The New York Giants defense is dreadful against the run. After cgiving up 277 yards on the ground in Week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Giants allowed the San Francisco 49ers to rush for 159 yards in their 34-24 win at MetLife Stadium. The 49ers had an easy plan — give the football to Brian Robinson and Christian McCaffrey, who totaled 32 carries for 159 yards.
The 49ers used 21 personnel 50% of the time and 22 personnel 15% of the time. Their 12 personnel snaps were 9% and their 11 personnel were just 26%. Heavy personnel forced the Giants into BASE on 69% of snaps and a more loaded box (7+ on 41% of snaps). It was the 49ers who won this heavyweight matchup.
While the Giants had a few impact run plays by Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and one impressive one by Dru Phillips, who played just 19 snaps in the Giants’ nickel personnel package. Why he wasn’t used outside, given the Giants’ current secondary issues, is beyond me, but I digress.
Flashes from leaders like Burns and Thibodeaux aside, the Giants’ run defense remains tentative — a unit where simply doing the bare minimum of an assignment seems to draw praise. Being in position is one thing; being in position and then punishing the offense by shedding a block and making a tackle is another. Some seem content with the former, which is indicative of a much broader problem with the Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll regime.
New York’s defense ranks 28th overall, allowing 27.7 points per game, with an alarming 35 points on average over the last three contests. They sit 31st in run defense, giving up 150 rushing yards per game; only Cincinnati has been worse at 166.4. The Giants also allow a league-high 5.5 yards per carry, rank third-to-last in rush EPA, and are tied for the most rushing touchdowns surrendered (12 RUTD, alongside the Titans, Bengals, Raiders, and Bills).
The frustration stems from a combination of poor player execution and a defensive scheme that is unimaginative. Frankly, the players don’t seem to be eager to make plays; some find themselves with their pants around their ankles at the point of contact. Giant fans deserve better than the product this team continues to trot out there every Sunday.
The drive we’re about to dissect started with 1:33 left in the third quarter after the Giants’ offense stalled and punted. The score was 20-10, 49ers, and Mac Jones opened the drive with a 13-yard play-action pass to Kendrick Bourne (84); this would be the last throw on the nine-play, 76-yard drive:
first-and-10 at SF 24
Mac Jones (10) goes into the mesh-point with Christian McCaffrey as the offensive line takes their zone-steps to the boundary. The Giants’ second-level defenders had a tough day attempting to handle the 49ers’ play-action passing attack. Bowen and his defense in a Cover-3, with Tae Banks (2) high and outside of Bourne. Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (33) and Dane Belton (24) stepped toward the line of scrimmage, which opened up the middle-hook and curl-flat area. Jones, who finished the game 19 of 24 for 235 yards with two scores, put the football into the void, and the 49ers moved the chains.
First-and-10 at SF 37
The 49ers align in a double-Y set out of 12 personnel singleback. The Giants use an OVER front with the linebackers stacked behind the defensive linemen, with Roy Robertson-Harris (95) as the backside five-technique over Trent Williams (71). San Francisco runs DUO directly at the Giants for 9 yards, and Flannigan-Fowles did not protect the backside gap that was concerningly open due to Robertson-Harris’ path post-snap up the arc. Fowles stayed behind the two defensive linemen, and McCaffrey bounced the run to the backside cutback lane. The Giants struggle to fit the backside of an overloaded offense:
Saquon Barkley punished the backside B-Gap on the second play of the Giants’ Week 8 loss in Philadelphia. The 49ers are a heavier personnel team, but they saw this vulnerability, and they made the Giants pay for their lack of continuity on the defense.
Second-and-1 at SF 46
McCaffrey sgot 10 yards on this creative run by Kyle Shanahan. 21 personnel, singleback with Kyle Juszczyk (44) as a motioning F to wrap back inside, underneath an offensive line that zone blocked to the offensive left. McCaffrey doesn’t flow with the blocks, per se; instead, he hit the backside B-Gap behind Juszczyk against a four-down front with the three-technique to the boundary.
DJ Davidson (98) is removed from his original 2i-shade; this allows Colton McKivitz (68) to easily locate the MIKE (Bobby Okereke, No. 58). Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) commanded two blockers, and Flannigan-Fowles was late to fit; his arm tackle did little to McCaffrey, who kept his feet churning through contact for additional yardage.
The 49ers ran the football four more times, totaling 16 yards. Here are those runs:
First-and-10 at NYG 44, 5-yard gain
Second-and-5 at NYG 39, 4-yard gain
Third-and-1 at NYG 35, 2-yard gain
First-and-10 at NYG 33, 5-yard gain
The Giants conceded 35 yards on six carries. The pounding commenced, and the fractures were about to widen.
Second-and-5 at NYG 28
The 49ers motion the H-Back to kick out Thibodeaux with the backside guard pulling on the counter-rush against the Giants’ five-man front. The front side of the offensive line blocks down with the kick-out and the back-side guard pulling. George Kittle (85) is the front-side tight end, and he takes a direct path at Okereke. Thibodeaux does a great job avoiding the kick-out and keeping the lane narrow, but fails to finish the tackle of Brian Robinson Jr. (9) in the hole. Flannigan-Fowles saw Thibodeaux to the inside, so he set outside, and the pulling guard contacted him.
White jerseys created a wall as blue jerseys failed to get off any blocks. Missed tackles and open space — hate to see it. Brian Burns (0) nearly made the tackle from the other side of the field near the line of scrimmage. Tyler Nubin (27) gets removed by a backside blocker, and it’s Jarrick Bernard-Converse (35) who makes the tackle after the defense surrendered 10 yards.
The Giants lost the line of scrimmage badly. The 49ers’ run game dictated everything — misdirection, angles, leverage — and New York’s front was lost. Too many defenders are stuck on blocks, and not enough were finishing the play. Darius Alexander (91), who played just 14 snaps in a game plan with a lot of defensive line usage, was blocked five yards laterally away from the play. This was poor, but it wasn’t as bad as Robinson’s next rush — an 18-yard touchdown scamper.
First-and-10 at NYG 18
Where’s the desire, the pride? No one is getting off blocks; the Giants look absolutely deflated. Again, it’s the backside of an overloaded line of scrimmage where the Giants used an OVER front (three-teqhcunique to the strength) where Kittle and Juszczyk were located. Juszczyk inserts from the backside to pick up Okereke; Fowles is late to fit the backside B-Gap, which has been abused over the last two weeks against formations similar to this one, which allows the 49ers’ guard to quickly climb off the double-team against Dexter Lawrence (97).
Lawrence takes the center’s block and flows toward that backside B-Gap; I don’t know if this was a coaching point in this front or if Lawrence just failed to see Robinson’s path, but he’s easily handled and removed by New Jersey great Matt Hennessy (61). I’m not a big screen-shot guy, but…
No one is near Robinson. The blocking is perfect, and no Giant can shed and make a play, which puts Tae Banks (2) into a position he can’t execute, and he failed miserably.
Final thoughts
The Giants were completely dominated on this drive — physically overwhelmed and unable to get off blocks or make a play to slow down McCaffrey or Robinson. The 49ers dictated every snap, doing whatever they wanted, and it all culminated in one of the most fitting moments of Tae Banks’ career; a sequence that perfectly symbolizes his time as a New York Giant.
Banks has become a microcosm of the Joe Schoen era. The Giants traded up in the first round to get him; he flashed promise as a rookie, but it’s been downhill since. His development stalled, his effort wavered, and he eventually lost his job. Now, injuries and a lack of depth have forced him back into action. What began with optimism has descended into frustration — another reminder of a roster mired in mediocrity at MetLife Stadium. Alongside Evan Neal, Josh Ezeudu, and Jalin Hyatt, Banks stands as another costly early-round miss, with Neal and Hyatt occupying current roster spots on scholarship.
In many ways, Banks embodies the state of the Giants themselves. The traits are there, but the consistency and understanding are not. Like the team, he has the tools — yet rarely the execution. The Giants have a few solid pieces and, surprisingly, an offensive line that’s holding its own with an exciting young quarterback who embodies the smart, tough, and dependable that Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll preach. Still, like Banks, this team can’t get out of its own way. They can’t finish plays, they commit maddening errors, and the end result is the same: bad football. For the third straight season, the Giants sit at 2-7. Something has to change.
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