy blew right by him.’
Singletary wasn’t the only Giants player seemingly not ready for the snap. None of the team’s blockers moved until after the ball was thrown, allowing Highsmith to easily break through a gap in the formation without being touched to deny the try.
Daboll didn’t seem to blame any particular party for the play breaking down. He noted that Jones was supposed to snap the ball quickly to catch the Steelers off-guard.
‘They were getting set. We weren’t set, and the one guy out there – there was two guys out there and a bunch of guys inside – saw the ball being snapped and beat us to the punch,’ Daboll admitted.
The 2-point try’s failure added an additional obstacle in New York’s quest to overcome the 14-point fourth-quarter deficit it faced against Pittsburgh.
Still, the Giants still had a chance to mount a game-tying touchdown drive in the game’s final minute. They made it 58 of the needed 93 yards down the field before Jones tossed a game-ending interception to undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. with 34 seconds left in regulation.
