Week 3 of the 2022 NFL season finished with the Cowboys and NY Giants on Monday Night Football, with Dallas coming away with a 23-16 win. The first half was competitive, but the Cowboys played tough on both sides of the ball and did just enough to keep Big Blue from getting the win.
Inconsistency on offense has been a recurring theme with Giants in years past and it played out the same way on Monday night. A 2-1 record through three weeks is still favorable for the Giants who host the Chicago Bears this Sunday. In the loss to Dallas on MNF, Daniel Jones was pressured on 24 drop backs, which is the most in the NFL this season so far.
People are still trying to blame Jones for Monday’s defeat, but come on, this was not on the fourth-year quarterback. In this piece, we take a look at three players who didn’t execute well enough and should certainly be getting called out more than Danny Dimes for the L.
3. CB Darnay Holmes
Big Blue’s defense helped keep the game competitive in the first half with Dallas up 6-3 and the Giants set to get the second half kickoff. A majority of the Giants defense is young and everyone is in the first year of a new defensive system under Wink Martindale. One player who didn’t play to his full potential last night was Darnay Holmes.
Holmes has played all three of his professional seasons with NY after being taken in the fourth round in the 2020 NFL draft. He’s a valuable piece on the Giants defense and can be lined up in a variety of positions in the secondary.
With that being said, we did not see the player that we’re used to seeing in Holmes. Despite playing 55 percent of the snaps vs Dallas, he only had one tackle in the game. There was a questionable no-call against Holmes where he likely should have been called for a defensive pass interference in the end zone.
Giants fans know that this was certainly not Holmes’ best game and he was capable of playing better. The NY defense will face a very mobile QB in Justin Fields in Sundays’ upcoming game. Both Holmes and Adoree’ Jackson need to have bounce-back contests.
2. WR Kenny Golladay
The Kenny Golladay signing by Dave Gettleman seems to look worse after each passing week. He was signed to a four-year, $72 million contract with $40 million guaranteed and a $17 million signing bonus.
How many catches would you have guessed the team’s highest-paid player would record in Week 3? Probably at least 4-6 catches to be conservative. You would be mistaken with that logic.
Big Blue’s offense was on the field for 72 plays last night. Golladay was on the field for 24 of those snaps or roughly 33 percent. He finished the game with three targets for zero catches. A lot must be going on behind the scenes that we don’t know about. It’s clear Golladay is not happy about his playing time and everyone knows that.
The cameras could not help but to zoom in on his face on the sideline looking upset to say the least. Nobody knows what the future holds for Golladay, but one thing is certain for sure; the Giants need a new WR1. His late drop has people basically begging for him to be traded or cut.
1. OT Evan Neal
Jones was running around all night trying to make something out of nothing. The offensive line as a whole played poorly and let Jones get sacked five times, losing 27 yards. Standing out the most among all the linemen yesterday was rookie tackle Evan Neal. In 54 pass blocking snaps, he allowed three sacks and five QB pressures.
Monday night was not a great showing for Neal. It takes time though to adjust to the speed and power of NFL edge-rushers. Giants fans and critics called Giants LT and now best offensive lineman Andrew Thomas a bust in his rookie season too. Thomas is now the anchor of that offensive line and he can certainly help Neal become a better player.
Cowboys All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons was wreaking havoc on Neal all night. NFL veteran Demarcus Lawrence also feasted against the Giants offensive line, recording three sacks. Three weeks in a row the Giants have started the same five players on the o-line. Chemistry and dependability will continue to grow throughout the season.
The Giants will host the Bears this Sunday as they look to improve their record to 3-1. New York were routed by Chicago last season in a 29-3 loss where Giants QB Mike Glennon finished the game 4-11 with 24 yards and two interceptions. Plenty of guys will need to step up in this one, with Neal no doubt on the list.