How Josh Ezeudu’s struggles at left tackle limited the Giants’ offense

The New York Giants lost star left tackle Andrew Thomas to a foot injury during their Week 6 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. New York gave Josh Ezeudu the first opportunity at left tackle rather than putting former seventh-overall pick Evan Neal in the lineup. Ezeudu started five games in 2023 for the Giants at left tackle before suffering his own foot injury that sidelined him for the season.

Ezeudu has an insufficient track record at tackle. Initially drafted as a guard, he had some solid snaps inside as a rookie, but the Giants appreciate his foot quickness and versatility. They are giving him another opportunity at tackle, which was rough against the Eagles.

The offensive line struggled as New York barely gained 119 yards on offense. It was a uniquely pitiful offensive performance against a suspect defense. The Eagles’ defense understood how to remove quick reads from Daniel Jones, who lacks innate quarterbacking comprehension to adapt and overcome when the script is known.

Philadelphia sat on quick hitch/in/out concepts. They baited the throw and quickly used adjacent defenders to blow up the catch point — the receivers were like iron, and the Philadelphia zone defenders were immediately magnetized on anything underneath:

Quarter 1, 9:54, first-and-10; Wan’Dale Robinson, top of screen No.2

Quarter 1, 6:06, third-and-3; Malik Nabers, bottom of screen No. 1

And, when that receiver was not Malik Nabers, Philadelphia ensured the use of peripheral vision to restrict space on Nabers underneath.

Quarter 1, 10:29, first-and-10

Jones did not look at Nabers enough when he was the lone receiver on the backside. Nabers created space in these situations but was eliminated frequently when he was on the front side of plays.

It reached the point where the Giants would keep their No. 1 receivers on the line of scrimmage to create space in the curl/flat zone; eventually, Vic Fangio allowed the check-down to those receivers, which resulted in a minimal gain for the offense.

The offense is severely limited with Daniel Jones as the quarterback — that’s not a secret. The offensive line also struggled early and didn’t allow their severely limited quarterback to be less limited. Ezeudu surrendered two quick sacks on third down, which ended the Giants’ second and third drives.

Second drive

Q1, 6:06, third-and-6

The Giants faced a third-and-six on their fourth play of the drive. The Giants kept Daniel Bellinger (82) on the left side to assist Ezeudu with Josh Sweat (19). Bellinger did an excellent job initially tying up Sweat for an entire second, pushing him toward Ezeudu, who did well to shove the 4i-shade inward to the guard.

Ezeudu attempted to punch once square to Sweat, and the veteran edge defender quickly knocked the tackle’s outside arm downward; Ezeudu simultaneously brought his outside foot forward, giving Sweat an easier angle into the pocket, which he took without hesitation. Nabers was wide open on the deep comeback, but there was little time to deliver:

Nabers at top of screen

Third drive

On the next drive, the Giants found themselves in a third-and-3:

Q1, 6:06, 3rd-and-3

Nolan Smith (3) ran directly through the outside of Ezeudu for another sack. Ezeudu’s framing and set depth gave Smith another easy angle into the pocket.

It’s tough to hit one’s back foot and have a pass rusher in your lap. Nabers was the first read, and Fangio eliminated his in-breaking route with inside help from the overhang. The corner route took too long to develop. This is a quick concept; Jones opened toward Nabers, who was removed—however, Tyrone Tracy Jr. (29) was wide open at the top of the screen. Jones was expecting Theo Johnson (84) to clearout the overhang, but the overhang defenders were sitting all game on the underneath throws.

The two early sacks surrendered by Ezeudu prompted the Giants to employ this type of look on their next passing play:

The Giants kept at least one tight end toward Ezeudu’s side for much of the game. Looks like the one below became frequent:

Run spacing; maybe that will work?

The Giants surrendered two consecutive sacks on different drives. After the Eagles’ first touchdown, the Giants had a three-play, 8-yard drive that ended with a third-and-11 sack.

Q2, 8:00, third-and-11

Ezeudu has a good rep on the play. The twist is passed off, and Ezeudu gets square with active feet while keeping the defender out of the pocket. However, Jermaine Eluemunor (72) is beaten around the edge for the sack. Even so, Jones had plenty of time to throw, but where would he go with the football in this simple spacing concept against zone coverage?

The Eagles run Cover 3. Both the flat routes are supposed to expand the curl/flat defenders wide enough for the outside curls to find space between the zones. The curl/flat defender at the top of the screen immediately gains depth against Nabers, inviting the throw to the running back. And Johnson was late on his release to expand the curl/flat defender to the field side. Jones hesitated, didn’t love what he saw, and ate the sack.

Could Theo Johnson have gotten to the flat sooner to expand Cooper DeJean (33) away from Darius Slayton (86)? Sure, but the rookie tight end also had to be conscious of Ezeudu’s previous struggles, so protection was his priority. There still seems to be a bit of time where Jones could have delivered the pass. Either way, drive over — PUNT!

On the next possession, the Giants open the drive with the SAME spacing concept against zone coverage (Cover 6):

Quarter 2, 4:27, first-and-10

New York condensed its set, used a field stack, expanded the routes outward to create space, and utilized Wan’Dale Robinson (17) as the flat route stretch option. Robinson was open on the play. Nakobe Dean (17) thought Nabers was running a dig, but the star rookie sat in place as the safety quickly keyed on him over the middle of the field. Jones attempted to step up in the pocket but was sacked.

Ezeudu has a questionable anchor at best. He holds up at the last second against Sweat, but Jones felt the need to vacate the pocket. Jones stares down the double curls to the field until he decides to bail. He’s looked at the three-against-two Eagles’ advantage over Nabers and Slayton. No Eagle reacts to Robinson in the flat, nor does the quarterback on this play.

Answers need to be found post-snap on plays like the one above. The Giants’ coaching staff wanted to establish some rhythm with simple Jason Garrett styled spacing concepts against zone coverage. The curl/flat DID NOT expand on the third-and-11, but Johnson was late to the flat; the curl/flat DID NOT expand with Robinson off the motion, and Jones stayed locked on the mathematical Eagles’ advantage rather than quickly getting the football to Robinson on first-and-10 to stay ahead of the script. Instead, the Giants take a sack.

Other pass-blocking plays

This is Ezeudu’s first pass-blocking rep of the day. I appreciate the initial outside hand punch, which was an attempt to force the pass-rusher to engage and possibly declare an early move. Milton Williams (93) did react to the initial stab, and Ezeudu pounced with double-handed contact into Williams’ chest. Good rep by Ezeudu on a quick passing concept.

Ezeudu matches Sweat up the arc, allowing Jones to find Wan’Dale Robinson for a small gain. Still, the young tackle always opens the gate to his outside. He initially sets at a 45-degree angle. It’s not atypical for him to give a more straightforward path for the rusher to the outside once he gains depth in his set. Ezeudu too frequently opens his hips early and doesn’t always cut the pass rusher’s angle off as he did in the play above. Gaining proper depth in his set — with his foot quickness — is not something we consistently saw in his snaps at tackle.

We see something similar above. Ezeudu does not do a good job protecting his outside from the high-side rush. Below are two plays where Ezeudu’s sub-optimal ability to absorb power rush moves were on display:

Ezeudu does get pushed back, but I want to credit him with anchoring in place after conceding the space. There are certainly worse anchors in the league. However, he is still below average in that department, especially when it’s coupled with frequent losses around the edge that give the quarterback little confidence in the stability of that side.

Run game

The Giants did not have many designed runs in the game. Most of the designed runs were not toward Josh Ezeudu. He was the backside OT on a few DUO runs and blocked at the point of attack on a few QB/HB draws — there was not much to write home about on those plays.

This is the only play-side run Ezeudu saw in the game. A WR insert between Ezeudu and Johnson where the tackle drove the 3-technique away from the play-side.

Final thoughts

Josh Ezeudu struggled in his return to the starting lineup. Replacing Andrew Thomas is a tall task, and the Giants had to change their protection significantly to account for Ezeudu’s struggles—the second and third drives of the game ended with Ezeudu’s losses, which resulted in sacks. Ezeudu finished with three pressures and two sacks surrendered but became close friends with Theo Johnson, Daniel Bellinger, and Chris Manhertz.

Discussion about Evan Neal inserting into the starting lineup — possibly at right tackle — with Jermaine Eluemunor moving to the left side will be lively this week. The Giants have young options that were drafted high by this regime, but the effectiveness of those options is not promising.