Things were really starting to look up for the New York Giants. After a stunning win against the Philadelphia Eagles in their last game, they appeared to be in complete control of Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos, entering the fourth quarter with a 19-0 lead.
And then… it was gone.
They ended up losing a staggering 33-32 decision that featured two different fourth-quarter meltdowns by the Giants for what was by far the wildest game of the Week 7 schedule.
Giants’ fourth-quarter meltdown a historic failure
Giants fans are probably going to be mad at kicker Jude McAtammey for missing two extra points that ultimately ended up being the difference on the scoreboard, but those missed kicks are only a subplot to the real story here.
The real story is simply multiple failures by the Giants defense in the fourth quarter that can never be excused.
Historic failures.
Entering play on Sunday, teams that entered the fourth quarter of a game with a 19-point lead were 2,834-17-2 in NFL history, producing a staggeringly high win probability.
It gets worse.
The Giants still maintained a 26-8 lead with only six minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Teams that had a lead of at least 18 points with six minutes to play had won 1,601 consecutive games.
