Giants lose to Atlanta Falcons as season spirals to 0-3

John Mara got booed at halftime during Eli Manning’s jersey retirement ceremony.

Then Sunday got worse.

Joe Judge’s defense collapsed, with Adoree Jackson dropping an easy fourth quarter interception in the end zone, and Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo buried the Giants, 17-14, with a last-second 40-yard field goal as time expired.

A loud crash could be heard in the press box after the kick went through.

The Giants fell to 0-3 for the third time in the last five seasons and for the second straight year under Judge. In both 2017 and 2020, they fell all the way to 0-5 before securing their first win of those respective seasons in Week 6.

It was Atlanta’s first win for rookie coach Arthur Smith.

Defensive coordinator Pat Graham’s defense surrendered a TD drive at the end of the first half for a third straight week to open the season. And then they allowed a second Matt Ryan TD pass in the fourth quarter to tight end Lee Smith and the final drive for the field goal.

Daniel Jones and Jason Garrett mounted a key fourth-quarter TD drive capped by a Saquon Barkley run but had troubled finding points otherwise. Blake Martinez, Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard all left early with injuries.

The fans were all over the Giants on Sunday, booing Mara at halftime and cheering twice when Evan Engram was subbed out of the game.

There’s no telling how much worse this can get. It’s hard to get any worse than losing to a team as bad as Atlanta.