New York Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll attributed his team’s 20-17 overtime loss in Munich to the turnover differential. 

Two interceptions from Danny Jones and a fumble from running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. on the first play from scrimmage in overtime ultimately cost the G-Men, who had done well to fight back from a ten-point deficit at half time. 

“It was a tough one, tough game,” said Daboll as he stepped up to the podium. “It was a great atmosphere here in Germany. Cool place to play. Tough way to lose the game.  The game really came down to a few plays. We had three turnovers, two of them down in the red zone. They had one turnover. When you turn the ball over three times and only get it one time, it’s hard to win in this league.” 

Jones’ struggled particularly in the first half, failing to convert on third downs, taking an untimely sack on a failed flea flicker, and coughing up the ball on a Jadeveon Clowney tip. Despite these struggles, Daboll did not consider a switch at quarterback, and blamed himself for the failed trick play. 

“I thought we could get something going, which we did,” he said. “Started out slow, had some opportunities there, but did not [consider benching Jones].  [On the flea flicker] I wish I had it back. Bad coaching.”

Despite the fumble, Tracy played well during Sunday’s contest, eclipsing 100 yards and finding the end zone on a 32-yard run in the third quarter. Daboll again stressed the importance of protecting the ball when asked about his young running back. 

“You never want to turn the football over, and he knows that, but the job is to make sure we maintain possession of the ball,” the head coach commented. “We’ll look at the reason why it happened. Is it ball handling? Good play by the defense? We can’t turn the ball over in this league three times and expect a different outcome.”

New York were unable to stymie an explosive Panthers rushing attack. Chuba Hubbard, supported by the occasional burst by Bryce Young, amassed 188 yards on the ground in Germany. 

“I thought they attacked the edges well on a couple plays, made some explosive plays in that area,” Daboll noted.

The loss sees the G-Men fall to 2-8. Now in his third season as head coach, Daboll’s record stands at 17-25-1 — and nine of those wins came in his first season. Why has this season gone so poorly, considering those early signs of hope? 

“’I’m not going to reflect on the season,” he said. “We just lost a tough game. Certain plays everybody would like to have back. Long trip back, and we’ll have a bye week here and make the most of it. ‘I’d say there’s certain things we’re doing better. The record isn’t what it needs to be. But we’ll go back and evaluate the things we need to do to finish up strong the last half of the season.”