The New York Giants, looking to build off their first win of the season against the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday, suffered yet another brutal loss.
The G-Men fell to the previously winless New Orleans Saints, 26-14, dropping to a dismal 1-4 on the year and for the second time in three seasons. This was certainly a game fans thought New York could win. Jaxson Dart picked up right where he left off from his NFL debut in Week 4, throwing two first-half touchdowns to Theo Johnson, giving the Giants an early 14-3 lead.
However, things went south for Big Blue quickly, as the Saints were able to crawl back into the game, thanks to the Giants' secondary struggling once again and the offense failing to score any points in the second half. It came to a halt with five straight drives ending in turnovers, which took points off the board. And if there was any hope that his receiving core would step up in the absence of Malik Nabers, you'd better think again.
Giants receiving core are biggest losers after Week 5 clunker
In an article for Bleacher Report, Brent Sobleski unsurprisingly named New York's wide receiving corps as the biggest loser after their loss in The Big Easy:
"With Malik Nabers out for the season with a torn ACL, the Giants badly need a wide receiver to step up and provide Dart with a "go-to" target," Sobleski wrote. " It didn't happen Sunday. Tight end Daniel Bellinger paced the team in receiving yards, while wide receivers Wan'Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt combined for eight catches for 61 yards."
It goes without saying that life without Nabers will be a significant challenge for the Giants' offense for the rest of the season. After seeing Daniel Bellinger lead the team in receiving yards on Sunday, as Sobleski alluded to, the wideouts flat-out failed to step up and help their rookie quarterback.
From Darius Slayton dropping two critical passes as well as fumbling towards the end of the first half, to the Jalin Hyatt experiment continuing to an abject failure, to Wan'Dale Robinson racking up just 30 yards on five catches, they were non-factors all afternoon.
With the schedule not getting any easier — a short week against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night, followed by a trip to the Rocky Mountains to face the Denver Broncos, and then another matchup with the Eagles in Philly — these receivers need to step up to help Dart and this offense, as yet another season for the Giants continues to get ugly.