Giants coach Ben McAdoo blames Eli Manning for gaffe in loss to Lions

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — One of the key plays in Monday night’s game between the New York Giants and the Detroit Lions is one that never happened.

And the fault for that, according to Giants head coach Ben McAdoo, fell squarely on one player: quarterback Eli Manning.

In New York’s 24-10 loss, the Giants were driving in the middle of the third quarter. With 5:20 left to play in the period, and facing a fourth-and-goal from the Detroit 2-yard line, McAdoo relayed a play to go for it on fourth down. Eventually, the play clock expired before the ball could be snapped, drawing a five-yard, delay-of-game penalty.

“Sloppy quarterback play,” McAdoo said. “Quarterback and the center need to be on the same page there. We’ve got to get the ball snapped.”

It’s interesting to note, however, that it appeared that McAdoo hesitated in sending in the play call from the sideline. After the third-down attempt fell short of the end zone, New York’s players looked to the sideline while the play clock bled. It was only when about 18 of 40 seconds remained that Manning appeared to receive the call in his helmet to get the Giants in position.

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To be sure, that’s usually enough time to get a play off, but as the final seconds ticked off the play clock, Manning appeared to try to make a pre-snap adjustment.

“Because we have a veteran quarterback who has played a lot of football,” McAdoo continued when asked why he didn’t take one of his remaining time outs. “I expect us to get the ball snapped. Usually the clock goes from three, two, one, zero. Once it hits zero, they look at the ball, then look at the clock. Usually we have a tick once it hits zero to get the ball snapped without being a delay of game. I thought we had a chance to get it off.”

After the penalty was assessed, the Giants converted a 25-yard field goal to put the score at 17-10.

Manning, for his part, accepted the blame and agreed with his coach.

“I’ve got to call a timeout or get it snapped,” he said. “Anytime there’s a delay of game, it’s on the quarterback and can’t afford it right there.”

“Yeah, (Manning) normally has us in the right play at the right time,” offensive lineman Justin Pugh said. “Obviously he saw something he was trying to get changed.”

The Giants fell to 0-2 and amid numerous offensive issues.

Manning completed 22 of 32 passes for 239 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but he took five sacks and was constantly under pressure. The interception came in the second quarter on the play right after the Giants defense recovered a fumble, eliminating any swing of momentum.

“He had some good moments, and some moments that weren’t what we were looking for,” McAdoo said of Manning. “I didn’t like the interception when we got the turnover. The defense took the ball away. You know, it happened fast for him. I thought he should’ve went to number two or checked the ball down. He was under duress all night. I thought he did some good things in the pocket, making some plays under duress, but the whole offense needs work. We’re not in rhythm right now.”

Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes.

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