Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham
Just three weeks ago, following an upset victory in Seattle over the Seahawks, powered by the Giants’ dominating the line of scrimmage and harassing Russell Wilson all afternoon, Graham was widely considered possibly a top head coaching candidate this offseason.
Much of the bloom seems to have fallen off that rose over the past three weeks.
Sunday afternoon, the Giants’ defense offered little resistance and generated minimal pressure on Lamar Jackson, who looked much more like the reigning MVP of 2019 than a quarterback struggling to find consistency as he had been for much of this season.
For all the resources the Giants have invested along the front-seven the past two offseasons, this group was simply dominated all afternoon by the Ravens’ offensive line.
Graham would rank higher on this list, but at least a modicum of the Giants’ struggles on defense can be contributed to the lack of proven talent at two of the cornerback positions which can hamstring a coordiantor’s ability to blitz or play man-to-man defense.
What’s worse for Graham, is for the second consecutive week he has seemed to stay in a zone defense for far too long despite Baker Mayfield and Jackson surgically picking apart the secondary throughout the game.
Sunday, Graham had no answers, and his performance the past two weeks might lead to him having few — if any calls for head coaching interviews.