ESPN's Monday Night Football Announcers Missed 'Genius' Coaching Move
10/29/2024 01:18 PM
The New York Giants lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night, but Giants head coach Brian Daboll made a great move near the end of the game to give his team a chance to come back.
The Steelers led 26-18 with less than three minutes left in the game. The Giants were penalized for having 12 players on the field, giving the Steelers a first down.
ESPN's Joe Buck commented on the play, and seemed to criticize the Giants for the amount of penalties they had in the game.
"I mean these penalties — all night," he said. "Mainly against the offense of the Giants. But 12 men in the formation, which adds five [yards]."
NFL analyst Warren Sharp had a different take on the play, pointing out a smart decision from Daboll.
"another smart coaching move completely ignored. Daboll intentionally put 12-men on the field on 2nd & 3 with 2:47 left to give PIT a 1st & 10, then used 2 timeouts," Sharp said.
"Forced a 4th down punt, got the ball back with 2:00 left. Announcers had no clue but gave the Giants 1 more shot."
another smart coaching move completely ignored
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) October 29, 2024
Daboll intentionally put 12-men on the field on 2nd & 3 with 2:47 left to give PIT a 1st & 10
then used 2 timeouts
forced a 4th down punt
got the ball back with 2:00 left
announcers had no clue
but gave the Giants 1 more shot pic.twitter.com/V1q2BU8RJX
The Giants did in fact get another chance, but Daniel Jones' interception on the ensuing drive sealed the game for the Steelers.
Interestingly, Peyton and Eli Manning picked up on Daboll's intentional penalty during their alternate broadcast.
"On purpose, right?," Eli said, right after the penalty was called.
"Give them the first down. They got too many yards on first down, so give them the first down there."
His brother Peyton agreed, and also pointed out that the Steelers weren't able to decline the penalty.
Daboll's effort to give his team another shot was unfortunately in vain, as the Giants fell to 2-6 on the season. They've lost three straight games, and are set to face the division-leading Washington Commanders next week at home.
The Steelers extended their winning streak to three games and have improved to 6-2 on the season. They'll head into their bye week as leaders of the AFC North before taking on the Commanders on the road when they return.
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