Examining the Different Fourth Down Philosophies of Giants, Chargers
Special Feature - December 11, 2021
Overall, the Giants have incorporated a relatively conservative approach to handling fourth-down plays this season. They’ve greatly favored taking the space they have downfield and utilizing their special teams unit, with weapons like punter Riley Dixon, to pin the opposition deep in their own territory and force the long drive.
That trend continued Sunday on 4th down and two at Miami’s 46-yard line, where the Giants offense stalled after three plays and had a dilemma of whether to go for it down 10-6 and extend a possible scoring drive. As you could have guessed, Judge decided to have Dixon punt for the fourth time and send back out his defense, much to the ire of the media and fans watching.
Part of this can be attributed to the Giants’ offense having issues with depth at the skilled positions due to injuries. Yet for Judge, it simply was about playing the field game and trusting the defense to give them the ball back.
While there was no indication from Judge that the Giants will change up their fourth down ideology moving forward, it makes for an interesting comparison as they prepare for their Week 14 matchup on the West Coast.
This weekend, the Giants will face a Los Angeles Chargers team (7-5) that not only boasts one of the top passing offenses in the league but whose head coach carries quite a different philosophy when it comes to going for it on fourth down.