4 biggest Giants injuries that are haunting the team including Darren Waller

In case you didn't know, the New York Giants are a terrible football team. The G-Men suffered a demoralizing collapse on Sunday, failing 13-10 to the Jets in a MetLife Bowl that was painful for fans of both teams to watch.

Tyrod Taylor suffered a nasty rib injury early in the game, forcing undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito into action. The Giants coaching staff did not trust DeVito, allowing him to attempt just seven passes. The two Giants quarterbacks combined for -9 passing yards. That is an actual stat.

With the loss, the Giants are now at 2-6 on the season, which is depressing. Throughout the year, injuries have totally haunted this team, preventing them from being in a competitive spot right now. These four injuries in particular are a major concern moving forward:

4. QB Daniel Jones

In the NFL, everything starts with the quarterback, especially a rich quarterback. The Giants paid Jones handsomely this offseason, giving him a four-year, $160 million contract extension. The extension was suspect itself, given Jones' on-field performance, but also his extensive injury record.

During his rookie season (2019), Jones missed two games due to a high-ankle sprain. In 2020, Danny Dimes missed two games with a thigh injury and then missed the final six of 2021 with a neck injury similar to the one he currently has. Jones did not miss a game last year, but did suffer an ankle sprain.

Jones suffered a neck injury in the Giant's Week 5 loss to Miami and has missed the last three games. In his absence, New York has averaged just 11 points per game. Now, by no means was New York's offense good with Jones, but they have been equally bad, if not worse, without him.

New York spent their entire offseason building their offense with Jones as the focal point, which makes an extended absence challenging. Due to his contract situation, Danny Dimes will likely be the quarterback through next season, or at least to start next season. Not only has his absence hurt the Giants in the present but also the future.

Danny Dimes has been cleared for contact and the expectation is that he'll be ready to start on Sunday vs. the Las Vegas Raiders. Despite that, Jones' neck injury is going to be something to keep a close eye on moving forward. He can't miss any additional action, period.

3. QB Tyrod Taylor

As I said, the first position you look at on an NFL roster is quarterback. Tyrod Taylor, talent wise, is the best backup quarterback in football. But like the guy ahead of him on the depth chart, Taylor can't stay healthy.

Taylor's injury list over his 13-year career is astoundingly long. Taylor took a shot to the chest on this play and was forced to leave the Jets-Giants game in the second quarter:

With the way the Jets offense and Giants defense played in Week 8, the G-Men would have 100 percent won the game if Taylor did not get hurt. New York's coaching staff has faith in Taylor enough to call a pass play, something the coaching staff did not trust DeVito to do.

Taylor played relatively well in Buffalo and vs. Washington, though it's fair to give him a fair share of the blame for the Buffalo loss after he checked to a run at the end of the first half, and the Giants were stuffed at the goal line, and the time ran out.

After Taylor left the MetLife Bowl, New York's offense was entirely one-dimensional, which is a tough place to be against an elite defense. His unfortunate injury cost Big Blue a win. A win against New York's other team would have put the Giants just one game out of the final NFC Wild Card spot. Now, any playoff hopes are all but dashed. If Jones gets hurt again, NY needs Taylor to be ready to roll.

2. TE Darren Waller

When the Giants acquired Darren Waller this offseason, it was evident New York was building their passing game through the tight end, similarly to how Mike Kafka's mentor Andy Reid's offense is run. The only concern around Waller entering the season was injuries, and unfortunately, that concern had validity.

Over the past two seasons, Waller was only able to play in 20 games for the Raiders. Waller has been banged up with various injuries throughout training camp and the regular season this year, but none caused him to miss any game action until Sunday. Waller re-aggravated a hamstring injury that had him on the injury report leading up to the MetLife Bowl in the first half and missed the rest of the game.

Just one week prior, the Giants offense clicked in the first half against Washington, and that's because New York made it a priority to get him the football.

Without Waller, the Giants passing game was non-existent. Waller had one catch for four yards and was somehow tied with Matt Breida for most receiving yards Sunday. If Waller were healthy against the Jets, things could have been way different. Due to his injury history, fans are now worried about the star TE moving forward.

1. K Graham Gano

No injury is haunting the Giants more than Graham Gano. Gano has a knee injury that Giants beat reporter Art Stapleton reported will require offseason surgery. As of now, the injury isn't severe enough to require him to sit out, but it is clearly affecting his performance.

With New York up 10-7 against the Jets, Gano missed a 35-yard field goal with under 30 seconds left that could have put the Giants up six and essentially ended the game. We all know how it ended. Gano is usually automatic from 50 plus; that's what makes him missing chip shots all the more shocking.

Brian Daboll has gone from Brandon Staley-level aggressiveness to Joe Judge-level aggressiveness in the span of a season, which makes Gano all the more important. Daboll has no faith in his offense, which means he puts Gano on the field on 4th-and-one. Gano missed two field goals on 4th-and-1 Sunday and missed one the week prior.

There are plenty of excuses for Gano's rough game Sunday, including his knee injury and the awful conditions. Both of those factors make Daboll's decision-making all the more questionable. If Gano is hurt, New York must get a new kicker ASAP. Wins are becoming losses because of missed kicks.