By Michael Stewart/@golferbad
Introduction: The New York Giants are inching closer to the 1st overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft with their lost to the New York Jets 34-27. The game went the way many expected with the offenses of both teams dominating the defenses. The Giants offense moved the chains as rookie quarterback Daniel Jones went 26/40 with 308 yards and four touchdowns. The only negative thing that could be said about Jones and at this point it is a major one is the fact that he once again coughed up the ball by allowing safety Jamal Adams to take the ball out of his hands and run for a touchdown. The Jets quarterback Sam Darnold didn’t equal Jones performance, but showed a lot of guts and comepleted 19/30 for 230 yards for a touchdown. Here’s my top 3 reasons why the Giants lost:
- Running Game: The Giants defense only allowed 76 yards to the Jets and on any other day; this would be a great achievement. However; the Jets defense held the Giants running game to 23 yards and more importantly Saquon Barkley to 13 carries for 1 yard. No, this is not a misprint and to honest; I don’t know how it’s even possible to hold Barkley to only 1 yard.
- Sacks: The Jets came into the game with a total of 13 sacks in 8 games. Thanks to the Giants offensive line, they were able to sack Jones 6 times in the game and in critical situations. The ineffectiveness of the offense line not only in pass protection, but also to run blocking has reached an extreme low for the Giants.
- Turnovers: The Giants continue to turn the ball over with two fumbles today; especially Daniel Jones. He continues to cough up the ball (fumbles) and I believe three of this 11 fumbles have been returned for touchdowns. This is no longer an isolated incident as it apparent that Jones has a serious issue on his hands and the Giants better figure it out quickly.
Hero: Going to give the ball to the Jets defense for their 6 sacks and two forced fumbles; which resulted in one being scored a touchdown by safety Jamal Adams.
Goat: The honors this week has to go to the Giants offensive line who should be embarrassed by their performance for allowing 6 sacks to a team that only had 13 for the entire season and not be able to open any running lanes for the running game (only 23 total yards rushing).
Final Thoughts:The Giants (2-8) have more up closer to the 1st overall pick as teams like the Falcons, Jets, Browns and Buccaneers all won today (Washington has a bye). So the Giants are now sitting at #3 in the draft and will now travel to Chicago to face the Bears next week. The rope is getting shorter for Head Coach Pat Shurmur unless he can somehow turn this team around.