Even with veteran Glennon, Giants struggle again on offense

Updated Jan. 2, 2022 7:57 p.m. ET

Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Mike Glennon dropped back on Sunday's first play from scrimmage and, from there, just about everything went downhill for the veteran quarterback and the struggling New York Giants.

Chicago linebacker Trevis Gipson crashed into him, jarring the ball loose. Defensive tackle Bilal Nichols picked it up and returned it 12 yards to the 2 before getting knocked out of bounds. David Montgomery ran for a touchdown on the next play.

The Giants were well on their way to an ugly 29-3 loss, committing four turnovers while dropping their fifth game in a row. Changes could be in store for New York, with general manager Dave Gettleman possibly out after four losing seasons — whether it’s his choice or not.

There still is one more game left — the Giants host Washington — and if it’s anything like Sunday, the Giants (4-12) will likely hear it from those in attendance.

If fans are out of patience, well, coach Joe Judge understands.

“The fans have every right to have an opinion,” he said. “That’s why they’re fans. They have every right. You buy a ticket, come to the stadium, you have every right to boo me going out of the stadium. That’s the way it is. That’s what we sign up for, right? And it’s New York. It’s supposed to be a tough place to be.”

The Giants came to Chicago with an offense ranked among the worst in the NFL, and basically gave the game away on the first two possessions.

Following the strip-sack and touchdown, things took another bad turn on New York's second drive.

Glennon lined up in the shotgun on third-and-2 at the Giants' 45 and tried to throw to Kenny Golladay. Chicago's Artie Burns reached in front of the receiver and deflected the pass, and Tashaun Gipson Sr. hauled it in and returned the interception 31 yards to the 24. That set up a 4-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton to Darnell Mooney.

Just like that, the Giants trailed 14-0 en route to a seventh straight road loss.

Glennon, a former Bear, completed just 4 of 11 passes for 24 yards with two interceptions. He was sacked four times for 34 yards and finished with a 5.3 passer rating, the lowest among quarterbacks with more than six passes attempted in a game this season.

The Giants' only other option at quarterback was Jake Fromm, who struggled in a big way against Philadelphia last week before Glennon replaced him. Daniel Jones is out with a season-ending neck injury.

Saquon Barkley was one of the few positives for New York in this game, running for 102 yards — his most since 2019. It was also his first appearance at Soldier Field since tearing his right ACL and MCL against the Bears on Sept. 20, 2020.

Nonetheless, the Giants set a season low in yards for the second straight game, finishing with 151 after being held to 192 against Philadelphia.

But as bad as things look, Barkley insisted the team has not quit.

“It’s easy to give up, it’s easy to point fingers especially when things are not going well, but the fact those guys in the locker room are keeping their head high, continuing to believe in each other and fight for each other — I think that’s amazing,” he said.

Judge said the Giants aren't “some clown-show organization," adding that “the toughest thing to change in a team, the toughest thing to change in a club is the way people think."

“But I guarantee you this, those men are going to walk in on Wednesday and be ready to roll,” he said. "We’re going to practice hard on Wednesday, we’re going to practice hard on Thursday, and we’re going to practice hard on Friday. OK? And we’re going to play for each other on the field next week.”

___

More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL