4 NY Giants not named Daniel Jones to blame for the Week 1 train wreck

The Dallas Cowboys drubbed the New York Football Giants 40-0 at a rainy MetLife Stadium Sunday night. In an embarrassing, pitful, and poignant display from the Giants to begin the 2023 season, we saw some of the Giants best players, like Daniel Jones, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Azeez Ojulari, and Isaiah Hodgins, fail to show up.

The game was over before it began. The Giants drove right into Dallas territory to begin the contest but then committed a grove of mental mistakes, including a false start, botched snap, and had a field goal blocked that was returned for a touchdown. Dallas never looked back after that play.

Even if you could have imagined the worst-case scenario before the game, Sunday night was unimaginable. Here are four NY Giants not named Daniel Jones (who was pressured and running for his life all night) most to blame for Sunday night's debacle.

4. NY Giants CB Tre Hawkins

Tre Hawkins III, a sixth-round pick back in April, made standout plays all summer. Hawkins' play and out-of-this-world athleticism in camp impressed the coaching staff, prompting them to move Adoree' Jackson to the slot and start Hawkins outside opposite Deonte Banks.

There was a lot of hype surrounding Hawkins entering Sunday, but he had a topsy-turvy debut. Hawkins allowed just one catch and made five tackles on Sunday but committed two critical penalties, including one pass interference call that led to Dallas points.

Dak Prescott posted a 118.2 passer rating when targeting Hawkins Sunday, an elite number. With the Giants trailing Dallas 16-0 in the second quarter, Dallas went for it on fourth down. Prescott completed an easy pass to Brandin Cooks for a first down, who Hawkins promptly body-slammed. Hawkins then celebrated the hit, which was a rough look, considering the score and Dallas just converted on fourth down.

I would not fret about Hawkins, as we saw plenty of good from the youngster. He was caught up in the sloppy action that was Sunday night. Let's hope he can take a step forward vs. the Cardinals on Sunday in Arizona.

3. NY Giants RG Mark Glowinski

While we are incredibly optimistic about the future of Hawkins, there is zero reason to be confident about Mark Glowinski. Glowinski should be benched for Sunday night's performance, and we should never be subjected to watching him play offensive line for the New York Giants again.

Glowinski's stat line from Sunday reads nine pressures, five hurries, three sacks, and a QB hit. That is truly dreadful. PFF gives offensive linemen pass-blocking grades from each game on a scale from 1-100. Glowinski received a 1.0. Yes, you read that right. That grade is like in school when you get zero questions on a quiz, but the teacher gives you one pity point for writing your name. This sounds hyperbolic, but Glowinski couldn't have pass-blocked any worse.

This summer, the Giants utilized a guard rotation between Ben Bredeson, Josh Ezeudu, and Glowinski. They abandoned the rotation for the season opener, giving the starting nods to Glowinski and Bredeson. Though it's concerning Ezeudu couldn't beat out Bredeson this summer, Ezeudu should start over the dreadful guard in Glowinski Sunday in Arizona.

2. NY Giants OL coach Bobby Johnson

Glowinski deserves the blame for his play, but his offensive line coach, Bobby Johnson, deserves the brunt of the criticism. Not only was Glowinski awful, but so was his right-side mate Evan Neal. Both were a nightmare to watch.

Neal received just a 25.7 PFF pass-blocking grade. Neal allowed eight pressures, six hurries, one hit, and one sack in the game. Neal ranked 59th among 60 qualified tackles Week 1 in pass-rush win rate. After a rough rookie season, Neal lost 10 pounds and returned to Giants camp this summer looking fantastic, giving hope of a massive sophomore jump. Plenty of games are left to make that leap, but it's clear his development isn't where it needs to be.

During the game's first drive, the Giants had all the momentum, but it was lost when Andrew Thomas had a critical false start, followed by an errant snap from John Michael Schmitz, who PFF graded as the worst center in Week 1.

Thomas received a monster contract extension and has an argument to be the best left tackle in football, but even Thomas struggled, giving up three tackles and three pressures. Bredeson had a pass-block win rate of 90 percent, which ranked 32nd out of 58 qualified guards, while also giving up two hurries and two pressures.

When all five offensive linemen struggle and combine to give up seven sacks in one game, the offensive line coach deserves to get called out. Johnson is failing to develop the young talent on the line and should be squarely on the hot seat.

1. NY Giants head coach Brian Daboll

I will put this nonsense to bed early; Brian Daboll belongs nowhere near the hot seat. Even if the Giants have a poor campaign in 2023, Daboll will remain the leader of this team. He won the Coach of the Year award in 2022, but he deserves honest criticism for how his team played Sunday night.

The buck stops with the coach. Daboll's team looked unprepared, played with little poise, and most concerningly, lacked effort. It's been over seven months since the Giants were embarrassed by the Eagles in the Divisional Round, and they had a prime chance to prove to a national audience that they were on the same stage as the Cowboys and Eagles.

Instead, Big Blue showed they weren't even in the same conversation. In the last two games, the Giants have been outscored 78-7 by their divisional rivals. Daboll also deserves criticism for leaving Jones in until the last minutes of the fourth quarter.

With Big Blue trailing 40-0, and Thomas already out due to injury, Jones was still in, playing behind a beat-up offensive line with a backup tackle, Matt Peart. Regardless of his play on Sunday, Jones is the Giants future. There is no need to put your $160 million QB in harm's way, especially when down 40-0.

Even Micah Parsons criticized the coach for playing Jones, a wild statement from a player who just whooped Daboll's player's butts. Daboll also contributed to the poor offensive line play. Unable to decide on guard starters all summer, Daboll split the reps between the three guards.

Bredeson and Glowinski, the two starting guards, missed key reps and development while sitting on the side watching Ezeudu, who played zero guard snaps Sunday, take reps. Daboll can, and will, right the ship. On Sunday night, his ship ran right into an iceberg, though.

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