3 Takeaways from Giants' Week 14 Loss

For the fifth year in a row, the New York Giants will end up with a losing record. It's been another tough season for the team, and things didn't get any better on Sunday afternoon.

New York took a 37-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium, falling to 4-9 and ensuring its eighth losing season in nine years. The game wasn't even as close as the score would indicate, as the Giants scored a pair of touchdowns in the final four minutes and 33 seconds after they were down by 30 points.

At the end of the first quarter, New York and Los Angeles were tied at seven. Then, the Chargers scored 30 consecutive points, and their offense ended up with 423 total yards and no turnovers in a dominant display.

Here are three takeaways from New York's Week 14 loss.

Daniel Jones was out for the second week in a row due to a neck injury, so the Giants again turned to Mike Glennon to start at quarterback. He had two touchdown passes and ran in another, but most of his production came when the game was already out of hand.

The 31-year-old completed only 17 of his 36 passing attempts, as he threw for 191 yards and had an interception. Of New York's first nine possessions, five resulted in punts, one was a turnover on downs, one ended with a lost fumble and another came to a halt at the end of the first half.

During the week, there was some concern that Glennon may not play because he was in the NFL's concussion protocol. But he was cleared and played the entire game, as the Giants opted not to give second-year QB Jake Fromm, who was signed Nov. 30 off the Buffalo Bills' practice squad, a chance to lead the offense late.

"We're going to play our players in the game based on how they practice and who gives us the best chance of success," New York head coach Joe Judge told reporters.

Still, if Jones is going to miss more time, it could be beneficial for the Giants to see what they have in Fromm rather than continuing to play Glennon, especially as they fall further out of the NFC playoff picture.

The offense's struggles for the first three-and-a-half quarters can't be placed solely on Glennon. The Giants haven't gotten enough production out of their top playmakers for much of the season, and that continued to be the case on Sunday.

No New York wide receiver had more than two catches, as Sterling Shepard (two receptions for 27 yards), Kenny Golladay (two receptions for 15 yards) and Darius Slayton (no catches) all struggled to make an impact.

Golladay, who was signed as a free agent last offseason, hasn't had more than 50 yards in any of his past six games.

Giants running back Saquon Barkley did have 95 total yards and a touchdown, although his 18-yard receiving score came late with the game out of hand. His 16 carries and 64 rushing yards were both season highs, which underlines how much he has struggled to get going this year.

Perhaps these playmakers would have put up bigger numbers and fared better if Jones had been under center, but some of them were underperforming even when the quarterback was healthy. At this point, New York's offense is just lacking a spark, which has resulted in plenty of disappointing showings.

The Giants finished with 316 total yards and two turnovers.

New York has gone up against plenty of strong quarterbacks this season. Its latest test was a matchup with Los Angeles' Justin Herbert, who had no trouble airing it out against the Giants' secondary as he continued his stellar sophomore campaign.

The Oregon product went 23-for-31 for 275 yards and three touchdowns on a big day for the Chargers' offense. After they punted on their opening possession, seven of their next eight drives resulted in points.

For much of the season, New York has done a solid job of preventing big plays. But it couldn't do that against Herbert, who connected with Jalen Guyton on an impressive 59-yard touchdown pass that extended the Chargers' lead to 24-7 with 17 seconds remaining before halftime.

"I'm frustrated for my teammates. I'm frustrated for the coaches," Giants safety Logan Ryan told reporters. "We practiced that play and we were prepared for that play, and I just didn’t make that play."

Even if the Giants had stopped that big play, Herbert made plenty of others that led to the lopsided result. New York's defense needs to prevent more performances like that from opposing QBs down the stretch.