NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – OCTOBER 05: Head coach Brian Daboll of the New York Giants reacts on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints in the game at Caesars Superdome on October 05, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
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The New York Giants experienced nothing but positives after three quarters of play this past Sunday.
In fact, their last seven quarters of football were some of the most productive the team has seen since 2022, when they improbably made the postseason.
After an impressive victory Thursday Night against the reigning Super Bowl champs, the Giants were on the verge of defeating another above .500 team, this time on the road.
In fact, the Giants were not just beating the Denver Broncos, they were leading by multiple scores.
New York held a 19-0 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, after holding the Broncos to just 111 yards up to that point.
Even when the Broncos managed to find the endzone, the Giants attempted to put all comeback hopes to sleep when they scored their fourth touchdown of the game with under 11 minutes to play.
Those positive vibes from the previous seven quarters vanished even faster than their lead, as the Broncos erupted for 33 points over the final 15 minutes to stun New York.
For the Broncos, it is one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history. Up to this point, teams were 1,602-0 when leading by 18 or more points in the final six minutes of regulation.
Those 33-points would be the most by the Broncos in franchise history, and the most in NFL history for a that was shutout up to that point.
DENVER, CO – OCTOBER 19: Jaxson Dart #6 of the New York Giants walks off the field after a 32-33 loss to the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High on October 19, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
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While the performance was historic, and showed a lot about the Broncos second-year quarterback Bo Nix, who scored four total touchdowns himself in the comeback effort, it points more to the collapse of the Giants overall.
And, in a year where Giants Head Coach and General Manager Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen were already under a microscope, this loss may have been the final straw in their attempts to return in 2026.
In a vacuum, this loss should not determine their validity to lead the team. While it is a loss unseen before in NFL history, there were a lot of positives to still come from the first three quarters of the loss, especially behind a rookie quarterback in just his fourth game.
However, this loss has several ties to recurring trends that have cost the Giants before in the Daboll/Schoen era.
If the loss were to be summarized into one reason, it would come down to depth personnel.
This was seen mostly in the secondary, when the Giants lost cornerback Paulson Adebo due to a knee injury.
This forced second-year cornerback Andru Phillips to take an even larger role against the Broncos, despite his struggles this year in his increased responsibilities. Throughout the first seven weeks, Phillips has allowed the fourth-most yards and most penalties from a cornerback in the league.
In the next-man-up shuffle defensively, former first-round pick Deonte Banks was put back on the field after not taking a snap in last week’s victory. Banks was ultimately targeted in Denver’s game-winning drive, where the 22-yard pass was completed to Courland Sutton to put them comfortably within field goal range.
WIth the only coaching adjustments coming in the offseason being the firings of Defensive Backs coach Jerome Henderson and Safeties coach Michael Treier, the Giants have still yet to see consistent development from their options in the secondary.
The pass rush also failed to deliver in the fourth-quarter comeback, only recording one quarterback hit and no sacks throughout the Broncos’ comeback.
While there are always going to be weak points on an NFL roster, especially at cornerback, the most troubling issue in terms of roster management by Schoen is at kicker.
38-year-old Graham Gano was brought back to New York ahead of the 2025 season despite missing 16 games in the last two seasons. If the Giants cut Gano after 2024, they could have saved $3 million in cap space.
By Week Three of the season, Gano ultimately found himself injured again, making it the second game in the past two years where the Giants had to play without a kicker on the roster. This seemingly did not cost New York a victory against the Chiefs this season. But last year’s three-point loss to Washington without Gano and an empty roster spot served as a troubling reminder of how important the kicking game is.
With Gano still on the IR, backup kicker Jude McAtamney missed two extra points in yesterday’s loss, including the extra point that would have given the Giants a three-point lead on Jaxson Dart’s rushing touchdown with under a minute remaining.
While the personnel was the primary reason for allowing the comeback, an improved scheme could have avoided the issues shown Sunday evening.
While Giants Defensive Coordinator Shane Bowen is far from the only coordinator to fall into prevent coverage when defending a two-minute drill, rushing three throughout the final drive certainly made the comeback easier for Denver.
The offense is far from innocent in the comeback efforts as well.
While most will point to the interception thrown by Dart in the fourth quarter, the playcalling from Daboll and Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka did not mimic plays typically seen from a team with a multi-possession lead late.
Despite averaging 3.72 yards per carry as a team, Skattebo got just 16 touches for the game. They only returned to the running game in obvious-running situations, failing to script anything creative enough to open a running lane for Skattebo or Tyrone Tracy.
Then, despite the Giants completing a touchdown drive to recapture the lead in the fourth, the drive was only successful due to two penalties by the Broncos, giving the Giants 53 yards.
PHOENIX, AZ – FEBRUARY 09: Brian Daboll poses for a photo after winning Coach of the Year during NFL Honors at the Symphony Hall on February 9, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
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All together, the loss shows not only a lack of development in year four for the package of Schoen and Daboll, but it shows the loss of what made them successful in 2022.
When Daboll won Coach of the Year his first year in New York, it was due mostly to their ability to win when they were not supposed to. The Giants went 10-8-1 including the postseason, with eight of their wins coming by one score.
Since then, the Giants have just six wins by one score in the past three seasons.
With all the positives that have come since Dart took over at quarterback, there was anticipation that if it continued, the coaching staff and general manager would return for 2026.
There is certainly still a possibility that this can happen. However, if the Giants continue at this teetering level of play, this loss may be the turning point for this era of football in New York.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylersmall/2025/10/20/did-the-new-york-giants-historic-loss-set-the-fate-of-brian-daboll/
