It’s time! Another NFL season is upon us this fall, and it is looking exciting three weeks in. Who knew that the NFC West would actually be looking good this season?
However, not everything in the NFL is a surprise, especially when it comes to the New York (Football) Giants. They started out the season with a 0-3 record, falling to the Commanders, Cowboys, and Chiefs while scoring only once in the double digits. This is extremely disappointing for Giants fans, but not particularly surprising, given their performance over the past couple of years. Since this season is not looking particularly good so far, Giants fans are left wondering how their favorite team can turn things around. Never fear, for I have a couple of ideas.
Before we try to figure out what the Giants can do in order to improve their team, let’s take a look at where they are now by looking at the first three games of the season. (For a longer history of the Giants over the past couple of seasons, see my article on Daniel Jones’ career there.)
Game 1, at Washington Commanders: 21-6
This was a rough first game. Russell Wilson went 17-for-37 with 168 yards and no TDs. Without Andrew Thomas, the offensive line struggled a lot against the Commanders, which put Wilson and the running backs constantly under pressure. Because of this, Tyrone Tracy Jr. also struggled, with only 24 yards for 10 carries and significantly fewer rushing yards than Wilson (44 in 8 carries). In terms of the wide receivers, Malik Nabers managed 71 yards despite being double-teamed and Wan’Dale Robinson had 55, but no one else had significant yardage. The defensive line did well, but Sexy Dexy didn’t have a great game, and in fact may not have fully recovered from his injury last season. The secondary looked poor as usual, letting Daniels make long passes from the back foot without problems.
Game 2, at Dallas Cowboys: 40-37
This game was significantly better than Week 1, but still ended in an OT loss against the not-particularly-good Cowboys. Russell Wilson threw for 450 yards, with around 150 each for the dual threat of Nabers and Robinson. However, the offense still struggled in terms of running, probably caused by a weak offensive line. It makes you wonder whether the yardage came from the Giants being good or the Cowboys’ defense just being terrible. Many factors led to the Giants losing what should have been a winnable game, especially red-zone efficiency and penalties. The Giants had 14 penalties for 160 yards, which interrupted some promising drives and could have been the deciding factor for their loss. (To be fair, the Cowboys didn’t do great either, with 12 penalties for 106 yards.)
Game 3, vs. Kansas City Chiefs: 22-9
One would think that after a close away loss where the offense had started to click, the Giants would be extremely motivated to win their first home performance. Unfortunately, that would be assuming that there were more Giants than Chiefs fans in the audience. The Giants still looked better than Game 1, but they just didn’t capitalize on any opportunities. Between a blocked extra point and Russell Wilson’s two long throws to completely covered receivers, it was painfully obvious that the Giants have more problems other than just a less-than-stellar offensive line.
So, what is the cause of all of these losses, and how do we fix it?
I personally believe that the issue has less to do with the players on the Giants (besides a certain line which collapses too often) [Ed. Note—one might say it does so offensively often] and more to do with the team’s coaching and discipline. One of the biggest red flags for me is the poor red-zone efficiency, which is at 20% this season. Repeatedly settling for three points when you could have seven is a major problem, which I think comes down to an offense which is not disciplined enough to focus and make smart and well-thought out plays. However, they also need to have the correct plays in order to take advantage of their strengths and score. All of this comes back to Brian Daboll: although I think that the Giants should not go through the coach carousel again, I believe that Daboll needs to change his playbook and training in order to make the team stronger. This also connects to the problem of their mistakes and penalties, which cost them the Cowboys game. If they are more focused and disciplined, they will make fewer mistakes and hopefully begin to turn things around.
In all of my discussion of what is needed to make the Giants better, I have purposefully left one item out. This is because it is the toughest pill to swallow, especially as a dedicated fan who wants to see the team improve. The last item needed for the Giants to fix their problems is time. The team culture of the Giants will not change in a day, and Jaxson Dart will not become a great QB by his second game. What needs to happen next is for the Giants to look to the long term and set up the team for success by shoring up weak sections, preparing Dart to take over as QB, and by teaching all players, whether drafted in 2012 (cough, cough, cough) or in 2025, to be more disciplined so that the team can benefit.
Go Giants!
[Author’s Note: This just in! The Giants will be starting Jaxson Dart for Week 4. This info doesn’t really change what is in the article.]