This seems silly to say before a game in Week 3, but the feeling I, and I think some other people, had leading up to this game was that it was going to be an inflection point in New York Giants history. Another disheartening loss might mean the end of the Russell Wilson era in New York and the start of the Jaxson Dart era would soon be coming. A decisive defeat like the ones they suffered in their last two home openers could mean the end for defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, if not for head coach Brian Daboll. On a wild day of NFL upsets, comebacks, and last second blocks of potential winning field goals, could the 0-2 New York Giants shock the world and upset the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football?
No. The Giants looked like they did in so many of the games they played last season, especially the ones at MetLife Stadium. The offense sucked the life out of a crowd that seemed to be half Kansas City fans, a damning statement for a home opener. What did we learn from this pathetic 22-9 loss to the Chiefs?
It’s déjà vu all over again for the Giants’ kicking game
I didn’t think it was possible after last year’s game in Washington, but for the second year in a row, Graham Gano left the Giants without a kicker after a pre-game injury. Gano gamely entered late to kick a 25-yard field goal when the Giants were still within striking distance, but I think the time has come for Gano to hang up the cleats. The Giants are losing games for two seasons now partly because they can’t kick extra points and field goals, and they’re losing games because their opponents only have to reach midfield because their kicker can easily make it from 67 yards out.
This, however, is just one example of a specific flaw in Joe Schoen’s approach to building the Giants’ roster. The Giants seem to find themselves more often than other teams with no one on the field to fill certain roles. We saw it on the offensive line in 2023, when there was no viable backup left tackle to replace Andrew Thomas after he got hurt in Game 1. In my opinion we’ve seen it this season at off-ball linebacker. The Giants entered the season with no real depth behind starters Bobby Okereke and Micah McFadden. Darius Muasau has some potential but isn’t ready to play serious snaps. Swayze Bozeman is not the answer. Tonight Abdul Carter wound up playing a lot of his snaps at linebacker rather than on the edge. He’s certainly well qualified for that, having played off-ball his first season at Penn State, and it serves the purpose of getting him on the field with Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux. Is it the best use of his talents, though?
I keep on coming back to the fact that the Giants are one of only two teams with no money in void years. The fact is that Schoen could have had better offensive line depth in 2023 if he’d been willing to use void years, and he could have had better linebacker depth this year if he’d done the same. $10-20M in void years costs is nothing by today’s NFL standards.
Game 1 Russell Wilson is back
I asked in an article earlier this week whether Russell Wilson would play any better against Kansas City than he did last season. He didn’t. In fact, he played worse. Wilson couldn’t find open spaces in the Chiefs’ soft coverage, holding the ball for almost 3 seconds on average when the Chiefs didn’t blitz. He was under pressure on almost half his dropbacks, and when he did throw, it was almost always short. The intermediate depths of the field (10-20 yards)? Wilson tried those only twice during the game, completing one for 14 yards. Overall Wilson had 160 passing yards and an NFL passer rating of 43.8.
It wasn’t all on Wilson. Jon Runyan Jr. seemed to have a miserable game, and once you collapse the middle of the pocket, today’s Russell Wilson doesn’t have as many answers as young Russell did. You also have to question the game plan. The Chiefs took Malik Nabers out the game by having Trent McDuffie follow him a lot and by doubling him at other times. The Giants in response seemed to be running the Jason Garrett offense. I saw little in the way of crossing patterns, rubs, attempts to put defenders in conflict with multiple level routes, etc.
This game reminded me of the Cincinnati game at MetLife last year – an opponent that was ripe to be beaten but with an elite quarterback who could do just enough to win, while the Giants’ quarterback could not.
The 2024 draft class is not looking as good
This isn’t about Nabers. I’m thinking more about Rounds 2 and 3. Last season second-round pick Tyler Nubin and third-round pick Andru Phillips looked like promising additions to the defense. I was hoping to see development from them this season. Instead, three games into his second season, we’re still waiting for Nubin, a ballhawk in college, to get his first NFL interception. I struggle to recall any significant positive plays I’ve seen him make this season. Meanwhile, Phillips, a ferocious tackler around the line of scrimmage last season, is now being picked on by opposing quarterbacks. Tonight he looked like he had contracted Deonte Banks disease, not ever turning around to find the ball when it was coming his way. It would be one thing if he was defending Xavier Worthy, but he was being toasted by Tyquan Thornton. Moving on to Round 4, I’m still trying to figure out why Theo Johnson is TE1. He had two targets and one catch tonight for 10 yards.
At least we have Cam Skattebo and a pass rush
It’s clear now that Skattebo is RB1, especially with Tyrone Tracy Jr. going down mid-game with an injury. Skattebo’s numbers tonight were: 10 carries, 60 yards, and a TD rushing, plus six receptions for 61 yards. Those figures led the Giants in both rushing and receiving. He brings excitement, and aside from Nabers, he seems to be the Giant most likely to create a plus play.
On the defensive side, a pleasing development is that Kayvon Thibodeaux seems to be playing the best overall ball of his career, while Brian Burns may be doing the same. Carter was disruptive as well albeit with fewer opportunities to rush. Dexter Lawrence did get some pressure, but he seems to not yet be fully healthy. He is not thus far the dominating presence he’s been since defensive line coach Andre Patterson arrived. A lot of it is the double teams, but part of it may be that he is not fully healthy yet.
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