Turnovers, penalties cost Giants in loss to Falcons

The Falcons had lost four of their previous five games and had turned to a rookie quarterback making his first career start in Michael Penix. But after taking an early 7-0 lead, the Giants turned the ball over on three of their next five possessions, including a two-play, seven-second “drive” to end the half.

All the turnovers were committed by quarterback Drew Lock. The least harmful was a fumble on the first play of a series that began on the Giants’ 41-yard line. Cor’Dale Flott’s interception at the goal line of a Penix pass that was bobbled by tight end Kyle Pits ended that threat. But Lock also threw interceptions that were returned for touchdowns by Jessie Bates III and Matthew Judon. The Falcons’ defense matched their offense with two touchdowns in the game.

“You can’t start to win a game when you throw two interceptions for touchdowns, have another turnover, lose the turnover ratio,” Daboll said. “Obviously, we weren’t good enough.”

Lock, starting for the third time this season, completed 22 of 29 passes for 210 yards, including a 2-yarder to rookie running back Tyrone Tracy for the Giants’ only touchdown. But the interceptions haunted him after the game.

“Broken play,” Lock said of the first interception. “Tried to get Malik (Nabers) over, thought we could maybe try to get a snap before the clock ran out. Just didn’t get out of the huddle fast enough. Wan’Dale (Robinson) was my shortest route. Tried to get the ball out to him before the safety could cut it, and he got it. Can’t make a bad play worse. Flag on it, nothing would happen. Could’ve thrown an 80-yard touchdown. I just got to be smarter and keep that ball in my hands.”

“You watch the safety (Bates) read it, jumped in front, took it to the house, and the other one got tipped, at the start of the half. We had another, a fumble there at the end of the half. We’ve got to take care of the ball offensively. It’s not good enough.”

Daboll and Lock had sideline discussions after each turnover.

“Yeah, just obviously telling me I can’t do that,” Lock said. “Everything he said to me was the same thing I was feeling in my head. We weren’t on two different planets on what he was saying, just obviously a little disappointed in that first turnover. The second one, batted ball over my head into the D-lineman’s arms. Sometimes those things happen. You just wish that first one didn’t happen before the second one.”

The Giants’ offensive highlight was Nabers catching seven passes to increase his season total to a Giants rookie record 97.

Atlanta’s offensive game plan was to help Penix play pressure free. The Falcons ran 38 times, threw 27 passes, and owned the ball for 34:28. They converted 8-of-14 third-down opportunities. The Giants never sacked Penix and were credited with just two quarterback hits.

“The game was simple for them,” defensive end Brian Burns said. “They ran the ball damn near 40 times. A lot of their plays were double sided chips and boots, rollouts, quick pass screen. They kept it simple for him and they executed at a high level.”

Bijan Robinson led Atlanta’s ground attack with 94 yards on 22 carries, including touchdown runs of four and two yards. The Falcons averaged just 3.3 yards-per-carry and did not have a run longer than 14 yards.

Penix completed 18 of his 27 throws for 202 yards. His leading receivers, Drake London and Darnell Mooney, combined for 10 catches for 141 yards.

“I think they just controlled the game,” Daboll said. “When we came out, it was 17-7 at half. We give up the touchdown (on the second interception), it was 24-7 early on. They were able to control the game.”

The Giants have two games remaining. They will try to win their first home game of the season against Indianapolis (which has won in MetLife Stadium, beating the Jets), and attempt to win their first NFC East game in Week 18 in Philadelphia.

Daboll is confident his players will give maximum effort. What he seeks is better execution.

“The guys have a lot of pride,” he said. “At the end of the day, if it wasn’t good enough, that’s my fault. It’s simple things relative to turnovers and things like that. If you have those things in games, it’s hard to win.”