Thomas McGaughey has painfully awkward exchange with reporters

In a Week 1 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, literally everything went off the rails for the New York Giants. It was a classic case of Murphy’s Law.

The nightmare began early in the first quarter when rookie center John Michael Schmitz rolled a snap back to quarterback Daniel Jones on third down. That forced the Giants to attempt a field goal, which was blocked by Dallas and returned 58 yards for a score.

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While chasing the play, left tackle Andrew Thomas suffered an injury hamstring.

Ezeudu has to stab with his left arm, protect inside out then go to the outside man. Bad technique! pic.twitter.com/PmJlhIIM2O

— Lawrence Tynes (@lt4kicks) September 11, 2023

Always block the inside man. Offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu didn’t do that and it was off to the races.

The Giants would never recover from the special teams snafu.

Asked about that during a Thursday press conference, special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey attempted to gloss over the error and return focus to a Week 2 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. Reporters weren’t having it and repeatedly peppered him with questions about the blocked field goal.

Things quickly turned awkward. Painfully awkward.

Giants Special Team Coordinator Thomas McGaughey asked 5 times about the blocked field goal

He’s moved on I think? pic.twitter.com/qqu4XRCFWP

— Talkin’ Giants (@TalkinGiants) September 14, 2023

McGaughey is generally engaging and willing to discuss anything with reporters but that wasn’t the case on Thursday. He was clearly growing frustrated with the questioning but it was also the first time members of the media had an opportunity to ask him about it.

Given that the Cowboys admitted to spotting a weakness on film, you’d think McGaughey would be more willing to discuss what that was. Instead, he acted like a broken record in his relentless attempts to redirect questioning. It was difficult to watch.

This is not a good early-season sign for the Giants.