Week 7: Tales from the timeline

The New York Giants were embarrassed for the second consecutive week at home. They lose 28-3 against the Philadelphia Eagles, with former Giant Saquon Barkley rushing for 176 yards. This came just one week after New York scored their only home touchdown of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals.

New York is surprisingly bad at home, and the offense is inept. The Giants managed just 119 total offensive yards. Daniel Jones was benched in the fourth quarter for Drew Lock, but Jones will start in Week 8. Lock didn’t do much on his eight passing attempts, but the ball does look different off his hand:

This throw is imperfect but jumps out of Lock’s hand and is catchable. Jalin Hyatt could not haul it in; he also hurt his hamstring on the play. There’s no way around it: Jones played poorly behind a poor offensive line performance. He struggles to find solutions, and Philadelphia’s defense was DRIVING downward on the Giants’ quick passing concepts:

Underneath zone defenders utilize peripheral vision and pass off original concepts intended to clear them out. The defense understood the Giants’ passing attack and how they often clear out defenders and replace with a receiver, so the defense did not allow the Giants to move the football in this manner.

The Eagles played top-down and drove down on everything short. Jones failed to connect when he had time and space, and the body language of some Giants’ players was telling:

This is a well-designed dagger concept, and the Eagles carried Nabers deep, which opened up Slayton on the dig route. Unfortunately, Jones did not set his feet, and he put the football behind Slayton—an incomplete pass.

The Giants’ offense is inadequate at the moment. They have achieved little through two weeks, and they are spoiling a defense that has a potent pass rush.

Giants defense

Rookie third-round pick Dru Phillips is a very good football player:

It’s very important for nickel defenders like Phillips, who can fit the run well from sub-packages. Phillips avoids blocks, positions himself well, and is an asset in man coverage. He’s a valuable football player for this defense. Again, Dexter Lawrence continues to be a problem for opposing offenses:

Lawrence wasn’t the only Giants player up front who played well. Brian Burns continues to battle through injuries to make positive plays for Shane Bowen and the defense:

Shane Bowen and the Giants ran a lot of man coverage — mostly Cover-1 Hole — against Jalen Hurts. The hole defender often stayed back and spied Hurts. The Giants also ran simulated pressures and wide twists that contained Hurts and forced him to step up into tempered rushes that resulted in sacks:

I love this specific adjustment against Hurts. Use the twists and send the loopers wide while having a penetrator stay back to spy. Bowen forced Hurts to step up and toward defenders rather than have him break outside the numbers into space. Well done by Bowen, who has struggled to contain mobile quarterbacks in man coverage this season.

Bowen also had Bobby Okereke (58) occupy the guard, which allowed the other four rushers to have one-on-one matchups. This proved too much for the Eagles’ offensive line, who struggled to anchor against Lawrence and Elijah Chatman.

Deonte Banks

Second-year cornerback Deonte Banks quit on a play in the second half of the game, and it was a terrible look for the young, promising player.

Jerome Henderson called out Banks after the Giants lost to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4. Banks responded by shutting down D.K. Metcalf in Week 5. Banks played well in Week 6 against Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Still, he all but quit against the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth quarter, and Henderson quickly noticed.

This is inexcusable for Banks, and Brian Daboll should think of benching Banks for a portion of Week 8. An example has to be set — especially after the troubles in Week 4. The last thing the Giants need is a fractured locker room and questions of effort. Daboll is starting to hear those loud questions, and Banks is the impetus for that noise.

Other defensive snaps

Jordon Riley did well on the backside of this run play, but he and D.J. Davidson were massive liabilities for much of the game. Both players were uprooted by Eagles’ double-teams and the lack of depth behind Dexter Lawrence remains a huge issue.

Micah McFadden quickly fits this DART rushing play (back-side offensive tackle pull). New York fit the run well from a two-high shell in the first quarter, but the Eagles attacked their edges and exploited the Giants’ defense later in the game. Azeez Ojulari and Patrick Johnson both struggled on the edge, and the Eagles used the zone-read to win the numbers advantage. It was a bad day for the run defense.