FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It has been that kind of year for the New York Giants.
The team is 2-11 after losing 33-15 to the New England Patriots on Monday night. And the team’s season hit a new low when kicker Younghoe Koo caught his cleat in the turf as he attempted a 47-yard field goal during the second quarter.
Koo, an eight-year NFL veteran who spent seven years with Atlanta before he was cut earlier this season, was lining up for the kick. He came forward and put down his planting leg with no problem, but Koo stumbled when the cleat on his kicking foot caught the turf at Gillette Stadium.
Holder Jamie Gillan tried to run with the ball, but was tackled for what was officially termed a 13-yard sack by Jeremiah Pharms.
“I was approaching the ball and, cold weather, the ball kind of slipped out at the bottom so it was moving,” Koo said after the game. “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. Jamie did a good job of catching it and putting it back but, at that point, it was too late.”
The Patriots, who now own the NFL’s best record at 11-2, took quick advantage. Quarterback Drake Maye threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to rookie Kyle Williams for a 24-7 lead.
The Giants now have lost seven straight games and three in a row since firing Brian Daboll as coach.
Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart’s reaction to Koo’s missed kick said it all. USA Today called the miscue “a gift.”
“A former Pro Bowl kicker running up to the ball and blasting the turf like a drunk golfer trying to hit a lob wedge?” Christian D’Andrea wrote. “That, friends, is a present.”