The New York Giants headed down to Atlanta in Week 16 in hopes of breaking their nine-game losing streak and avoiding setting a new franchise record for consecutive losses.
They would have to do it against a Falcons team that was starting their top draft pick, Michael Penix Jr., at quarterback to help jumpstart their offense.
The Falcons entered the game with a 7-7 record and in the thick of the NFC postseason picture and were 8.5-point favorites over the listing Giants.
- Two pick-sixes by Giants quarterback Drew Lock gave the Falcons 14 easy points. For a team that’s averaged just 14.9 points per game this season, that put them in an insurmountable hole.
- The Giants needed to establish a ground game on offense but playing from behind and averaging 3.5 yards per carry on the 13 attempts they did have didn’t allow that to happen.
- The Giants’ inability to drive the football continued. Nine of their 11 drives consisted of just five plays or less.
Falcons defensive end Matthew Judon picked a tipped pass by Drew Lock out of the air and returned it for a touchdown 40 seconds into the second half to give the Falcons a 24-7 lead. There was no conceivable way the Giants could overcome that deficit.
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