MUNICH — Head in his hands and a towel over his head, a distraught Tyrone Tracy Jr. sat on the New York Giants bench.
The rookie running back couldn’t bring himself to watch what he knew was coming after his back-breaking fumble on the first play of overtime Sunday: another Giants loss, their fifth in a row and one he was, in part, responsible for.
So, as teammates and coaches passed by to share encouragement, Tracy sat on the bench, staring downward as Panthers kicker Eddy Pineiro eventually drilled a 36-yard field goal to seal Carolina’s 20-17 victory.
This is how you start OT
📺: NFL Network pic.twitter.com/a7poTbuEz5— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 10, 2024
The fumble was particularly heartbreaking for the Giants, who had just rallied back from a 10-point deficit to force overtime. After winning the OT coin toss, quarterback Daniel Jones and co. were set up to lead a game-winning drive and snap their losing streak.
Instead, former Giants defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson punched the ball out of Tracy’s arms on the first play of the period, and the Panthers dove on it to set up Pineiro’s game-winning kick.
“I put a lot into this game, blood, sweat and tears, the same way everybody says, but I play with passion,” Tracy said of the emotions he felt in the final minutes. “I feel like you can see that on the field. I have a lot of energy, and I hold myself to a high standard. When things like that happen with the game on the line in overtime, we come all the way back, that’s the last thing on your mind that you want to happen.”
Unfortunately for Tracy, it did.
“And I’ve got to live with,” he said.
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Perhaps there can be some silver linings for Tracy, who has been outstanding this season and produced again Sunday (103 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries). For one thing, his error comes in a season without much left on the line. The Giants aren’t competing for a playoff spot, so as much as the fumble hurt in that moment, he can leave the heartache in Germany and try to move on.
It’s also worth noting that the fumble can serve as a learning moment for him. Given how good he’s been — he’s fifth in the league in rushing yards (516) since taking over the starting role in Week 5 —it’s easy to forget he’s pretty new at this whole running back thing. He played wide receiver in college for five seasons (four at Iowa, one at Purdue) before fully committing to running back in his final year with the Boilermakers.
It stands to reason then that there will be some growing pains as the fifth-round pick continues to learn what is to him, a new position.
Unfortunately, those growing pains showed up at the worst times Sunday. It wasn’t just the late fumble. He also deserves some blame for Jones’ fourth-quarter interception — another back-breaker as it came inside the Panthers’ 10-yard line and right after the Giants defense had forced a fumble.
Jones tried to throw it to Tracy in the flat, but the ball slipped right through Tracy’s hands and into those of Panthers linebacker Josey Jewell. The pass was maybe a little behind Tracy, but it’s still a play he knows he needs to make.
The Outlaw took it away
📺: NFL Network pic.twitter.com/3y52v3FkQv— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 10, 2024
Still, the overtime fumble will be the mistake that’s most remembered from Sunday and the one he’ll need to learn from. Fellow rookie standout Malik Nabers knows something about that. In Week 2 at Washington, the wide receiver dropped a critical late-game pass. Nabers was similarly distraught after the poorly timed error and had to find a way to bounce back.
“I told (Tracy) that play doesn’t define you,” Nabers said. “That one play doesn’t lose us the game. I went over there, and I said, ‘You played a hell of a game.’ He’s carrying the ball pretty good for us, so we’re feeding him the ball. He got us going in the second half with that score. He’s been doing a great job. He’s preparing right. You don’t kick a man when he’s already down.”
Still, Nabers understands the pain is going to linger for a bit.
“No matter how many times people come up to you and tell you it’s not your fault, you still got that feeling inside that it was your fault. But like I told him, it’s not his fault.”
Nabers is right, of course. Sunday’s loss isn’t nearly all Tracy’s fault. The Giants didn’t play well enough to win. They committed three turnovers and scored just 17 points against one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Plenty of others deserve plenty of blame.
But that doesn’t mean Tracy can let himself off the hook. He can feel fortunate that his errors did not, indeed, cost the Giants crucial playoff position positioning or anything like that. They very likely won’t cost him his starting job, either. Nor should they. He’s the future of this position for the Giants.
But in that future, there are going to be growing pains.
A few weeks ago, Tracy posted on X about one of his highlight plays during the Giants’ loss to the Steelers. “Would you believe me if i said this only my second year at the position??”
Would you believe me if i said this only my second year at the position?? 👀 https://t.co/2y26Du4inO
— TYRONE TRACY JR (@TyroneTracy) October 30, 2024
Throughout his first season in New York, it’s been hard to believe, at times, that it is. But on a day like Sunday, it’s not as tough.
That’s kind of how the NFL works. There are good days and bad ones. As long as Tracy does learn from his mistakes, he looks like the kind of player who won’t have too many more days like Sunday.
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(Photo: Lennart Preiss / Associated Press)
