Who is Jude McAtamney? Giants kicker misses crucial last-minute extra point in loss to Broncos

The New York Giants allowed 33 points in the fourth quarter of their loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, so it can't just be one player's fault the team blew an 18-point lead in a matter of minutes. 

From Jaxson Dart's game-changing interception to defensive lapses, the Giants will spend the upcoming week trying to figure out all of the ways in which the final quarter went so wrong. 

One reason is obvious: a pair of missed extra points by kicker Jude McAtamney kept the door open for the Broncos and ultimately cost the Giants at the end of a marathon fourth quarter.

Here's what you need to know about McAtamney and his costly misses on Sunday.

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Who is Jude McAtamney?

The Giants have operated with McAtamney as their kicker since Graham Gano suffered a groin injury in Week 3. It's McAtamney's second stint with New York, as he briefly replaced an injured Gano and Greg Joseph last season as well.

McAtamney comes from a fascinating background, as he grew up in Northern Ireland and taught himself to kick after becoming interested in American football in 2020. Before playing American football, McAtamney played Gaelic football.

McAtamney started training with punters and came over to the U.S. to start his college career as a kicker at Division II Chowan University in North Carolina. He transferred to Rutgers in 2022 and served as the Scarlet Knights' placekicker for one season before being relegated to kickoff duties in 2023. 

The Giants added McAtamney to their practice squad through the International Player Pathway in 2024, and he got his first regular season action in a Week 9 loss to the Washington Commanders.

Sunday marked McAtamney's fourth game of the 2025 season as the Giants' kicker. He entered 2-for-2 on field goal attempts but had never attempted a field goal longer than 31 yards. McAtamney was 7-for-8 on extra point attempts, which are from 33 yards out, and he added two more misses on Sunday.

Here's a look at how McAtamney's missed extra points cost the Giants in Denver.

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Giants missed extra points

McAtamney missed an extra point attempt after the Giants' second touchdown of the day against the Broncos, leaving New York with a 13-0 lead rather than 14-0, and his second miss came in a critical spot.

The Giants had just regained the lead in the final minute and needed an extra point to prevent the Broncos from being able to win with just a field goal, but McAtamney's miss allowed Denver to go right down the field and win the game with a simple kick.

Had McAtamney made the extra point and put the Giants ahead 33-30, a Broncos field goal would have only forced overtime.

Gano's timeline to return isn't clear, but Sunday may have been McAtamney's final game as the Giants' kicker. New York has former Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo on its practice squad, and it's tough to imagine the Giants being comfortable running it back with a kicker who has not yet attempted a kick longer than 33 yards this season.