No matter how modest it may be, home is not the place for the Giants

EAST RUTHERFOPD, NJ (AP) — The New York Giants are giving new meaning to the phrase: “There’s no place like home.”

Home is becoming the last place the Giants (2-4) want to be these days. They have played three games at MetLife Stadium and lost them all, most recently on Sunday night with a 17-7 loss to the struggling Cincinnati Bengals.

Not only did the Giants lose, they also didn't give their fans much to cheer about, especially on offense. It scored 28 points in losses to Minnesota, Dallas and the Bengals and scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run by rookie Tyrone Tracy in the third quarter after a pass interference call in the end zone.

“It’s probably a number of things. I go back and look at the tape,” coach and offensive lineman Brian Daboll said. “I thought we had a few chances as the game went on. Whether it will be run, whether it will happen.”

The offense's mistakes were huge.

Quarterback Daniel Jones brought New York to the 14th-ranked Bengals with about four minutes left in the first quarter when the Giants trailed 7-0. On the first-and-10, he looked for tight end Theo Johnson on a throwback down the field and was hit by former Giants defensive back BJ Hill while throwing. The ball fluttered in the air and Germaine Pratt intercepted it near the goal line.

Late in the second quarter, Jones found Darius Slayton in a quick crossing pattern and ran for 56 yards. The run-pass option introduced at the Giants 9 was canceled when left tackle Andrew Thomas was ruled illegal downfield.

Here's how the night went for New York: 5 of 15 on third down and 3 of 5 on fourth down. The Giants outgained the Bengals 309 yards to 304.

“It's very disappointing – I just couldn't sustain the offense, couldn't execute, couldn't find a rhythm and was frustrating,” said Jones, who was 22 of 41 for 205 yards. “I feel like we’ve taken steps and progressed offensively. Obviously we didn’t do that today, so let’s look at what we need to do better and clean it up.”

Apparently, the Giants missed out on rookie sensation Malik Nabers, who led the league with 35 catches, when he suffered a concussion on Sept. 26 against Dallas. He has missed the last two games, although New York won in Seattle last weekend.

Nabers, who has three TD catches, is making progress and the hope is that he can return next Sunday against the Eagles, which unfortunately is also at MetLife Stadium.

“He definitely gives off a certain energy, he gives off a certain aura when he’s on the field,” outside linebacker Brian Burns said. “He's an explosive player and we'd love to have him (back on the field), but we saw the guys get stronger last week and this week, so it's always next man up.”

The Giants' longest play of the game was four passes for 15 yards, which are not considered explosive plays.

“That makes it difficult when you have to do that in this league,” said Jones, who led the Giants with 56 yards rushing and 11 carries. “I think it’s a credit to their defense, their scheme and their plan to prevent some of those plays, but we have to execute and find a way to generate some of them.”

The positive for the Giants was that the defense played well in the last two games at home. That limited Dallas to 20 points and the Bengals to 17 in a 20-15 loss last month after scoring at least 33 points in each of their last three games.

Special teams didn't help either on Sunday. Kicker Greg Joseph missed field goals of 47 and 45 yards in the fourth quarter, the first with New York trailing 10-7.

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