The Giants’ season is already out of control with the latest humiliation in prime time.

By | Niranjan Bhargav 3 Oct, 2023

Through the first four weeks of the 2023 season, the New York Giants have played 180 minutes of prime-time football. They’ve given the national audience a total of 15 points. There was only one touchdown. And a -79 point disparity.

Thirty-one second-half points against the Arizona Cardinals secured the team’s lone victory in the first month of the season. Their total point difference of -76 is the lowest in the league.

“I know the scores… yeah, not good,” head coach Brian Daboll remarked after the latest setback, cutting off a reporter’s query regarding the margins of loss. “So, a lot of work needs to be done.”

For those who are less acquainted with Daboll, here’s a quick recap of the finals. Cowboys 40, Giants 0 in Week 1. Week 3 results: 49ers 30, Giants 12. Week 4 will include a “Monday Night Football” game versus the Seattle Seahawks.

New York 3, Seattle 24.

The good news is that the Giants do not play in a separate window the following weekend. But the worst is yet to come for the Giants, who face the Miami Dolphins (3-1) and the Buffalo Bills (3-1) in back-to-back road games. By the way, the Buffalo game is also a prime-time affair.

How many more games can NFL fans who don’t have a dog in the battle watch quarterback Daniel Jones run for his life with no solid offensive line protection and no reliable weapons to throw the ball to? This is not to exonerate Jones; the Giants may have already had buyer’s remorse four games into his four-year, $160 million contract.

The offense has been ineffective without running back Saquon Barkley, who missed his second game with a high ankle sprain sustained against Arizona, as well as left lineman Andrew Thomas (hamstring). The Seahawks entered the game with the league’s second-worst passing defense (328 passing yards per game). The Giants’ greatest plays were a pair of 22-yard completions to running back Matt Breida.

Jones had 203 yards throwing, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. The first was a pick-six by Seahawks rookie Devon Witherspoon, the No. 5 overall choice in the draft who has made a great first impression in the Defensive Rookie of the Year contest, late in the third quarter, which flipped the game to the Seahawks for good.

Daboll was noticeably furious with Jones on the bench after the interception. As the fifth-year quarterback sprinted off the field, he shouted. After glancing at the screen with Jones, he hurled a tablet.

“I think we’re all frustrated,” remarked Jones.

Tight end Darren Waller falls within this group. For the sake of providing explosive plays to the offense, the team’s key offseason acquisition earned one target and entered the game with 12 receptions for 132 yards.

“Offense is simply not good enough in every way,” Waller remarked. “I truly don’t have anything to say. It’s simply not good enough.”

The necessary modifications will necessitate “honest conversation,” according to Waller.

“I recognize the skill. “I see the guys we have,” he remarked. “I see the vision we had in the spring, as well as the excitement we had on offense.” I honestly don’t know, guy. I’m at a loss for words right now. I apologize.”

A turnover by Jones in the first half—the ball came free as a result of blind-side pressure he did not feel in the pocket—set up the Seahawks’ first score, a pass from Geno Smith to DK Metcalf.

Jones was ripping himself off the MetLife Stadium grass when he wasn’t turning the ball over. The Seahawks recorded 11 sacks, nearly matching Jones’ total of 12 sacks through the first three games of the season. With a shoulder injury, promising rookie center John Michael Schmitz left the game early. More line rearranging followed. Shane Lemieux, another of the replacements, was also injured and had to leave the game.

Injuries occur often in the NFL. On Monday, the Seahawks lost both of their starting guards. In 2023, the Giants are just worse than many others in dealing with them.

However, this club struggles in all three stages of the game. The defense is the only unit in football that does not have a turnover. Kayvon Thibodeaux (two sacks) blew a game-changing opportunity in the second quarter on a short screen throw. The Giants’ turnover differential (-8) is tied for second-worst in the league with the Minnesota Vikings. Talk about an easy way to become this year’s regression buddies following breakthrough 2022 campaigns.

Poor tackling plagued the defense once more, as Seahawks tight end Noah Fant walked along the sideline, dodging Giants defenders who couldn’t push him out of bounds and refused to touch him until the 1-yard line. Seattle scored after substituting backup quarterback Drew Lock for an ailing Smith, who eventually played through a knee injury in the second half.

The positive for the defense is that the 17 points were the lowest amount allowed this season.

New York had six penalties on special teams. On the opening return of the game, punt returner Eric Gray was hooked after a fumble (which the Giants recovered).

All of this resulted in boos from the home crowd at halftime, with the vast majority of supporters having already left by the final whistle.

“I would be upset, too, if I were a fan,” Daboll said, adding that no personnel or play-calling changes were on the horizon.

The Giants had just ten days to get ready for this game. On the ESPN broadcast, color commentator Troy Aikman noted that the receivers needed to run their routes harder.

Outside of the next two weeks, the Giants face additional difficult challenges. Both games against NFC East rivals Philadelphia and Washington are still on the calendar. There is still one more game against Dallas. The Giants currently belong in the cellar of the division.

Any good fortune from last season, when the Giants reached the divisional round of the playoffs, has not carried over. That is not to diminish what Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen did in their first year. The term “overachieving” can have a negative connotation. However, this was not a “run it back” situation. The foundation needed to be stronger, and further work was required.

“Every year’s different,” Daboll explained.

The Giants are discovering this in real-time.

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