The New York Giants fell to 2-11 on the season with their 33-15 loss to the New England Patriots on Monday night, and the most disastrous facet of this disastrous loss was the disastrous play of the special teams. The Giants allowed a 94-yard punt return touchdown from Marcus Jones in the first quarter, and Gunner Olszewski fumbled away possession on a kickoff in the second quarter. Then, there was New York’s bizarre missed field goal.
In the second quarter, interim coach Mike Kafka trotted Younghoe Koo out to attempt a 47-yard field goal. However, Koo didn’t even attempt the kick, leaving holder Jamie Gillan on his own with the live ball.
After the game, Koo explained to reporters what happened. He said that the ball was moving as he approached it, so he halted his kicking motion.
“I was approaching the ball and, cold weather, the ball kind of slipped out at the bottom so it was moving,” Koo said, via the New York Post. “I wasn’t able to kick through the ball. The ball was moving when I was driving to it, so I just pulled up on it.”
Maybe it wasn’t the cleanest hold in the world, but it wasn’t the worst, either. It didn’t sound like Koo was trying to blame Gillan, saying that his holder did a good job trying to position the ball.
“Jamie did a good job of catching it and putting it back,” Koo said, “but, at that point, it was too late.”
The Giants added Koo in September to replace the injured Graham Gano. In four games played for New York, he’s 4 of 4 on field goals, since last night’s “miss” didn’t actually count as an attempt, and 8 of 9 on extra points.
