EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — In an effort to spark an anemic offense with the season teetering on the brink of fiasco, the New York Giants fired offensive coordinator Jason Garrett after a dreadful performance in a nationally televised game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Coach Joe Judge confirmed the dismissal of Garrett on Tuesday, noting the offense was not scoring enough points.
“This is not a blame game,” Judge said. “That’s not what this is at all. I am not looking for a head to roll or worried about external opinions or perceptions. This is not a blame game. I am very appreciative of Jason for a lot of things he has done for us.”
Judge said the coaching staff would combine to make an offensive game plan for the contest against the Philadelphia Eagles (5-6) on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. He refused to say who would call the plays, noting every member of the staff is an option, including himself.
Former Cleveland Browns head coach and current senior offensive assistant Freddie Kitchens has experience and has called plays.
The Giants (3-7) were embarrassed on Monday night, dropping a 30-10 decision to the Bucs. After the game, Judge said the team has too many good players not to be scoring, giving an indication changes were coming.
Judge said the move to fire Garrett was not a snap decision. He noted he was equally responsible for the offensive failures because he is the head coach.
“There was no boiling point,” Judge said. “It was just a move we feel we have to make at this point to help the team go further.”
While disappointed with the decision, Garrett said results were not what he wanted. He thanked management for the chance to work and the coaching staff and players for their professionalism and fight.
“One of the things that motivated me to accept this position was the opportunity to help rebuild the Giants into a contending team,” Garrett said in a statement released by the team. “We knew there would be many challenges. My expectations for our offense were much greater than what our results have been, and I accept full responsibility for that.”
Judge was hired by the Giants in early January 2020. One of his first moves was to hire Garrett, who had been let go by the Cowboys after 10 seasons as their head coach.
New York has scored 189 points this season. It has struggled in the red zone and in five of its seven losses has a combined 65 points.
The Giants finished with 215 total yards Monday night, the second-lowest total of the 26-game Judge era. They gained 159 yards in a loss to Arizona on Dec. 13, 2020. Only one of the Giants’ 54 offensive plays gained more than 16 yards against Tampa Bay.
The Giants’ 15 first downs were a season low and their fewest since they had 14 against Cleveland last Dec. 20. They have 31 first downs in their last two games, including 16 in the victory against Las Vegas on Nov. 7.
New York rushed for 66 yards, its second-lowest total of the season; the Giants ran for 60 yards in their season-opening loss to Denver. New York’s 24:21 time of possession was a season low.
The offense has been devastated by injuries, particularly on the line. Center Nick Gates (broken leg) and left guard Shane Lemieux (knee) played two and one game, respectively. Standout left tackle Andrew Thomas has missed games with foot and ankle injuries, and guard Will Hernandez and tackle Nate Solder are playing on the right this season, a new side for them.
It’s led to breakdowns and forced quarterback Daniel Jones to run a lot more than he would want.
Judge is hoping the change will help the players be more successful.
“There will be a lot of the same players out there and there will still be elements of the playbook that we’ll have out there,” Judge said. “We’ll see if new wrinkles develop and new concepts may be included. Ultimately, we’ve put the players in position to execute, but we have to find something to give us an opportunity to change things up a little bit.”
Judge said he spoke with some of his captains, but most of the players had the day off.
PATRIOTS SCHEDULE CHANGE: The NFL has filled the blanks for its previously scheduled Week 15 Saturday doubleheader by moving the Raiders at Browns and Patriots at Colts from Sunday.
Las Vegas will be at Cleveland at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 18, followed by New England at Indianapolis at 8:20 p.m. Both games will be televised by NFL Network.
NFL schedule makers frequently place games on Saturdays in mid-to-late December when college football’s regular season has concluded. On Christmas Day, also a Saturday, the league will have Cleveland at Green Bay, followed by Indianapolis at Arizona.
During Week 13, the NFL is flexing the Sunday night game for the first time this season. Denver at Kansas City will replace San Francisco at Seattle in prime time. The 49ers-Seahawks match moves to 4:25 p.m.
PATRIOTS: Fifth-round rookie linebacker Cameron McGrone and sixth-round rookie safety Joshuah Bledsoe participated in their first regular-season practice of the year on Tuesday. Both players started this season on the team’s non-football injury list due to injuries they sustained before being drafted.
McGrone tore his left ACL a year ago in college, while Bledsoe suffered a wrist injury last January. It’s unclear if the Patriots intend to activate either player and add them to the active roster. The team has 21 days to activate one or both players, or they will revert to injured reserve and miss the remainder of the season.
TITANS: The Tennessee Titans have waived 2012 NFL MVP Adrian Peterson after three games in a flurry of roster moves.
The Titans signed running back Dontrell Hilliard from the practice squad to replace Peterson. They also signed defensive back Buster Skrine and brought back outside linebacker John Simon.
They also placed defensive back Chris Jackson (foot) and wide receiver Marcus Johnson on injured reserve. Johnson hurt his right hamstring in the first quarter in last week’s loss to the Texans, a week after he caught five passes for a season-high 100 yards receiving.
Along with an injury to 2020 Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Brown, that has left the Titans thin at wide receiver. That’s why the Titans signed receivers Golden Tate and Austin Mack to the practice squad along with defensive lineman Kevin Strong and running back Rodney Smith.
Fullback Khari Blasingame also was cleared to return to practice, though he remains on injured reserve.
Peterson signed originally to the Titans’ practice squad Nov. 2 to help replace Derrick Henry and was promoted to the active roster two days before a win in Los Angeles over the Rams. Peterson started two games and had 27 carries for 82 yards and a 3.0-yard average per rushing attempt and one touchdown run.
His longest run of 16 yards came last week against Houston.
JETS: After missing the last four games, Zach Wilson will be back under center for the Jets against the Texans, according to sources, while fellow quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Mike White went on the COVID list Thursday.
Wilson suffered a sprained PCL against the Patriots and missed four games.
VIKINGS: The Minnesota Vikings placed defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson on the COVID-19 reserve list, further testing their depth on the defensive line.
Tomlinson has started all 10 games in his first season with the Vikings (5-5), after leaving the New York Giants to sign with them as a free agent. The other starting defensive tackle Michael Pierce will miss at least one more game with an elbow injury he’s been fighting for almost two months. Defensive end Danielle Hunter is out for the rest of the year with a torn pectoral muscle.
Sheldon Richardson has been backing up Tomlinson this season. He took some turns at defensive end last week against Green Bay with favorable pass-rushing results, but the Vikings might not have the luxury of moving him around this week at San Francisco.
BEARS: Who coaches the Chicago Bears after Thursday seems to be the bigger topic now than who their starting quarterback will be this week.
Bears Coach Matt Nagy said Andy Dalton will start against the Detroit Lions for injured Justin Fields, then spent half of his press conference dealing with a report saying he has been told he will no longer coach the Bears after Thursday’s game.
“That is not accurate,” Nagy said of the report, which appeared on Patch.com.
The Bears have lost five straight and for three straight years have had losing streaks of four games or more. So Nagy’s job status going forward has been a hot debate throughout Chicago. Chants of “Fire Nagy,” were heard at times in Soldier Field during Sunday’s 16-13 loss to Baltimore – and even at the United Center during a Chicago Bulls game.
The report about the firing was by Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Konkol, a former news reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. It did not indicate a source.
Nagy said he normally talks on a regular basis with team general manager Ryan Pace, President Ted Phillips and board chairman George McCaskey, but not this week as there were no meetings scheduled.
“We have constant communication,” Nagy said. “I always think it’s good and healthy and so we stayed on course. With the bye week and then with the short turnaround and with game prep, we have not (talked).”
The Bears have never fired a coach during midseason.
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