Another game. Another loss. Another rough offensive performance. The New York Giants’ 26-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday felt familiar for all of the wrong reasons. Let’s examine the latest defeat:
Exercise of futility
The 2021 season was one of the bleakest in recent Giants’ history. They were 4-7 when quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a neck injury that sidelined him for the final six games of that season.
What unfolded next was a gruesome stretch of football with Mike Glennon and Jake Fromm at quarterback as interim offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens called plays for head coach Joe Judge. The nadir of the six-game losing streak was the consecutive quarterback sneaks the Giants ran on second-and-11 and third-and-9 from deep inside their own territory in the season finale.
Why do I bring up that hideous season? Because as bad as that was, the Giants actually had a better offense then. The 2021 Giants averaged 15.2 points per game. The current team is averaging 14.6 points per game.
The current Giants’ offense at least looks better aesthetically than that 2021 abomination. But the final product has been the same, with both teams averaging 1.4 touchdowns per game.
The Giants offense in coach Brian Daboll’s first season in 2022 looks like the “Greatest Show on Turf” by comparison to the current rendition. That 2022 offense was the football equivalent of a junk-ball pitcher, foiling opponents by keeping them off balance with bootlegs and quarterback runs to complement running back Saquon Barkley as the workhorse.
That worked as the Giants charged out to a surprising 7-2 start. But then the rest of the league caught on, and the magic wore off quickly. The Giants are 10-22-1 since the hot start to Daboll’s tenure.
A key to the 2022 success was the Giants’ red zone efficiency. They scored touchdowns on 63.3 percent of their red zone trips, which was the seventh-best rate in the league. The red zone is now where Giants’ scoring dreams go to die. After going 0-for-3 on Monday, the Giants have scored touchdowns on a league-worst 36.4 percent of their red zone trips this season. They were 31st last year at 44.2 percent.
With the Giants upgrading their offensive line and receiving weapons, Daboll tried taking the training wheels off the offense this season. But Jones has proven that he’s not capable of being the triggerman for a prolific downfield attack.
Jones took deep shots Monday, completing 2-of-6 attempts over 20 yards in the air for 68 yards. It was a sign of progress that Jones was even willing to launch those passes because he has been one of the most conservative quarterbacks in the league throughout his career.
Jones 🎯 Slayton!
📺: #NYGvsPIT on ESPN/ABC/ESPN2
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/vyEFQcuOZZ— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2024
One of Jones’ underrated weaknesses was highlighted by ESPN analyst Troy Aikman during the Monday Night Football broadcast. Jones waited an extra beat to unleash a hole shot against Cover-2 on third-and-3 in the second quarter. Wide receiver Darius Slayton was open along the sideline, but by the time the lofted pass arrived so had safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for a big hit to force an incompletion.
It was a basic throw NFL quarterbacks should make without thinking. But Jones’ slight delay pulling the trigger turned a 15-yard completion into a punt.
“This is where Daniel Jones, he likes to see things before he turns it loose,” Aikman said on the broadcast. “If he recognizes the two-deep coverage right away — bang, you throw it in there, line drive it right on him and force Slayton to kind of have to slow down a little bit. But instead, Daniel Jones in the pocket, he wants to see it first before he turns it loose. That often times is the difference in a completion and an incompletion.”
Those types of missed opportunities are more common in Jones’ game than the ugly interception he threw to seal the loss. His lack of anticipation leaves meat on the bone even when he completes passes, as receivers often have to break stride to make catches. An example Monday was an 18-yard completion to Slayton on an in-breaking route in the fourth quarter. Slayton was open in a soft spot in zone coverage, so he would have had an opportunity to run after the catch if he was hit in stride. Instead, Jones’ pass was behind him, so Slayton had to stop and make the catch as he fell to the ground.
What must be maddening for coaches is Jones has the talent to rip accurate throws into tight windows, like the 25-yard connection with tight end Theo Johnson on a seam route on the Giants’ final drive. But Jones hasn’t proven capable of consistently playing free and letting those types of throw fly. Too often, he seems focused on not making a bad play, which forces him to be late pulling the trigger.
HUGE catch by rookie Theo Johnson as the @Giants try to tie this game.
📺: #NYGvsPIT on ESPN/ABC/ESPN2
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/dXSlwu5jSw— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2024
Regardless of those deficiencies, Daboll announced Jones will remain the starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Commanders.
Overmatched
Jones was only sacked four times Monday night, but that doesn’t tell the full story of the pressure he endured. Jones faced 31 pressures and was hit 12 times. Those numbers bring to mind the worst games of last season when the offensive line was in tatters.
The Steelers didn’t blitz excessively to generate so much pressure. Mainly, they just counted on outside linebacker Alex Highsmith to dominate his matchup with left tackle Chris Hubbard. Highsmith delivered with 12 pressures and two sacks.
Hubbard, signed off the 49ers practice squad two weeks ago, was put in a tough spot because he was often left on an island as the Giants used Johnson to help right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor with chips on outside linebacker TJ Watt.
Alex Highsmith with his second sack of the night!
📺: #NYGvsPIT on ESPN/ABC/ESPN2
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/tx00DrM87a— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2024
Hubbard had never started a game at left tackle in his 11-year career, and he hadn’t played in a game since Week 11 of last season. Perhaps he’ll settle in after the brutal assignment in his first start, but the Giants need to continue exploring options because there’s a chance Hubbard will be as overmatched as Josh Ezeudu at left tackle.
Despite the dire situation at left tackle, there are no signs Evan Neal is considered an option to replace Andrew Thomas, who is out for the season with a foot injury. Neal played left tackle in his final season at Alabama before becoming the seventh pick in the 2022 draft. He exclusively played right tackle in his first two seasons with the Giants and continues to work at that spot after an extended layoff due to offseason ankle surgery.
Neal finally made an appearance Monday after dressing for every game this season. His lone snap came on a botched two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter.
Outside his comfort zone?
With cornerbacks Adoree’ Jackson (neck), Cor’Dale Flott (groin) and Tre Hawkins (ankle) not playing Monday, the Giants used rookie Dru Phillips at outside corner for the first time. Phillips remained the slot corner in sub packages, but he rotated with Nick McCloud on the perimeter in the base defense.
Phillips had the roughest game of his young career in coverage, with the Steelers testing him downfield. The position change wasn’t the issue because Phillips was in the slot on the two long completions he allowed.
Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin turned Phillips around on a corner route to get open for a 29-yard touchdown to give the Steelers a 23-9 lead early in the fourth quarter. On Pittsburgh’s next possession, wide receiver George Pickens also beat Phillips on a corner route and hauled in a perfect 43-yard pass from quarterback Russell Wilson. The Giants allowed four completions of 29 yards or more in the game.
Russ to Pickens. What a throw. What a catch. 🎯
📺: #NYGvsPIT on ESPN/ABC/ESPN2
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/zbMQPqm3hF— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2024
Daboll announced that Deonte Banks will return to the starting lineup after getting benched in the second quarter of Monday’s game. With Flott and Hawkins possibly returning to the lineup on Sunday, Phillips will likely go back to exclusively playing in the slot.
Pick-less
The Giants have only one interception this season: A tipped pick by backup linebacker Darius Muasau in the opener. That’s surprising, especially with the pass rush consistently pressuring opposing quarterbacks.
Banks and Flott haven’t displayed good ball skills, and Phillips didn’t have an interception in four college seasons. Rookie safety Tyler Nubin arrived in the NFL with a ball-hawking reputation after picking off 13 career passes at Minnesota, but he doesn’t have an interception or a pass break-up this season.
Safety Jason Pinnock is the senior member of the secondary, but he has been struggling recently. Coverage aside, Pinnock has missed too many tackles for a player who is often the last line of defense.
Foot on the gas
Daboll went for it on fourth-and-2 from the Steelers’ 28-yard line in the second quarter. Jones hit wide receiver Malik Nabers on a quick out for a 5-yard gain to pick up the first down.
Daboll has vacillated between being aggressive and conservative on fourth downs this season. Obviously, game factors will influence those decisions. But with the Giants struggling so much to score, it would be welcomed if Daboll adopted a more consistent aggressive identity.
The drive eventually fizzled after an illegal shift penalty on Nabers negated a Chris Manhertz touchdown catch and the Giants settled for a field goal. But going for it on fourth down at least put the Giants in position to reach the end zone.
A damning disclosure
Daboll said the Giants practiced their failed 2-point conversion play “probably more than any play.” That was a damning disclosure, because the play was a complete mess.
The Giants lined up in an unconventional formation, with Jones in the shotgun behind center John Michael Schmitz, who was flanked only by Hubbard and Johnson. Slayton was split wide on the right side, while six players were aligned by the left sideline.
Nabers was behind a wall of five players that included running back Devin Singletary and four offensive linemen. With the confused Steelers struggling to line up, Jones called for the snap. But, for some reason, none of the five blockers moved when the ball was snapped or even when they saw Jones throw a screen to Nabers. That allowed Highsmith to easily slice through the wall and hit Nabers as the ball arrived to force an incompletion and a failed conversion.
In theory, the play could have worked because the Steelers were unsettled. In practice, it was too complex for the Giants to execute despite all of their practice time.
What happened to … ?
Tight end Daniel Bellinger, a fourth-round pick in 2022, and wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, a third-round pick in 2023, once were viewed as promising young players. But both have become afterthoughts this season.
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For the first time in his career, Hyatt didn’t play a snap on Monday. He has just one catch for six yards on eight targets this season.
Bellinger was the Giants’ No. 1 tight end as a rookie, but he’s fallen behind Johnson and Manhertz on the depth chart. Bellinger played one snap Monday, and he has just three catches for 31 yards on three targets this season.
(Photo: Barry Reeger / Imagn Images)
