The New York Giants were on the losing end of a 21-18 decision to the Washington Commanders on Sunday, and their lack of a kicker was one of the main culprits in that defeat.
It was the result of a lineup blunder from head coach Brian Daboll, and he did not seem willing to take much blame or responsibility for it after the game.
Giants kicker Graham Gano appeared on the injury report on Saturday with a groin injury that left him questionable for Sunday's game. Instead of elevating another kicker to the active roster for the game (as they could have done with Jude McAtamney), the Giants decided to roll the dice that Gano would be able to kick during the game.
He could not.
Not only did he not finish the game, he was hobbled on the opening kickoff by a hamstring injury and was unavailable for the remainder of the game. That left the kicking duties in the hands of punter Jamie Gillan.
After Gillan missed an extra point following the Giants' first touchdown, the Giants refused to let him kick for the remainder of the day. They went for two-point conversions after their next two touchdowns (missing both) and were unable to attempt a field goal late in a tie game.
The Commanders ended up kicking seven field goals to win the game by three points.
After the game, Daboll was extremely defensive about the decision to roll with Gano and did not seem happy about being second-guessed on it.
"We thought Graham would be OK," Daboll said. "He got hurt chasing down a hamstring. He didn't hurt his groin. He hurt his hamstring."
You do not need to be a doctor to understand how a groin injury and trying to overcompensate for that could potentially lead to a hamstring injury (or other injury). In the end, the Giants rolled the dice and lost the gamble. Then lost the game largely because of that. The Giants with their roster and offense have almost no margin for error this season. Especially avoidable errors.
