Written by Alison Fu at The Sports Quotient
Time management has plagued the New York Giants since the start of this NFL season. Poised to earn a Week 1 win against the reigning division champion Dallas Cowboys, the Giants let the opportunity slip away. With 1:43 remaining in regulation, the Giants had third-and-goal at Dallas’ one-yard line.
Instead of handing the ball off, Eli Manning stepped back and was unable to connect with anyone in the end zone. The Giants quarterback threw it away instead of taking a sack. Kicker Josh Brown made a field goal to give the Giants a six-point lead, but 1:34 was just enough time for Tony Romo to lead the Cowboys on a game-winning touchdown drive.
After the game, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin admitted to poor clock management:
“The decision to throw the ball on third down was not a good decision,” he said. ”It should have been a run, whether we scored or not.”
Despite this acknowledgement, the Giants lost the following week to the Atlanta Falcons even though they had a 10-point lead late in the third quarter and became the first team in NFL history to let double-digit leads get away in the first two games of the season.
Finally understanding that such absentmindedness is not conducive to winning, New York cleaned up it’s act, going on a three-game win-streak. They dropped their sixth game against Philadelphia but won their rematch against the Romo-less Cowboys in Week 7.
Following this important win, however, the time management woes cropped up once more.
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