Giants players call team 'soft,' question effort after loss - ESPN

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Defensive captain Dexter Lawrence II thought the New York Giants played «soft» in a 30-7 blowout loss Sunday to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium.

Rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers had a similar assessment after a game where he didn't get a touch in the first half.

«Soft as f---,» he said in frustration.

Veteran offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor's assessment indicated a lack of overall effort.

«I personally don't think everybody is giving 100 percent,» Eluemunor said.

Standout edge rusher Brian Burns on trailing 30-0 at home off their bye week: «That's ass.»

Not exactly a glowing review of what the Giants (2-9) put on the field as they dropped their sixth straight game. It also happened to be their first contest this year without Daniel Jones at quarterback.

Jones was benched at the start of the week. He was released Friday. The «spark» the Giants were looking for from Tommy DeVito wasn't there, for reasons that extend well beyond the quarterback.

DeVito threw for 35 yards and was sacked three times in the first half alone as the Giants faced a 23-0 halftime deficit. He finished 21-of-31 for 189 yards passing.

It was as if Nabers, the Giants' top playmaker, didn't play in that first half. He wasn't even targeted.

«Go out there first, second quarter, don't get the ball,» he said. «Start getting targets at the end. I mean, can't do that. Start getting the ball when it's 30-0. What do you want me to do?»

Nabers finished with 6 catches on 9 targets for 64 yards — all in the second half. He was left unsure what happened in that disastrous first half and why he didn't get the ball.

«I don't know,» Nabers said. «Talk to [Giants coach Brian] Daboll about that.»

The Giants (2-9) are at a