Good grief, Charlie Brown - Giants’ Younghoe Koo’s “missed” kick heard ‘round the league
The New York Giants experienced a head-scratching moment by placekicker Younghoe Koo on Monday that perfectly sums up their 2025 season.
The New York Giants are having a rough season. Now sitting at 2-11 and well out of playoff contention, they gave us a moment during Monday night’s loss to the New England Patriots that was quite fitting for their pitiful season.
Younghoe Koo’s mystery miss perfectly sums up the Giants’ season
As the Giants were trying to chip away at a 17–7 deficit before halftime, the field-goal unit trotted out for what should have been a routine 46-yard attempt.
Instead, the Giants got a football blooper reel entry they didn’t ask for. It was basically the scene from Charlie Brown when Sally moves the football and makes Charlie fall...except that no one actually moved the football. Giants placekicker Younghoe Koo just...missed? Honestly, I’m not even sure you can call it a proper miss as his foot never made contact with the ball...
Here’s what happened.
Koo lined up, took his approach, swung his leg, and then missed the ball entirely. Instead, his plant foot caught the turf like he stepped on a rake, causing his kicking foot to smack the ground a few inches early. The ball sat untouched while Koo stumbled past.
The New York Giants are so bad they're recreating scenes from Charlie Brown in a real lite NFL game pic.twitter.com/C9FAjYtIWo
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) December 2, 2025
Holder Jamie Gillan, suddenly holding a football that was supposed to be airborne, did what any panicked holder does. He tried to make something out of nothing. That something turned out to be a desperate scramble that gained zero yards and ended with him being swallowed by the Patriots’ defense. Technically, the play went down as a sack.
Jaxson Dart’s reaction says everything
Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, watching the disaster unfold in real time, threw his head back and let out an eye roll so emphatic it may have rotated the stadium. Cameras caught him clearly mouthing an exasperated “oh my god”, the kind of reaction every Giants fan had. Yeah...welcome to the New York Giants, Jaxson!
Even Joe Buck and Troy Aikman couldn’t hold back their laughter in the booth.
#GIANTS KICKER YOUNGHOE KOO WITH ONE OF THE MOST EMBARRASSING PLAYS IN #NFL HISTORY.
— MLFootball (@MLFootball) December 2, 2025
💀💀💀
pic.twitter.com/oltIDHV6ex
Giants kickers haven’t exactly enjoyed a smooth season. Graham Gano has been in and out of the lineup with injuries, Jude McAtamney had a brief tenure featuring more missed extra points than made memories, and now Koo has added a turf-kicking ghost swing to the resume.
Younghoe Koo had a brutal miss in front of pro soccer player Midge Purce 😭
— espnW (@espnW) December 2, 2025
"That's crazy, but we can help. Gotham [FC] is in offseason if you want someone to come by the facility." pic.twitter.com/jbDrkNrBcN
What happened next?
The Giants ended up turning the ball over on downs, the Patriots happily took over, and Koo jogged off wearing the expression of someone who’d like to apologize to the turf and then quietly enter the witness protection program.
His excuse was that “the ball was slipping” so he “pulled up on it”...yeah, I don’t know about all that. But make your own assessment, readers.
One thing’s for sure: whatever confidence the Giants hoped to build heading into December, this play, and this game, dashed all hope. But if the season has taught us anything, it’s that the Giants know how to keep things interesting, even when the ball never leaves the ground.
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