“‘Kudos & Wet Willies’ review of Giants-Ravens: Time for Tim Boyle”

Yes, we have to go through the formality of our “Kudos & Wet Willies” review of the New York Giants’ 35-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. So, let’s just get this over with.

A big compliment to…

Banner type – Whoever rents the planes to fly over MetLife Stadium deserves credit for their persistence. Two weeks in a row, a plane was hired to fly over the stadium before the game and implore co-owner John Mara to make changes.

Micah McFadden – The third-year linebacker continues to show impressive development. He had 11 tackles (seven solo), a sack and a quarterback hit on Sunday.

Tim Boyle – The veteran quarterback was forced into action in the second half after Tommy DeVito suffered a concussion. He actually played pretty well and brought some life to the passing attack.

Giants wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson said the team’s wide receivers have never caught live passes from Boyle, who has been on the roster a few times since the Giants before their Week 12 game against Tampa Bay Buccaneers waived Daniel Jones.

“Today everything was definitely very different. I never really caught a live pass from Tim,” Robinson said. “You have to go with the flow.

“It’s the NFL. Guys (have to) step up and whoever may go. On the other hand, it’s just like, hey, let’s catch a few passes real quick and see how this ball comes out and go from there.”

Boyle has been through this before.

“It’s December football. And I understand that. Unfortunately there are a lot of injuries. But I was a part of it, so it’s not a complete foreign concept to me,” he said. “But it’s in the job description of a quarterback. You must be ready when your number is called. It’s all hands on deck.”

Boyle finished 12 of 24 for 123 yards with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Malik Nabers and an interception.

The Giants’ five longest plays – a 25-yard pass to Robinson, the 23-yard touchdown to Nabers, a 17-yard completion to tight end Daniel Bellinger and 16-yard passes to Nabers and Darius Slayton – all came executed by Boyle.

Malik Nabers – The young man deserves recognition. In a lost year where he’s clearly not at 100% and his talents aren’t being utilized to their full potential, Nabers is still productive. On Sunday, he caught 10 passes on 14 targets for 82 yards and a touchdown. He now has 90 receptions this season.

Wet willies too…

Giants special teams – The Giants allowed a 59-yard kickoff return to Justice Hill on the game’s opening play. A poor 37-yard punt by Jamie Gillan was returned 22 yards by Desmond King, setting up Baltimore’s first touchdown. A holding penalty negated a nice kickoff return by Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Greg Dulcich committed a block in the back penalty on another kickoff return.

At least Eric Gray didn’t fumble. Probably because he was replaced by Dee Williams on the kickoff return.

The replacement secondary – That might be a bit unfair. Starting safety Tyler Nubin is on IR. None of the starting cornerbacks — Deonte Banks, Cor’Dale Flott, Dru Phillips — played. However, Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson did what he wanted as the Ravens’ wide receivers ran wide open all day. Jackson completed 25 of 29 passes for 290 yards and five touchdowns. Rashod Bateman had touchdown catches of 20 and 49 yards. The Giants simply don’t field an NFL-level secondary right now.

Kayvon Thibodeaux – The 2022 first-round pick didn’t make it to the stat sheet until he assisted on a tackle with 11 minutes left in the game. That single assisted tackle was his only contribution. As exhausted as the Giants are, they need to get production from their best players. Something, anything. Games like this make you wonder if Thibodeaux is actually one of those “best” players.

Kwillies to…

Dane Belton – Had 14 tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, one pass defensed and one quarterback hit. However, Belton was part of the secondary that was torched by Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Adoree’ Jackson – The veteran cornerback got rid of a scrambling Jackson and recovered the fumble on Baltimore’s opening drive. But here, too, he was part of a secondary that was mostly helpless to stop the Ravens’ passing attack.