The New York Giants beat a forlorn Raiders team in Week 17, ending a nine-game losing streak and securing their first road victory of the season. Rookie tackle Marcus Mbow filled in for Andrew Thomas, who is done for the season after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 16. It was Mbow’s second start of the season, and it was less than ideal, with some flash highlights.
Mbow surrendered five pressures and three hurries in the game, and continued to struggle with power rushes; sand must be poured down the pants of Mbow in the off-season, but his overall movement skills and quickness are reasons for excitement:
The overall control and movement skills in this play are part of the impressive foundation that Mbow possesses as a developmental offensive lineman who could be a fixture in the New York Giants’ plans.
Mbow plays with a mean streak and can finish with authority, as shown above. Still, he looked like a rookie in Week 17—which is to be expected, especially given that he played right tackle in college, not left tackle.
We’ll go through some of his pass and run snaps to illustrate how the rookie fifth-round pick performed.
(Marcus Mbow is No. 71)
Pass blocking
Mbow had solid pass-blocking reps—such as the second-and-17 play above—that resulted in a first-down scramble by Jaxson Dart. He was patient with his inside hand, waiting for Malcolm Koonce (51) to commit to an inside move after Mbow’s pass set cut off the veteran rusher’s angle. Although Mbow was initially impatient with his outside hand and briefly leaned, the rookie was able to reset and latch onto Koonce’s inside shoulder, effectively creating a rushing lane for Dart.
Mbow was not perfect in the patient battle against Koonce, a pass rusher with just 30 pressures on the season, six of them against the Giants. Mbow trusted his movement skills on this play-action and framed Koonce, who waited to see the Giants’ plans after Dart went into the mesh-point. Once the pass was declared, Koonce swung his inside arm at Mbow, who reached and gave the pass rusher plenty of space to the inside. Koonce dipped his inside shoulder and broke into the pocket, forcing Dart backwards until he eventually slipped for a massive loss. I’m unsure if Mbow thought there would be running back help; judging by Tyrone Tracy Jr’s (29) actions, I’d say no, which leads me to Mbow, who must do a better job protecting his inside when on an island and exercising patience on a play-action pass.
Mbow had other reps where pressure was surrendered to his inside, like this one against Koonce above on this 36-yard completion to Wan’Dale Robinson on first-and-10. It’s play-action, and Mbow attempts to fit his hands inward, but Koonce gets into his chest and presses Mbow’s inside shoulder, successfully dictating on the initial parts of the rep. However, Mbow does a fantastic job opening his hips and shuffling his feet inward to mirror Koonce, while not allowing him to separate until it’s too late. That activeness and adjustability is something to appreciate with Mbow:
Jahfari Harvey attempted to use power on a bull-rush during this Dart throwaway, but Mbow did well to sit back and absorb the contact, while establishing control of Harvey’s inside wrist upon contact. Then, on Harvey’s second effort, Mbow stayed in front of the young pass rusher to eliminate his ability to penetrate the pocket. Mbow’s anchor is a problem, though:
Mbow too often looks like he’s on ice skates, struggling to reset and anchor. He has shown he can do both, but a handful of snaps each game resemble the two plays above. He was also guilty of these two plays below:
It appears that Mbow expected Devin Singletary (26) to contact Koonce, and that would prompt Mbow to handle Koonce to the inside and, more than likely, finish by violently throwing an off-balanced Koonce to the deck. Koonce, however, slipped past Singletary and to the outside of Mbow, who had already anticipated Koonce to be bounced inward; this put Mbow off-balance and out of sync, leading to a Jaxson Dart sack.
Patrick Graham did an excellent job scheming a two against one toward Mbow with a blitzing Greedy Vance (41) behind Koonce. Mbow stepped to Vance and abandoned Koonce on what appears to be a miscommunication in protection, since the Giants slid, and a three-technique covered Jon Runyan (76). It was a seven-man protection in the red zone with Tracy Jr. and Daniel Bellinger (82) in the backfield. Mbow allowed Koonce to get into the pocket untouched, as he and Tracy Jr. went after Vance.
Run game
The aforementioned highlight was the brightest spot for Mbow against the Raiders, but there were other solid run reps, as well as mistakes:
Mbow flashed active eyes after seeing linebacker Elandon Roberts (52) quickly blitz. Mbow came off the double team and removed Roberts from the play, although his penetration forced Singletary to cut the run inside. Still, I appreciate the quick adjustment by Mbow. Here’s an adequate combo block by Mbow:
Mbow stayed low and drove through the outside portion of the defensive linemen, which allowed Runyan Jr. to climb up to Devin White (45). Mbow didn’t generate a massive amount of push at the point of attack, but he did get Jonah Laulu (96) to concede a couple of yards.
Mbow climbs after helping Runyan Jr. secure his block of the three-techinque. Mbow does well to stay low and meet Roberts right as the veteran was approaching the hole. Mbow eliminated the angle and drove him outside and away from the running back’s path. An impressive play for the rookie. While there were several solid run plays by Mbow, there were also plays like the ones below:
Mbow’s responsibility made too many plays when the Giants were running the football. He didn’t control the point of attack, and his push at the line of scrimmage is adequate at best. A lot of these issues stem from strength and sustainment through plays; some can be rectified with technique and experience, but Mbow does need to add strength and power in the offseason.
Final thoughts
Mbow’s performance was acceptable—it wasn’t good, and there’s still plenty to clean up—but the same issues that have plagued him throughout his rookie campaign resurfaced against a weak Raiders’ roster. With fellow tackle Jermaine Eluemunor set to hit free agency at season’s end, the Giants face an important decision: are they confident enough in Mbow to let Eluemunor walk?
I’m not thrilled with that idea, even though I like Mbow as a player. For the first time in a long while, the offensive line has played well, and with Jaxson Dart on a rookie contract, maintaining continuity while bolstering depth should be a priority. That would mean re-signing Eluemunor and keeping Mbow as the swing tackle—or possibly cross-training him—leaning on the adaptability he appears to possess, something Josh Ezeudu lacked.
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