The New York Giants lost a heartbreaker to the Carolina Panthers White Curtis Riley Jerseys , 33-31, Sunday as the Panthers squeaked past the woebegone Giants with a last-second 63-yard field goal. The Giants broke the 30-point barrier (which, honestly, shouldn’t even BE a barrier for a team with the offensvie firepower the Giants boast) for the first time since 2015, but it wasn’t enough to overcome their own play. What can did we learn from the Giants’ tough loss in Carolina?The Giants’ special teams remain a problemAs Dan Pizzuta and I noted this week after the loss to the New Orleans Saints on the Big Blue reView podcast, it’s a sad state of affairs when the best thing you have to talk about on special teams is the improvement of your kicker.And kudos to Aldrick Rosas, because he HAS improved this season. Yes, he did kick one out of bounds on a slick field, but he nailed a career-long 53-yard field goal, has been perfect on the season, and solved any kick coverage problems by simply depositing the ball behind the opposing endzone. That’s about where the kudos will end. The Giants’ punt coverage remains an adventure, and they STILL can’t seem to find a reliable punt returner, even with Odell Beckham Jr.’s presence back there. The Giant added a bevy or special teams specialists in the offseason, and hired a new Special Teams Coordinator — though Tom Quinn remains as an assistant as Thomas McGauhey fights his own battle with cancer. We don’t talk much about special teams, but it is a vital part of the game. Even a great offense and defense can’t overcome the hidden yardage lost by bad special teams. It’s a problem the Giants need to fix, but they might not be able to do so this year.The Giants’ are undisciplinedSloppy tackling. Bad penalties.Poor routes.Mental mistakes and miscommunications on offense and defense.These things have been problems throughout the 2018 for the Giants, but they hadn’t come together quite like they did against the Carolina Panthers. Though the team came in to the game as the least-penalized team in the NFL, the Giants are still undisciplined.The NFL has an officiating problemThis isn’t just limited to today’s game against the Giants. The officiating has been horrific league-wide all season long. The most egregious today was the unnecessary roughness penalty against Landon Collins as three Giants collided while coming for wide receiver Devin Funchess. The problem? Collins was going for the interception and Funchess fell into the back of Collins’ helmet. The play would have ended the Panthers’ drive, but instead the penalty kept the drive alive, which ended in points. Later in the game there was a somewhat questionable call on Kerry Wynn to cancel out a holding call on the Panthers which would have had them starting with a 1st and 20 on their final drive. These calls on the heels of a pair of terrible calls on Clay Matthews in the second and third weeks of the season, and a bevy of others around the NFL.Considering the Panthers only won by two points on a career-long 63-yard field goal as timethe difference in the game. Blame could also be levied on Odell Beckham’s mistake on special teams or the defense’s bad tackling in the first half. This has become a big problem across the league. One the league will either need to address or heir product will continue to suffer.The Giants playmakers can make playsFor the first time this season, the Giants’ playmakers all showed up and made plays. In the same game.Beckham’s blunder on special teams might have been the difference in the game, but he made up for it by throwing a 57-yard touchdown to Saquon Barkley and making a terrific catch for a 33-yard touchdown touchdown of his own. Sterling Shepard was clutch with four catches for 75 yards to help keep Giants’ drives alive.Saquon Barkley finished the game with 129 total yards and a pair of touchdowns.The Giants’ lost in a fashion that could have been called “fluky” if they hadn’t put themselves in that position with three quarters of bad, sloppy play. But, their playmakers did enough that they could have won, and showed the league what There is no running gameDave Gettleman introduced us all to the phrase “Hog Mollies” this past offseason as he vowed to “fix” it and return the Giants’ to a hard-nosed run-first offense. In doing so he threw money at Nate Solder and Patrick Omameh, drafted Will Hernandez and Saquon Barkley, let Justin Pugh, Weston Richburg Curtis Riley Jerseys 2019 , and D.J. Fluker walk in free agency and traded Brett Jones for a 7th round pick. In 2017 the Giants averaged 24.5 rushing attempts per game, for 3.9 yards per carry, and 2 sacks per game.In 2018 they are averaging 19.6 carries per game, 3.8 yards per carry, and 3.2 sacks per game.The offensive line is giving Eli Manning time to throw the ball, as he has had roughly league-average time to throw thus far this season, but the pass protection is unpredictable, and a jailbreak could occur on any play. And so far, the vast majority of the team’s 75 rushing yards per game have come from Barkley either making defenders miss with his agility, or running through arm tackles with his power. All while Barkley has been facing one of the lowest percentage of runs against eight-man boxes in the league.It could be argued that the Giants haven’t called enough running plays, but from Shurmur’s perspective, why bother? With some exceptions, Gettleman’s Hog Mollies have been playing like playing like piglets.The Giants actually showed some heartThe Giants could have folded up their tent and started back up for New York at the half. They played some pathetic football in the first two quarters. With the exception of Beckham and Barkley, they were uninspired on offense and the defense couldn’t tackle its way out of a wet paper bag. But they came out to play, really play, in the second half. Ultimately, it didn’t matter and they lost anyway. But this was the first loss in a long time that could actually be called a “heartbreaker”.Because the Giants FINALLY showed some damn heart. Beckham was getting ripped for his special teams blunder and having a touchdown ripped out of his hands — all after publicly criticizing his teammates for not matching his passion and energy.But in the second half, and especially the fourth quarter, the team finally seemed to find its way to feeding on Beckham.Eli Manning had his worst game of the season from an efficiency perspective, but he came out and attacked the defense. There were a couple bad interceptions and he was off target at times, but he didn’t spend the whole game checking down for easy completions. After his second interception he kept throwing the ball down the field and picked up more than 100 yards on 5 completions and a touchdown. He averaged 9.1 yards per attempt, up from around 6 yards per attempt against the New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys, and Jacksonville Jaguars.Beckham played like the receiver we all know he is, with 8 receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown.The defense played with fire, stepping up their run defense and held Christian McCaffrey to a season-low 3.4 yards per carry. They still miss Olivier Vernon off the edge, but they did get after Newton some in the passing game. They weren’t able to do quite enough to allow the offense to overcome bad play and bad calls, but this defense, which has played hard all season White Riley Dixon Jerseys , stayed in it when it looked like they were going to have to once again carry a putrid offense. Does it mean anything and will they be able to carry it over to their Thursday night game against the Philadelphia Eagles? We’ll find out, but this feels as much like a win as possible for a heartbreaking loss.Valentine’s Views: 10 things I think about the Giants at halfway point of preseason The New York Giants have reached the halfway point of the preseason. That means we have turned a corner and are heading down the home stretch toward the 2018 NFL regular season. Let’s stop, catch our breath for a second, and assess where the Giants are right now. Here are “10 things I think I think” heading into the third preseason game.I think the best development of the first two games has been the play of the starting defense. Aside, of course, from the pass “coverage” of Alec Ogletree. Through two games, the Giants are giving up just 2.13 yards per carry against the run, which would lead the league if those stats counted. The Giants wanted to build a wall against the run with Damon Harrison, B.J. Hill and Dalvin Tomlinson anchoring the line and it looks like they have done it. The pass rush has been a pleasant surprise. Now, maybe it is because the offensive lines of the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions aren’t exactly impenetrable, but the ability through two games to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks while sending just four rushers is a positive sign. Behind all of that, the pass coverage has been good enough.Raj Mehta-USA TODAY SportsI think I don’t care if Saquon Barkley or Odell Beckham Jr. plays another preseason snap. Maybe both guys get some work Friday against the New York Jets. Maybe they don’t. Doesn’t matter to me. I have seen enough from Beckham to know he is healthy, and he has been getting plenty of practice reps with Eli Manning. As for Barkley, I haven’t seen anything that tells me he isn’t ready. Let him work in practice once that hamstring heals and don’t expose him to extra hits. I think the Giants are going to have to help Patrick Omameh and Ereck Flowers. All of the pass pressure the Lions generated Friday with the starting line in the game came from the right side, with Omameh at guard and Flowers at tackle. It very nearly cost the Giants a sack fumble that would have set Detroit up inside the 5-yard line, but for a replay overturn. Omameh and Flowers are powerful players who will help in the run-blocking, but they are going to need help protecting Eli Manning if he is going to have time to take full advantage of the plethora of pass catchers the Giants have. I think I’ve been blown away by Kerry Wynn. For four seasons, Wynn has provided the Giants with decent depth at defensive end. He hasn’t been a dynamic play-maker or anything special. I have never thought he was more than a part-time player. This preseason? Wynn has been special. Five tackles on defense, four on special teams, a sack in two games. I really wondered how a 265-pound defensive end was going to function in James Bettcher’s defense. Well, Wynn is showing me. Whether he can keep up this kind of play in the regular season I have no idea, but he is proving that he will undoubtedly have value.I think Eli Manning is going to have a successful year. He’s shown nothing in the spring and summer that makes me think he won’t be able to get the ball to his play-makers on a consistent basis. If the offensive line gives him a chance I believe Manning will be able to survey the situation at the line of scrimmage, identify the mismatches and get the ball out to the right place.I think the Giants have to get a veteran swing tackle. I can’t say the idea of Chad Wheeler or Nick Becton coming off the bench to try and protect Manning is a comforting thought. I will be very surprised if the Giants don’t look to add someone once teams trim their rosters at the end of the preseason.I think there are still roster spots available at cornerback. I believe B.W. Webb and Leonard Johnson have done enough to make the roster. Both are veterans who know what they are doing, and Johnson in particular flashed a few times on Friday. Grant Haley? I’m just not sure yet. William Gay? The Giants have been using him at safety, and I’m just not sure where he fits. Donte Deayon? Can’t make the team if you can’t get on the field, and he hasn’t practiced or played in two weeks.I think the return game hasn’t been good enough. Neither Hunter Sharp, who fumbled twice on Friday, nor Kalif Raymond has distinguished themselves. If one of them is going to be the primary guy returning kickoffs and punts, they have to show more. I’m sure the Giants really don’t want to have to expose Beckham Riley Dixon Jerseys 2019 , Barkley and Sterling Shepard on returns — at least not on any type of regular basis.Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesI think this about the young quarterbacks. I think I’ve seen enough from both Davis Webb and Kyle Lauletta to think there is a chance the Giants will be OK at quarterback once Manning’s time is up. I didn’t write Webb off after a bad game, and I won’t anoint him after a good one. He has the tools, and they are worth being excited about. Lauletta doesn’t have Webb’s size or arm strength, but there is a lot to like. He missed a couple of throws Friday, but he makes good decisions, throws with excellent timing and usually good accuracy, can make plays with his feet and does a good job protecting the ball. As coach Pat Shurmur has said, he finds a way.I think the Giants are more prepared than they were a year ago. And yes, you can clearly read this as a shot at Ben McAdoo. A year ago, the Giants spent much of training camp conducting walk-thrus, practicing in shorts and shells and doing very little hitting. There were only a few padded practices, probably less than five. This year, new coach Pat Shurmur has had the Giants in pads at every opportunity. There have been no wasted practices. The joint practices in Detroit, especially the first two, should be a huge plus. I have no idea how the Giants will make out against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans in the first three games of the season but I know that at least this season the Giants will be ready when the season opens.I think it’s cool that Saquon Barkley got to meet Barry Sanders on Friday. I think it’s a bummer that Barkley didn’t bring his Barry Sanders action figure to Detroit so Sanders could sign it. No one will ever be Sanders, but Barkley’s elusiveness and ability to cut with power and speed sometimes remind of Sanders. The other Hall of Famer Barkley sometimes reminds me of, and you probably need to be an old guy to appreciate this, is Gale Sayers. Like those two, Barkley in the open field is an utter nightmare for defenses.I think I’m already dreading Jets-Giants week. I can’t imagine how many Barkley vs. Sam Darnold, Darnold vs. Manning, Darnold vs. Webb/Lauletta, Jets-Giants battle for supremacy stories I’m going to have to read. Or, for that matter, write.E-mail Ed at bigblueview@gmail.com if you have questions or comments.