The New York Giants have officially cut Jude McAtamney, with Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post being the first to report the news. McAtamney missed two extra points in the Giants’ heartbreaking loss to the Denver Broncos and played a pivotal role in a game that was decided by just one point.
Giants: Jude McAtamney’s missed PATs in Week 7 were costly
Although the defense gave up 33 points in the fourth quarter behind controversial playcalling by defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, McAtamney was not absolved from his role in the stunning defeat.
After previously missing an extra point in the Giants’ 34-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, he missed his first attempt wide left against Denver, which prevented the Giants from taking a 14-0 lead.
New York then failed to convert a two-point conversion after its next touchdown, which would have put them up 21-0 instead of 19-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
But the more critical extra point miss came on the Giants’ late touchdown, with Jaxson Dart crossing the goal line on a quarterback keeper from one yard out with 37 seconds left in the game. McAtamney missed the ensuing PAT wide right this time, which prevented New York from taking a three-point lead in the final minute.
Sure enough, the Broncos went down the field and set up Will Lutz with a 39-yard attempt, in which the veteran kicker split the uprights to give Denver the 33-32 victory over the now 2-5 Giants.
McAtamney took responsibility for his miscues
McAtamney was the first to put the missed kicks on himself after the game when he answered questions from reporters in the visiting locker room postgame.
Even though there were some questions about whether the snap or the hold being slightly off contributed to the misses, Jude took full responsibility for both kicks, saying that he still needed to make them.
“Got to make the kicks. I’m not going to shy away from that. I’ll take full responsibility. If the snap’s not perfect, the hold’s not perfect, I’m a professional kicker. I’ve got to be able to make those… The ball was there, the laces were good. I’ve just got to make a play.”
His accountability, while commendable especially so quickly after the game, was not enough to save his job in the end, with Brian Daboll and his staff deciding to part ways with the Irish-born kicker out of Rutgers University.
Giants have to make a decision at kicker
The Giants are not finished making decisions yet when it comes to the kicking position. After multiple games going back to 2023, where Gano put the team in a dire kicking situation, they decided to bring Younghoe Koo onto the practice squad in addition to Jude McAtamney.
McAtamney can return to the practice squad without taking up a roster spot due to the international player exemption, but it is not clear whether that is the plan with him.
In the meantime, Graham Gano is eligible to return from injured reserve this week, as he is nearing recovery from the groin injury he suffered in pregame warmups before the team took on Kansas City in Week 3.
The Giants’ brass will have to decide whether to start him or Koo, who lost the interim battle to McAtamney, widely believed to be because Koo struggled on kickoffs during practice. The New Jersey native also struggled with accuracy over the last couple of seasons, which led to him being cut from the Atlanta Falcons.
This decision will likely come down to how healthy the Giants’ medical staff believes Gano is, because the last thing New York needs is another situation in which they have to play a game without a healthy kicker on the active roster.
Between Gano kicking through an injury and missing two field goals against the Jets in 2023, Jamie Gillan being forced to place-kick in 2024, and Gano’s injury suffered in pregame warmups that left New York without a kicker against the Chiefs, the front office may decide to say enough is enough and give Koo a shot.
If not, then the Giants will have to be sure that Graham Gano is truly healthy and can continue his strong start to 2025, as he has not missed a kick yet this season, going 6-6 on extra points and 5-5 on field goals, with a long of 55 yards.
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