The Giants’ fourth quarter collapse was the worst kind of complementary football

“Complementary football” is probably among the phrases NFL head coaches love to say the most. It’s right up there with other all-timers like “ignore the noise” and “turn the page.”

What does it mean, though? Essentially, all three units — offense, defense, special teams — working in unison and feeding off each other to create the best possible outcome for the team as a whole. Think the defense getting a stop, special teams providing a big punt return, and the offense closing out the sequence with a touchdown.

In the fourth quarter of their contest against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, the New York Giants also played a complementary game. However, it was a twisted, grotesque, all-around disturbing version of complementary football.

It sucked. And it allowed Denver to score 33 points in just over 14 minutes to complete one of the wildest comebacks in recent NFL memory.

The Broncos obviously deserve to be praised for hanging in there despite trailing 19-0 entering the fourth quarter, and 26-8 until 5:13 left. Still, they would not have had a chance at completing their comeback if not for the Giants running out of gas and failing to find a gas station despite one being right behind them.

Leading 19-0 as the game entered its fourth quarter, the dam was already about to break: the Broncos had marched deep into Giants territory and on the third play of the period would find themselves on the board for the first time. At that point, there was no need for panic especially because quarterback Jaxson Dart and the New York offense replied with a touchdown drive of their own.

And yet, the complementary debacle was just about to begin.

It started with a 4th-and-3 at the Giants’ 44-yard line with 6:38 left to play. The team seemed to have gotten a stop but a pass interference call against the defense kept the drive going. From there, Denver went on to complete a massive 13-play, 74-yard drive to score its second touchdown — plus second two-point conversion — of the afternoon.

Still, up 10 with 5 minutes to go, it was not yet time to get overly nervous. Then, however, all hell started breaking lose — beginning with the decision by the Giants coaching staff to go conservative and by extension predictable.

Two short Cam Skattebo runs were, unsurprisingly, followed by a Dart pass attempt. The Broncos managed to intercept his throw, returning it all the way to New York 19.

Four plays plus an offsides penalty to move the sticks on 3rd-and-5 later, the Broncos were within three points of the Giants. And yet, it was rinse/repeat time for the Giants. While their run-run-pass approach did allow for almost a minute of game time to pass and the Broncos to burn their final timeout after using two on the previous possession, it again allowed New York to predict what was about to happen: the two short runs set up a pass that ended up incomplete.

The offensive collapse was in full swing, as was the defensive one. It took Denver just six plays to score another touchdown and take the lead for the first time.

To their credit, Dart and the offense at that point decided that they were not willing to sit idly by after all. In just 1:14, they covered 65 yards to re-take the lead on a quarterback keeper into the end zone. And that is precisely when special teams decided to join the complementary debacle.

Had kicker Jude McAtamney made the extra point his team would have been up by three. Instead, it sailed wide to the ride — a second XP missed by Graham Gano’s injury replacement — to give Denver a chance at a win by field goal. And that is precisely what happened after the defense surrendered yet another scoring drive, this one taking only 37 seconds and featuring chunk plays of 29 and 22 yards.

As Will Lutz’s 39-yarder split the uprights and the clock hit 0:00, the Giants were left wondering what could have been had they gotten a better crunch time performance from their offense; or their defense; or their special teams; or their coaching staff. Alas, it was not meant to be.

OK, there is non sugar-coating it. This one stinks if you are a Giants fan. Sure, you may have gotten used to disappointment over the last decade-plus, but this one is a new, historic chapter to be added.

And yet, not all hope is lost. For a team to blow a fourth quarter lead, after all, it needs to build that lead in the first place. And the Giants did just that against a playoff-caliber opponent despite playing on the road and being led by a rookie quarterback making just his fourth NFL start.

For three quarters, Jaxson Dart and company did not just look like they could compete with the better teams in the league, they actually did it. And it took a perfect storm for Denver to come back — from Dart throwing that pick to starting safety Javon Holland leaving the game with an injury to New York missing two extra points. That storm is so rare, it has never happened before.

If only one of those small moments look different, the Giants are 3-4 today instead of 2-5. They obviously are not, but that does not mean fans should be quick to dismiss the positives.

For a franchise whose rebuilding mode is set to continue throughout 2025 and probably extend into 2026 as well, those positives are reason for hope.