The Ravens beat the Giants for their ninth straight loss in a dismal season

At halftime on Sunday, all sorts of local professional and collegiate sports mascots of all shapes and sizes – including Mr. and Mrs. Met – were on the field, running around and “playing” football against the Junior Bulldogs from Rutherford, NJ

This period was the extent of the fun and entertainment at MetLife Stadium for all but the Ravens fans who traveled from Baltimore. The Giants were no match for a legitimate playoff-caliber opponent, which was no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention for many months.

It was quick enough and painless enough and routine and easy and without any intrigue or question about the end result. As expected, the Giants lost their ninth game in a row with a dutiful 35-14 loss.

The Giants (2-12) entered the game as 16.5-point underdogs over the Ravens (9-5), which is the highest point spread in the NFL this season. It was the largest point spread as an underdog for a home team in the league since at least 1966. Even that inflated spread couldn’t be covered by the overmatched Giants.

They didn’t even come close.

Lamar Jackson barely broke a sweat. He completed his first eight throws and threw five touchdown passes, matching a career high, his only concern at times being deciding which wide-open target to hit as he ran free in the Giants’ depleted, makeshift secondary.

On touchdown throw No. 5, running back Justice Hill was so wide open for a 29-yard catch-and-run that it was impossible to determine the culprit because there was no one on the entire right side of the defense at all Type of coverage.

Jackson sat out half of the fourth quarter after his day’s work was over and completed 21 of 25 for 290 yards, a passer rating of 154.6. A perfect rating is 158.3. He also ran six times for 65 yards.

Tommy DeVito (10 of 13, 68 yards) started at quarterback for the Giants but did not finish as he played through the first half before exiting with a concussion.

Tim Boyle became the fourth Giants quarterback to throw a pass this season, the first since 1992 with Phil Simms, Jeff Hostetler, Dave Brown and Kent Graham. This season it was Daniel Jones, DeVito, Drew Lock and Boyle.

This was another week, another game and another call for Giants co-owner John Mara to take action while the fate of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll remains very uncertain as their third season turns historically bad.

Ninety minutes before kick-off, a small plane flew overhead with the message: “MR MARA ENOUGH – WE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL YOU ALL FIRE.”

This was a more aggressive demand compared to last week’s air news. Before the 14-11 loss to the Saints, a plane flew with a banner that read “Mr. Mara enough – please fix this dumpster fire” across the sky above the stadium.

At least the airspace above the stadium was drone-free, unlike many areas in the Garden State.

The 2024 Giants now have an inglorious franchise record, as this represents the longest losing streak in their 100-year history. The 1976 and 2019 teams lost nine games in a row, and there was a nine-game losing streak between the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

So these Giants take their place with the dregs of the franchise.

As for the game, the less said or written about it, the better for the Giants. They trailed 7-0 after one quarter on Jackson’s 13-yard strike to tight end Mark Andrews and were down 14-0 early in the second quarter when Rashod Bateman’s double move sent Jason Pinnock to safety and Bateman to the open Run for a 49-yard score. Yard touchdown reception, dancing around Pinnock and Greg Stroman in the final few yards.

The Ravens helped the Giants score their first points by committing four penalties for 41 yards on defense and breathing life into a 13-play, 80-yard drive that included DeVito passes of 14 yards to Malik Nabers and 13 yards to Daniel Bellinger included, ending with Devin Singletary’s 2-yard scoring run making the score 14-7, 2:15 minutes left in the first half.

Not bad, right? Well, wrong. With great ease, Jackson drove his team 80 yards in nine plays, needing just 1:43 to make the score 21-7, and hit Bateman deep again, this time for 20 yards, as he eased past safety Dane Belton passed by. Jackson thought – how could he not? – a no-one near Devontez Walker, who scored 21 yards late in the fourth quarter to make it 28-7.

It was 35-7 when Nabers grabbed Boyle’s lob into the end zone and scored a 23-yard touchdown with 6:36 left. At this point, more fans were leaving on the New Jersey Turnpike than were still in their seats.