Monday wasn’t pretty for the New York Giants, even after Big Blue finally got in the end zone for its first touchdown in two dozen drives. Matched up with the Pittsburgh Steelers to close Week 8, the Giants pulled within one score thanks to a fourth-quarter Tyrone Tracy Jr. catch-and-run touchdown, only to roll out one of the most improbable — and most unsuccessful — two-point tries in recent memory.
Down 23-15 with 11:07 to play, head coach Brian Daboll dialed up a trick formation in which only three blockers lined up in front of quarterback Daniel Jones. Pass catcher Darius Slayton split wide to the right, and the remaining six offensive players crowded together near the opposite sideline. Jones then fired a screen pass to wideout Malik Nabers, seemingly giving the speedy rookie a chance to coast into the end zone behind the massive wall of blockers, who outnumbered nearby defenders five to three.
The only problem? Not a single one of those blockers moved when Jones took the shotgun snap, leaving Steelers pass rusher Alex Highsmith a free lane to hit Nabers as the ball reached his hands. The pass fell incomplete, Nabers had no shot to secure the catch, and Jones hollered his frustration, irate over the fact his entire line failed to recognize his snap count on such a pivotal play. That, or Jones, Daboll and the rest of the offensive operation failed to alert the blockers to the right cadence.
Either way, the attempt was an unmitigated failure, and helped keep Pittsburgh comfortably in front.
