Giants' Greg Joseph misses two field goals in loss to Bengals

Greg Joseph's motto is that one kick doesn't define him.

If this were the case, Joseph's image would appear next to the term “bad timing.”

After the Giants converted a fourth down on an 11-play drive, Joseph hit a potentially game-winning 47-yard field goal for the first of his two misses in the fourth quarter in a 17-7 loss to the Bengals at MetLife on Sunday Stadium.

“It felt good (from my foot),” Joseph said. “I have to watch the film, be hard on myself, reevaluate and see what I want to fix mechanically and mentally in terms of the process. And go from there.”

It looked like the field goal operation went smoothly with 10:27 left, as long-time snapper Casey Kreiter handed the ball off to new holder Matt Haack, who replaced the injured Jamie Gillan as both punter and holder .

“Every ball I put my foot on is on me,” Joseph said. “I expect to make every kick.”

Haack was signed on Saturday, leaving the three with very little time to come to an agreement before match day.

“We felt comfortable with him out there,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “We won’t apologize for that.”

The failure may have shaken Daboll's trust in Joseph.

Instead of attempting another potentially game-winning 54-yard field goal with 3:01 left, Daboll left the offense on the field on fourth-and-3 and Daniel Jones threw an incompletion.

“I thought it was right at the top (of its range),” Daboll said. “We felt it would be best to try fourth down there.”

Joseph has gone 17 of 29 from 50 yards or more over his career, including a 61-yarder that beat Daboll's Giants on Christmas Eve 2022.

“Coach’s choice,” Joseph said. “If my number is called, I’m ready to go out.”

Joseph finally got a second chance with 51 seconds left – when the Giants tried to tie the game to a point and scored on an onside kick. He missed again – from 45 yards wide left.

Joseph was playing his fourth game since signing after Graham Gano suffered a hamstring injury.

Gano is eligible to come off injured reserve this week — another bad timing for Joseph — but he hasn't had a heavy workload in practice yet.

Just two weeks ago, Joseph made all five field goal attempts in his home debut for the Giants. It was an important rebound from the week before, when Jones missed a 48-yarder to the right and Daboll reacted lukewarmly to his subsequent show of confidence.

The Giants have rookie kicker Jude McAtamney on their practice squad, but he's currently considered more of a kickoff specialist.