Who’s ready for Don’tScoreGate? Or maybe it’s FallDownGate?
Either way, New York Giants running back Rashad Jennings confirmed Monday he was ordered not to score with his team leading toward the end of Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. The move obviously backfired, as the Cowboys pulled off a dramatic 27-26 win.
The Giants had the ball inside the Cowboys’ 5-yard line with a 23-20 lead and less than two minutes remaining. New York called two consecutive run plays without intent to score, says Jennings.
“On the first-down play, I was told, ‘Rashad, don’t score,’ ” Jennings told ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano. “On second down, ‘Rashad, don’t score.’
“I was tempted to say, ‘Forget it,’ and go score because I could. But I didn’t want to be that guy. But definitely, I was asked not to score.”
Jennings told Graziano his orders came in the huddle from Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who spoke with the running back after the game and took responsibility for the mishap.
It’s possible the decision wasn’t Manning’s, though, as Jennings reportedly said he was under the impression the orders came from the Giants’ sideline. That means offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, who calls the plays, or head coach Tom Coughlin, who has veto power, could be responsible.
In any event, the Giants reportedly were confused about the timeout situation, hence their questionable decision. Jennings told Graziano he and the rest of the team believed the Cowboys had called their final timeout after their first-down play, when in reality they hadn’t.
When Jennings was told not to score on second down, the Giants apparently believed they would run 40 seconds off the clock and run their third-down play with just over a minute to go. The Giants were surprised when the Cowboys called a timeout with 1:43 remaining after Jennings’ second-down run.
The Giants, for whatever reason, called a third-down pass play that failed miserably. They then kicked a field goal to extend their lead to 26-20. But that cushion wasn’t enough, as Tony Romo and the Cowboys’ offense drove down the field with ease to seize a victory with seconds remaining.
“On one of them, it would’ve been a grind,” Jennings told Graziano of whether he could have scored on the run plays. “But on the other, I cut the wrong way (on purpose) and found somewhere soft to fall.”
This marks a huge mistake for the Giants, especially against a divisional opponent. If Jennings scored and the Giants converted the extra point, New York would have led by 10 points and likely earned a season-opening win. Instead, the G-Men sit at 0-1 with the Atlanta Falcons coming to town next weekend.
“I’m not mad,” Jennings told Graziano. “We’re doing this as a team, and we thought it was best for us not to score at that point. Of course I wanted to, but that’s just the football player in you.”
HindsightGate has a nice ring to it, too.
Thumbnail photo via Ed Mulholland/USA TODAY Sports Images
