The New York Giants will try to avoid an 0-3 start to their season on Sunday night against the Kansas City Chiefs. Here are some of the storylines to follow as the week unfolds.
Which offense will show up?
The Giants scored just six points and totaled a measly 231 yards of offense in Week 1. They enjoyed a vintage Russell Wilson moon ball festival in Week 2, as he passed for 450 yards and three touchdowns as the Giants gained 506 total yards.
Which offense will show up Sunday against Kansas City?
No one should expect the Giants’ offense to be as prolific on a week-to-week basis as it was against the Dallas Cowboys. The Giants, though, have now shown that they can feature an explosive passing attack with the 37-year-old Wilson at quarterback.
To be competitive, the Giants need something in-between the extremes. They have shown what they are capable of, which makes back-sliding to what they did against the Commanders Week 1 unacceptable.
Where’s the defense?
Expectation does not guarantee results. That is a line I wrote on Monday in regards to the Giants’ defense. The Giants clearly don’t wan’t to hear it, but the expectation entering the season was that a defense that had seen a major talent injection after co-owner John Mara expressed his displeasure with the way it performed last season would be the backbone of the 2025 team.
So far, no good.
Through the small sample size of two games, the Giants are
- Last in the league in yards allowed.
- 27th in points allowed.
- Last in rushing yards allowed.
- 31st in yards allowed per rushing attempt.
- Last in total yards allowed.
- 28th in yards allowed per play.
- Last in first downs allowed. The 57 they have surrendered is 10 more than any other team.
- 26th in completion percentage allowed.
- 29th in passing yards allowed per game.
- 31st in the league in Expected Points Added (EPA) on second and third down. (h/t to Justin Penik for that one)
Clearly, defensive coordinator Shane Bowen has to answer for that. There was some thought the Giants would fire Bowen last season, but they opted for continuity, hoping a second season in Bowen’s scheme along with the talent upgrade would bring improvement.
So far, no good.
Players, though, also have to take some responsibility. Let’s use the second-and-10 play at the end of regulation that put Brandon Aubrey of the Cowboys in position to kick a game-tying 64-yard field goal as an example.
Look at the play:
Yes, the defense called was too soft. Perhaps it is consistently too soft on some of these too-frequent long-yardage conversions the Giants are allowing. That’s on Bowen. But, let’s not absolve the players.
Jevon Holland told me on Monday that the Giants were defending the 50-yard line. Holland clearly plants his feet at the 50. Dane Belton, though, retreats all the way to the Dallas 45-yard line. Is that at least part of the reason Dak Prescott had room to make that throw to Jake Ferguson?
I don’t know for sure, but players have to know and execute their assignments. They have to get the right depth on their drops, maintain the proper leverage in coverage, set the edge properly and fill the correct gaps in run defense.
Are they doing those things? Nick Falato or Chris Pflum are better-equipped to answer that question than I am, but it has to be asked.
Let me ask a few more questions I don’t know the answer to, but that need to be considered:
- When will the Giants commit to Cor’Dale Flott at cornerback full-time and stop replacing him situationally with Deonte Banks? Through two weeks, Pro Football Focus has Flott as the league’s fifth-ranked coverage cornerback. Banks has given up completions both times he has been targeted, and has two penalties in limited snaps. The Giants say the best players will play regardless of draft position or contract. If they think Flott is better, he should be on the field full-time.
- Is using Paulson Adebo to travel with an opposing team’s No. 1 wide receiver the best way to use him? He had not done that before this season, and he has a 117.1 passer rating against in two games. Maybe the Giants feel they don’t have a choice, and the small sample size is misleading as to Adebo’s capability to move around.
- Can the Giants, with just one turnover in two weeks, start filling the turnover chest by making some game-altering plays?
Who’s at left tackle?
Whenever he is ready to play, the answer to that will be Andrew Thomas. Question is, will Thomas be ready on Sunday night to take the field for the first time since suffering a Lisfranc injury Week 6 of last season against the Cincinnati Bengals?
A key indicator could be whether or not Thomas participates in all three of the Giants’ practices this week. Thomas practiced only twice in both Weeks 1 and 2.
If Thomas can’t play, the Giants will almost certainly give rookie fifth-round pick Marcus Mbow his first NFL start. Mbow played well against Dallas in relief of James Hudson, who was benched following his four penalties on one drive implosion.
Giants fans certainly do not want to see Hudson.
Running back pecking order
Has rookie Cam Skattebo already supplanted Tyrone Tracy Jr. as the Giants’ lead running back? Skattebo, drafted in the fourth round, had 11 carries and 45 yards to Tracy’s five carries for 15 on Sunday vs. the Cowboys. Skattebo played 35 snaps to Tracy’s 28.
Tracy did have four receptions for 36 yards and averaged 26.4 yards on five kickoff returns. He also had a 24-yard run negated by a downfield holding penalty on wide receiver Darius Slayton.
Tracy had a team-high 839 rushing yards last season and 1,123 yards from scrimmage. He had a stretch of three 100-yard rushing performances in six games, but did not have more than 59 yards rushing in any of the Giants’ final seven games.
“Tracy had a number of kickoff returns that I thought, there were a couple of close ones,” Daboll said. “So you give him a break off of there. Thought Skat was running good. Again, that could be a week-to-week deal. But we thought we could get the ball in his hands a few more times. They weren’t kicking it to (wide receiver) Gunner (Olszewski), they were kicking it to Tracy and he had some good kickoff returns for us.”
This could be a “ride the hot hand” deal, but it is worth paying attention to.
Can the Giants run the ball?
Truth is, no matter who the back is the Giants won’t run the ball well unless they figure out how to open a few holes. Skattebo can try, but he can’t run over everybody. There isn’t a single Giants’ offensive lineman who has been proficient at moving defenders off the ball so far this season.
Not to rely solely on PFF grades, but they can be an indicator of performance. Among 138 qualifying offensive linemen, PFF has Jermaine Eluemunor 96th, Jon Runyan 112th, Greg Van Roten 118th and John Michael Schmitz 131st in run blocking through two games.
Maybe getting Marcus Mbow into the lineup at right guard or right tackle once Andrew Thomas comes back would help. Maybe the buried on the bench Evan Neal at guard could help. Maybe moving Van Roten to center and benching Schmitz would help. Maybe two games is too small of a sample size to be in panic mode. Maybe offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo can work some magic. Maybe the Giants will have to rely on scheme and imagination to create some running lanes.
I don’t know the answer. I do know that for the red zone issues (1 of 7 in scoring touchdowns) to improve and the offense to have a chance to be consistent they have to find a way to run the ball.
Worthy watch
Will speedy wide receiver Xavier Worthy, a big play threat the Chiefs’ struggling offense could use, play? Worthy suffered a torn labrum when he collided with tight end Travis Kelce during the first drive of Kansas City’s season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers. He did not play in Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Ian Raport reported that Worthy could play against the Giants while wearing a harness to protect the injury.
Worthy, who set an NFL Combine record with a 4.21 40-yard dash in 2024, was a first-round pick last year by the Chiefs. He caught 59 passes for 638 yards, 10.8 yards per catch, with six receiving touchdowns.
The Chiefs are also without wide receiver Rashee Rice, serving a suspension for his role in a 2024 car crash.
Linebacker roulette
The Giants are burning through inside linebackers at an alarming rate. Micah McFadden was placed on IR after Week 1 with a foot injury. Chris Board was placed on IR this week due to a chest injury suffered Week 2, with his roster spot taken by Swayze Bozeman. Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles missed Sunday’s game with a calf injury. Darius Muasau, who took McFadden’s starting spot vs. Dallas, suffered a concussion.
If Muasau does not clear concussion protocol in time to play Sunday night, how the Giants handle the second linebacker spot next to Bobby Okereke is anybody’s guess.
Rookie Abdul Carter could be part of the solution. Over his first two games, Carter has played 13 of his 105 defensive snaps as an off-ball linebacker.
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