EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Giants organization got exactly what it deserved in getting blown out by Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Giants were embarrassed in Sunday's 30-7 loss, taunted by Mayfield after a touchdown run just before halftime. And then they saw their fans walk out on them again when the Bucs extended their lead to 30-0 and sent New York (2-9) to its sixth straight loss.
The losing streak is the longest for the Giants since 2019, when they dropped a franchise-record nine straight games to finish 4-12. That led to the firing of coach Pat Shurmur after two seasons.
Third-year coach Brian Daboll is clearly in trouble, with the Giants guaranteed a second straight losing season. They were 6-11 in a 2023 season that featured a lot of injuries.
Daboll, who denies he has lost the team, isn't the only one whose job is in jeopardy. General manager Joe Schoen is on the hot seat and so is this entire franchise, which is celebrating its 100th year.
It's one thing to lose. It's quite another to give up, and that's what the organization did when it decided to bench Daniel Jones a week ago and then release him on Friday after the 27-year-old asked co-owner John Mara to let him walk away.
While he wasn't playing well, Jones was the Giants' best quarterback. He gave them more a of chance to win than either Tommy DeVito or Drew Lock. Removing him from the picture was all but certain to make the Giants worse, even if it was a good business decision.
If Jones was hurt and unable the pass his physical before the 2025 season, the team would have been on the hook for a $23 million cap hit.
The problem is the players care about now. By getting rid of Jones and elevating DeVito to the starting role, the front office was telling the team it didn't care about winning with seven games left in the season. So the players gave a lackluster effort.
Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence called the team soft. Rookie receiver Malik Nabers said he was sick of losing. Left tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said he saw a lack of effort by some players.
What they all were saying was they were angry at being betrayed. Money is never more important than winning, and the Giants made that mistake.
At this point in the season? Nothing.
The offense once again. The Giants have scored a league-low 163 points, including only 60 in six games at MetLife Stadium, where they are winless this season. They have scored in double figures at home twice. Daboll's team has been held scoreless in the first half in three of 11 games and it has been held without a first-half touchdown seven times. Daboll said he will continue to call the offensive plays.
S Tyler Nubin. The rookie has had a team-high 12 tackles in each of the last two games. His 81 tackles for the season are just two behind team leader Bobby Okereke.
RB Tyrone Tracy. The rookie leads Giants running backs with 587 yards on 116 carries — a 5.1-yard average for the fifth-round pick. But holding onto the ball has been a big issue. Tracy's fumble in overtime cost New York a chance to win in Germany against Carolina. He also lost the ball in the third quarter at the Bucs 5-yard line with New York down 23-0. It earned him a seat on the bench.
LT Jermaine Eluemunor (quad) and OLB Azeez Ojulari (toe) left Sunday's game in the first quarter. Chris Hubbard filled in at tackle and the Giants luckily got back DL Kayvon Thibodeaux this past week after he missed five games with a broken wrist. DeVito was banged up but Daboll expects him to start against the Cowboys.
10 — The Giants have gone 10 consecutive games without an interception, tying the NFL record held by the 1976-77 San Francisco 49ers and the 2017 Oakland — now Las Vegas — Raiders. The Giants and Raiders now share the single-season mark.
A national showcase on Thanksgiving Day for the NFC-worst Giants at Dallas.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) shares a laugh with New York Giants safety Tyler Nubin (31) after a missed tackle during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (29) fumbles the football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito (15) reacts after getting shaken up after a tackle during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield and New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito (15) meet after an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A judge on Monday rejected a request to block a San Jose State women’s volleyball team member from playing in a conference tournament on grounds that she is transgender.
The ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews in Denver will allow the player, who has played all season, to compete in the Mountain West Conference women’s championship opening this week in Las Vegas.
The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by nine current players against the Mountain West Conference challenging the league’s policies for allowing transgender players to participate. The players argued that letting her compete was a safety risk and unfair.
While some media have reported those and other details, neither San Jose State nor the forfeiting teams have confirmed the school has a trans woman volleyball player. The Associated Press is withholding the player’s name because she has not commented publicly on her gender identity. School officials also have declined an interview request with the player.
Crews' ruling referred to the athlete as an “alleged transgender” player and noted that no defendant disputed that the San Jose State roster includes a transgender woman player.
San Jose State will "continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms," the university said in a statement, confirming that all its student-athletes are eligible to participate under NCAA and conference rules. “We are gratified that the Court rejected an eleventh-hour attempt to change those rules. Our team looks forward to competing in the Mountain West volleyball tournament this week."
The conference did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The players filed a notice for emergency appeal with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Crews said the players who filed the complaint could have sought relief much earlier, noting the individual universities had acknowledged that not playing their games against San Jose State this season would result in a loss in league standings. He also refused a request to re-seed the tournament without the forfeited losses.
The judge said injunctions are meant to preserve the status quo. The conference policy regarding forfeiting for refusing to play against a team with a transgender player had been in effect since 2022 and the San Jose State player has been on the roster since 2022 -– making that the status quo.
The player competed at the college level three previous seasons, including two for San Jose State, drawing little attention. This season’s awareness of her reported identity led to an uproar among some players, pundits, parents and politicians in a major election year.
Crews' ruling also said injunctions are meant to prevent harm, but in this case, he argued, the harm has already occurred. The games have been forfeited, the tournament has been seeded, the teams have made travel plans and the participants have confirmed they're playing.
The tournament starts Wednesday and continues Friday and Saturday. Colorado State is seeded first and San Jose State, second. The teams split their regular-season matches and both get byes into Friday's semifinals.
San Jose State will play the winner of Wednesday's match between Utah State and Boise State — teams that both forfeited matches to SJSU during the regular season.
The conference tournament winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. San Jose State coach Todd Kress, whose team has not competed in the national tournament since 2001, has said his team has been getting “messages of hate” and that has taken a toll on his players.
Several teams refused to play against San Jose State during the season, earning losses in the official conference standings. Boise State and Wyoming each had two forfeits while Utah State and Nevada both had one. Southern Utah, a member of the Western Athletic Conference, was first to cancel against San Jose State this year.
Nevada’s players stated they “refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes,” without elaborating. Nevada did not qualify for the conference tournament.
The nine current players and others now suing the Mountain West Conference, the California State University Board of Trustees and others include San Jose State senior setter and co-captain Brooke Slusser. The teammate Slusser says is transgender hits the volleyball with more force than others on the team, raising fear during practices of suffering concussions from a head hit, the complaint says.
The Independent Council on Women’s Sports is funding a separate lawsuit against the NCAA for allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports.
Both lawsuits claim the landmark 1972 federal antidiscrimination law known as Title IX prohibits transgender women in women’s sports. Title IX prohibits sexual discrimination in federally funded education; Slusser is a plaintiff in both lawsuits.
Several circuit courts have used a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to conclude that discriminating against someone based on their transgender status or sexual orientation is sex-based discrimination, Crews wrote. That means case law does not prove the “likelihood of success” needed to grant an injunction.
An NCAA policy that subjects transgender participation to the rules of sports governing bodies took effect this academic year. USA Volleyball says a trans woman must suppress testosterone for 12 months before competing. The NCAA has not flagged any issues with San Jose State.
The Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the team cancellations, citing fairness in women’s sports. President-elect Donald Trump likewise has spoken out against allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports.
Crews was a magistrate judge in Colorado’s U.S. District Court for more than five years before President Joe Biden appointed him as a federal judge in January.
Gruver reported from Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Hanson from Helena, Montana.
FILE - The San Jose State University Spartans line up for the playing of the national anthem and player introductions for their NCAA Mountain West women's volleyball game against the Colorado State University Rams in Fort Collins, Colo., on Oct. 3, 2024. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, file)
