A major reason as to why Ghosts stands out to me personally aside from the dumb plot and cliffhanger is that the protagonists lose just as much as they win, unlike in other CoD titles where any setbacks are few and far between and can be counted on one hand/are wham scenes.
ODIN is successfully scuttled? Entire crew dies.
Managed to rescue Ajax? He's already seconds away from dying.
You escaped the Federation-infested stadium? Your home-base is under a massive attack from the Feds (and you nearly get Saving Private Ryan'd before your brother saves you).
You managed to capture Rorke? Literal hours later the plane you're transporting him in gets shot down, he gets extracted, and now you have to fight your way out of a South American jungle.
Personal favorite is during 'Severed Ties' where your Abrams is scripted to take damage with every AA turret you take out.
Not to mention you watch helplessly as your father gets murdered in front of you and you're spared the same fate in the nick of time.
The only occasions where things go relatively smoothly for the Ghosts is when they're out on their Mission Impossible-type errands ('Federation Day' is still GOATed).