The New York Giants’ post-Brian Daboll era began with their fifth consecutive loss, falling to the Green Bay Packers 27-20 at home on Sunday afternoon.

Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka became the team’s interim coach last week after the team parted ways with Daboll. Sunday also marked the debut of tight end coach Tim Kelly as interim offensive coordinator to aid Kafka. The change in reins marked the third time in five years the Giants decided to part ways with a head coach.

Kafka started his head coaching career with a match against a stacked Packers defense that included the likes of Micah Parsons and former Giant Xavier McKinney. In some way, the team performed better than expected by keeping the game a close affair, even holding the lead at points during the contest. Despite the absence of rookie quarterback sensation Jaxson Dart and several key playmakers on offense, there were things to like from New York’s performance.

Skattebo-less Run Game Gets Off the Ground as the O-Line Thrives

Most of the offensive production from New York came off the ground due to the windy conditions at MetLife Stadium. Still, the Giants put up arguably their best rushing performance of the season, gaining 142 yards on 38 carries for three touchdowns. Devin Singletary worked very well on short-yard situations and scoring drives, while Jameis Winston added a touchdown of his own.

The running performance could potentially be explained by the jump in efficiency from the Giants’ offensive line. With the addition of Andrew Thomas, along with the rise of John Michael Schmitz at center, the team now ranks 11th in their offensive line after being nearly last at the start of the season, according to SI. Despite allowing two sacks all game, the offensive line played very well.

Winston also had a decent game, going 19-of-29 for 201 yards and an interception. Not a great line, but effective in the pocket. The shocking thing, however, is that the Giants controlled the ball 10 minutes longer than Green Bay and had more offensive yardage all game.

To put their offense in perspective, the Packers allowed only 292 yards per game, while allowing only 96.8 yards going into New York. They also allow a sub-90 quarterback passer rating per game, one of the highest in the league. For a team operating with a patchwork roster, the Giants did very well.

The Key Issue: Errors Still Plague The Team

Of course, the team lost not because of overall poor play, but careless errors that made the game end in heartbreak.

The biggest error came at the end of the game, when Jalen Hyatt ran an incorrect route with 40 seconds remaining, leading to a game-ending interception. For some inexplicable reason, Hyatt stopped in the middle of the route and allowed a ball to sail into the arms of Evan Williams. The former third-round pick might have earned his way to the bench after the miscue, given he’s only caught five passes for 35 yards all season.

A broken Hail Mary also cost the team a shot at sending the game to overtime. Winston held onto the ball a bit too long, enough for Parsons to come from behind and strip-sack to end the game for good.

For the fourth time this season, defensive coordinator Shane Bowen blew a fourth-quarter lead that cost them a win. He also oversaw a meltdown against the Chicago Bears last week. Most were expecting Bowen to get fired alongside Daboll, but he survived to see another week. Some in New York media are now calling for Bowen to be ousted, and given his track record, he might very well be soon.