The NY Giants dropped yet another season-opener, this time a disappointing showing in a 27-13 loss to the Denver Broncos at Metlife Stadium
The NY Giants looked like much of the same team from the 2010s in Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season on Sunday afternoon.
New York beat themselves with mistakes, they didn’t take advantage of mistakes or opportunities created, and they never found any consistency on either side of the ball. It was a worse start than last season’s opening loss to the Steelers.
Simply put, seven points through 59 minutes of an NFL game clock will never get it done.
There were a lot of reasons the NY Giants lost to Denver.
It certainly wasn’t a pretty game in MetLife Stadium from the home team.
Here’s who’s most at fault in the NY Giants’ Week 1 Loss to the Broncos:
Missed Tackles have become an Official Concern for the Giants’ defense
The NY Giants missed far too many tackles for a supposedly good defense.
On 1st, 2nd, and 3rd downs alike, the defense got gashed with missed tackles and wasted opportunities. It was a frustrating sight to see but this same thing showed up too often in the preseason.
Missing two seemingly massive chances to get a much-needed stop on 4th down from your own goal one in the 2nd half would’ve been much needed for New York. Xavier McKinney and Blake Martinez both had prime opportunities to get the Giants’ D off the field in the second half with a 10-7 deficit and spark some momentum for a closer 2nd half.
If this game is a harbinger for the defense, it’s a bad start. They missed multiple tackles on the Broncos’ touchdowns and it cost them. The defensive line, linebackers, and secondary all need to do a better job of being more consistent, steady, and successful tacklers.
3rd Downs is Where Good Teams Live and Die
A big reason the NY Giants lost this game was due 3rd downs on both sides of the ball.
On 3rd down offense, the Broncos often did whatever they pleased.
The NY Giants got gashed for seven 3rd downs conversions let up on the defense. There were numerous 3rd and long situations the Giants couldn’t hold onto that were concerning to see. Add in three 4th down chances the Broncos ran, and they converted all three plays for 1st downs including a backbreaking touchdown.
On offense, the team got little done on 3rd down either. They actually converted 6 of 12 attempts for a 50% success rate. It’s not bad, it’s just how truly ugly some of these 3rd down moments end up.
There were multiple 3rd & short opportunities for the Giants to seemingly keep moving the chains that they didn’t take advantage of. It ended numerous drives that should’ve been easily extended that most NFL teams make happen. 3rd down offense and defense are often the difference between wins and losses in NFL games Good teams make third and short their bread-and-butter which is another indicator of just how far the Giants need to go to get back to the NFL’s top.
Jason Garrett & Pat Graham Need to Have Better Gameplans for Week 2.
Jason Garrett and Patrick Graham had rough outings Sunday.
Neither Coordinator saw any sustained success on either side of the ball.
Graham’s defense got gashed up and down the field in a multitude of ways. The defense was bad on 3rd down, worse on more important 4th down chances, they missed endless tackles, and the run defense wasn’t any good. They got beat all over the field from running backs, tight ends, and receivers alike. The middle of the Giants’ defense was open season for Denver and they never looked back. There was little resistance and the defensive unit got overwhelmed in the second half.
It was of one the more challenging games both game-planning, playcalling, and raw execution for the defense under Graham’s coaching.
Jason Garrett did absolutely nothing again this week.
It’s incredulous to see a 2021 NFL Offensive Coordinator act so predictably and run this kind of incompetent offense in the modern era. Few coaches have made the Giants’ offense look as unrecognizable as Garrett. Whatever his scheme is, it’s not working in this lite Air Coryell offense.
Garrett is simply outcoached on a weekly basis and has nothing to show for it. Zero adjustments, no changes, no trick plays or deception in the plays, and little use of any purposeful presnap motion. It’s almost as if he doesn’t even care to watch or change the league’s most incompetent offense in the league’s biggest and supposedly most exciting market. Garrett is too strongly admired within the Giants’ organization and hiring him has been nothing but a failure through 17 games. He hasn’t made the Giants’ offense tick or have a heartbeat ever under his tenure. Garrett should be firmly on the hot seat going into Week 2.
Eventually, Daniel Jones needs to be THAT guy.
Daniel Jones had another disappointing game for the NY Giants.
His plain stats may not indicate it, but Jones didn’t do enough in Week 1 to win the game. He completed 22 of 37 completions for 267 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t throw any interceptions which is a positive and he only got sacked twice.
Jones had a backbreaking, unofficially game-ending play in the 3rd quarter. It wasn’t an interception, but Jones coughed up the football on his very first running attempt of 2021. Jones picked up 7 big yards and still is struggling to slide and go down like an athlete. Instead, he struggled to cover the ball with both hands, and he took contact from the defender and almost inevitably coughed it up. The Broncos immediately recovered and the Giants had another red-zone opportunity wasted by a turnover and 0 points to show for the drive.
At some point, Jones needs to raise his game and elevate it above the struggles this team clearly has.
Jones still hasn’t done it with any consistency. Jones is playing for his job in 2022 and needs to right the ship immediately to not have another wasted season in year three for the 2019 1st rounder.