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New York Giants quarterback Tyrod Taylor Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

Former NFL QB blasts Giants' Tyrod Taylor for blunder vs. Bills

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 10/16/23

Former NFL quarterback and current "The NFL Today" analyst Boomer Esiason didn't hold back when criticizing New York Giants signal-caller Tyrod Taylor for audibling to a run at the Buffalo Bills' 1-yard line late in the first half of Sunday's game that Buffalo ultimately won 14-9.

"The rule of thumb is 16 seconds," Esiason explained during Monday's edition of the WFAN "Boomer & Gio" program, per Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "That’s what you need to run a play, if you run it quickly…if you’re running a play on time, you should be able to get to the line, snap it, and clock it in 16 seconds."

Playing in place of injured starter Daniel Jones (neck), Taylor checked to a Saquon Barkley run play with 14 seconds left in the half and no timeouts in his pocket. Buffalo stopped Barkley short of the end zone, and Taylor failed to spike the football before time expired. He received an earful from head coach Brian Daboll as a result.

The Giants run the ball with 14 seconds left and no timeouts, get stuffed, and the half ends before they can get another play off. What a terrible terrible result for the Giants pic.twitter.com/Yis8BfVEhc
— CFBBlueprint (@CFBBluePrint) October 16, 2023

Brian Daboll is LIVID at Tyrod Taylor, who clearly checked to a run play -- just AWFUL decision-making.

Giants needed to come away with points, and they imploded, as usual. pic.twitter.com/4IngutkGDE
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) October 16, 2023

"To check to a run at the end of the first half, and have the first half end on the 1-yard line, it’s just a killer situation," Esiason continued. "He needs to know better."

Had Taylor simply thrown the ball out of the end zone and allowed the Giants to likely convert what would've been a chip-shot field goal, New York may have only needed another kick rather than a walk-off touchdown on the game's final drive.

THE BILLS WIN #NYGvsBUF pic.twitter.com/uLwamFkT4N
— NFL (@NFL) October 16, 2023

Meanwhile, Esiason pointed out that this is hardly Taylor's first rodeo. The 34-year-old has worked under Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka since March 2022.

"This is why you’re on your fifth or sixth team, whatever it is," Esiason added about Taylor. "It’s moments like that, unfortunately for him — he’s been around long enough to know. This isn’t a rookie quarterback…that’s a decision right there that you can’t make."

Taylor completed 24-of-36 pass attempts for 200 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions against the Bills and may again be needed when the 1-5 Giants host the 3-3 Washington Commanders Sunday. Per Patricia Traina of FanNation's Giants Country, Jones told Melissa Stark during NBC's weekly production meeting he wants to return to the lineup for the Washington game, but it was unknown as of Monday afternoon when he'll be cleared for contact.

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