This isn't a shocker at all. In the Week 7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the NY Giants looked terrible. Nothing was going right on either side of the ball, with the offensive line most certainly being one of the main disappointments. No Andrew Thomas proved to be a massive problem for Brian Daboll.
What's frustrating here too is that the G-Men thought that the same backup plan for Thomas they used in 2023 would somehow be different in '24. Joshua Ezeudu stepped in at left tackle with Thomas out and he was about as bad as anyone could have imagined.
Ezeudu was a nightmare to watch last season, during this past summer's preseason and then once again to take on the Eagles. He has no business starting, but the Giants' hands are tied. Before last week, Pro Football Focus had NY at No. 18 in its OL rankings. Fast forward to this week and Carmen Bricillo's group has fallen seven spots:
Heading into Week 8, @PFF has the Giants offensive line unit ranked as No. 25 overall in the NFL.
— Doug Rush (@TheDougRush) October 23, 2024
It drops them down 7 spots from the previous week of being No. 18 overall in the league.
After several weeks of solid play and moving up in the NFL OL rankings, the Giants unit… pic.twitter.com/H5NPPClmNd
The NY Giants offensive line looked lost without Andrew Thomas
For the first six games of the season, the Giants offensive line did a 180 from what we saw last year. However, with Thomas undergoing foot surgery, a massive void, literally, is now there for the line. Ezeudu is not the answer. He never has been and he never will be.
In the loss to the Eagles, the Giants offensive line allowed 17 pressures per PFF and a disheartening eight sacks. Daniel Jones barely had time to breathe, which played a big role in him having his worst game of the season. Jones tossed for 99 yards and was benched early on in the fourth quarter.
Things didn't go much better for Drew Lock, who will remain QB2 to take on the Steelers for Monday Night Football - Daboll said Jones will start Week 8. However, it doesn't matter who will be behind center if the hosses don't do their job. With Jones at 1-14 in primetime for his career, 1-15 will surely be on the way if the offensive line takes another step back.