5 Things the NY Giants need to do to make the playoffs in 2021
By John Makuch
No. 4) The offense needs to be much more efficient in the red zone
Winning in the NFL is a lot more difficult than just scoring more touchdowns, but when you finish almost dead last in red-zone efficiency the main issue of your team is that you are not scoring enough touchdowns.
The NY Giants only put up over 30 points once all season in a 34-37 Week 5 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. This is a problem that needs to be fixed and Saquon Barkley will become a major part of that.
Getting back another problem for defenses to worry about especially in this area with Barkley will help red-zone efforts greatly but one man will not fix this problem on his own. The NY Giants could potentially find a power back to pound it in through free agency or the draft, or the offensive line improves and we see more holes for Barkley and other backs.
Daniel Jones could also look to improve his decision making in this area, many blame an ill-advised red-zone decision in the aforementioned Tampa Bay game resulting in that loss. There was also a potentially missed call by the stripes on that play, but hitting the wide-open man instead would have negated that issue.
This is something that comes back to coaching, roster talent, and the offense’s chemistry as a whole. The NY Giants finished ranked 31st in scoring touchdowns in the red-zone (teamrankings.com) and when you are bottom half in the league in any stat such as this you are not going to win a lot of games so the team needs to take all these issues and improve upon them.
Settling for field goals is a crucial mistake that plenty of teams make in the NFL, being able to trust your offense to score once you reach the red-zone is key to winning, and the Giants need to improve in this area if they want to make the postseason. Postseason teams score when given the opportunity, and with Barkley coming back, they will capitalize much more often than in 2020.
Are the Giants going to become a top team in the red-zone in 2021? Most likely not, but they cannot finish in the bottom of the league if they want to win the NFC East no matter how awful it may be next season. More touchdowns and fewer field goals will result in more wins for the NY Giants, a lot easier said than done but it is very much possible.