In what’s become almost routine for the New York Giants, the team turned what should have been a win into another fourth-quarter defensive meltdown. Despite holding a 20-10 lead well into the game, the Giants lost to the Chicago Bears 24-20, dropping to a disastrous 2-8 record. What should have been a season of redemption and a potential playoff hunt is now dust.

It was an ugly game for New York, as. Jaxson Dart went down with a concussion as he continued to scramble and run around the field. No John Michael Schmitz, no Cam Skattebo, no Malik Nabers, and almost no offensive weapons anywhere. The defense should have stepped up in those last minutes of the game when they needed to protect the lead. Once again, they allowed a team to march over them en route to another crushing defeat with only minutes to go.

Shane Bowen is not the man the Giants need to have leading the defense, between questionable play calls and what seems to be complete disorder in the locker room. Players seem very defeated after games, while Bowen has almost no answers for why these collapses keep happening. No wonder fans keep wishing for Wink Martindale to come back, three defensive collapses in one-half of a season should get anyone canned before the end of December.

Bowen Is Taking Everyone Down With Him

Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen’s jobs are on the line, and the defensive coordinator’s seemingly lack of adjusting or understanding is sinking them. The three meltdowns at the hands of the defense were completely avoidable with a serious difference in playcalling. Instead of getting aggressive, Bowen opts for a more conservative and contained approach at the line.

The first mishap took place during Week 2 in Dallas, where Bowen not only allowed Dallas to go 71 yards in two minutes to take the lead, but also 21 yards in 25 seconds to send the game to overtime. In fact, he only rushed four guys while some safeties played 25 yards deep with 14 seconds to go:

Things got worse in Denver in Week 7, when Bowen’s defense gave up an unprecedented 33 points, blowing a shutout and a win at the same time. Over half of the Denver Broncos’ offensive output accumulated in the fourth quarter alone, including an 18-yard scramble for a touchdown by quarterback Bo Nix. Once again, Bowen played conservatively but did accept fault for the collapse.

His own players do not respect him, at all:

And ...

Bottom Line: It’s Time To Move On

Bowen has seen three defensive collapses in 10 games this year, and his defense holds the second-most penalties and fifth-most yards surrendered per game. They also hold the fourth-most points given up and the third-least takeaways in the NFL. This is not a productive team, and the defensive coaching staff must take responsibility for this mess.

It’s likely Bowen is fired before the end of the season, regardless if things improve or not. However, he could likely be fired in a ceremonial move with Daboll and Schoen. Regardless, the house is about to be cleaned out.