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Is the New York Giants’ season on the brink after just one game? That’s how it feels after a disheartening 28-6 loss to the Vikings in Sunday’s season opener.
Here’s a final look at another daunting season opener:
Jones’ last stand?
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones made his first start of the second season since signing a four-year, $160 million contract on Sunday. He has made just seven starts since signing that deal and has finished just five games.
Still, coach Brian Daboll answered questions after Sunday’s game and again during his postmortem Monday about whether he’ll bench Jones. Daboll confirmed he’s sticking with Jones.
It may seem crazy that Daboll would ask these questions so early in the season. But what’s even crazier is that the questions are completely legitimate.
It’s not just that Jones didn’t perform well in Sunday’s loss. It’s that he looked like a battered, broken quarterback. He looked worse than he did last season, when poor performances and injuries raised serious concerns about his future.
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Benching Jones after an ugly showing in his return from a torn ACL would be an overreaction, but it’s fair to wonder about his leash.
Daboll had a quick hook for undersized veterans in his first two seasons. Wide receiver Kenny Golladay was benched after one game in 2022, and guard Mark Glowinski got the same treatment last season.
But changing quarterbacks is a much more drastic decision, especially without the certainty that backup Drew Lock will be a significant upgrade. Things would be very different if Giants general manager Joe Schoen had successfully traded for a quarterback in this year’s draft. The calls to let the rookie play would already be deafening. Think back to Jones’ rookie season in 2019, when he took over as the starter after franchise icon Eli Manning was benched in Week 3.
Even without a quarterback of the future waiting in the wings, Daboll’s patience will run thin if Jones doesn’t turn things around soon. A favorable matchup against a poor Commanders defense that allowed 37 points in a Week 1 loss to the Buccaneers could be Jones’ last fight.
If Jones fails against the Commanders, a quarterback change will have to be seriously considered next week.
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No worries
Clearly, Jones’ injury guarantee — the Giants owe him $23 million if he gets injured and fails a medical if the team lets him go next season — is of no concern to Daboll.
Daboll called three power runs for Jones, exposing the quarterback to extra hits in his first game back from a serious injury. Jones needs to use his legs to be an effective quarterback, so Daboll can’t call plays for fear of injury.
Trailing 28-6, Daboll called timeouts to get the ball back on Minnesota’s final possession. The Vikings punted to the Giants with 1:36 left, and Daboll kept Jones in the game.
The only explanation for holding the quarterback and the rest of the starters for a garbage-time drive is that Daboll wanted to give the offense a chance to end the game with some positive feelings. Instead, Jones took two more hits on a pathetic drive that resulted in a punt back to the Vikings with 29 seconds left.
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Surpassed
Brian Flores was a finalist for the Giants’ head coaching job, which went to Daboll in 2022. Flores unfortunately didn’t get the job, and he still has a pending discrimination lawsuit against the Giants, Broncos, Texans and the NFL. So the Vikings defensive coordinator had extra motivation to make a statement on Sunday.
In the battle between Bill Belichick’s former assistants, Flores was clearly the better of Daboll.
Daboll’s game plan was based on the expectation of a pressure-heavy offense from the ultra-aggressive Flores. But Flores threw a curveball, blitzing on just 22.4 percent of snaps Sunday, according to Next Gen Stats. Flores led the league with a 48.8 percent blitz percentage last season.
The Giants relied on heavy personnel with two and three tight ends in an attempt to minimize the exotic looks Flores could deploy on early downs. That was understandable in theory, but it didn’t play to the Giants’ strengths at wide receiver. They don’t have dynamic receiving weapons at tight end, so allowing the Vikings to play with bigger defensive personnel on the field didn’t create any mismatches in the passing game.
ICYMI: Catching up with @DDuggan21 and me’s live room from yesterday. AKA a really nice therapy session for #giants fans.
— Charlotte Carroll (@charlottecrrll) September 10, 2024
The Vikings opted not to send extra rushers against the Giants’ deep staff, leading to multiple max protect pass plays with seven or eight defenders in coverage. That helps explain the lack of a deep passing attack, as the Vikings had enough defensive backs to cover two receivers running routes.
It’s possible that the bigger personnel would boost the run game, but the Giants couldn’t do anything on the ground. Devin Singletary, Eric Gray and Tyrone Tracy combined for 45 yards on 14 carries (3.2 yards per carry).
The inability to run or pass the ball effectively on early downs forced the Giants into a whopping 18 third downs. The Giants went 6-for-11 on third-and-7 and shorter and 1-for-7 on third-and-8 and longer. Clearly, so many third-and-longs is not a recipe for success, especially since it allowed Flores to create the looks that Daboll wanted to avoid.
Becoming conservative
Daboll seemed to have lost his nerve as an aggressive coach. After conservatively calling a pair of Jones keepers, Daboll was faced with a fourth-and-3 from the Vikings’ 49-yard line with four minutes left in the second quarter. Trailing 14-3, Daboll decided to punt. The lack of confidence in the offense was palpable in the two Jones runs and the decision to punt.
Trailing 28-6 late in the third quarter, the Giants had a fourth-and-3 at their own 37-yard line. Daboll kept the offense on the field, but only so Jones could get the Vikings offsides with a hard count. That didn’t work, so the Giants took a delay of game penalty and punted. It probably wouldn’t have mattered if the Giants had converted there, but Daboll waved the white flag with the punt.
Strange choices
There were a few head-scratching personnel decisions in the opener. Cor’Dale Flott, who had been playing exclusively at outside corner during the offseason, was the starting slot corner in the Giants’ nickel package. Rookie Dru Phillips, who had won the starting slot corner job in camp, was demoted to a reduced role in the dime package.
“We were about to play here for the first game and thought this was the best thing for us,” Daboll said.
Phillips made an impact in limited action, forcing a fumble on his first career snap. Phillips took over as the slot cornerback in the second half after corner Nick McCloud left with a knee injury, and Flott moved outside.
Daboll indicated that Flott will likely play more outside in the future, especially with McCloud “day to day, maybe week to week.”
Linebacker Micah McFadden did not play despite not being listed as questionable on the injury report. McFadden was dealing with a groin injury that limited him in practice last week. Daboll said McFadden was on a pitch count but was not used because rookie Darius Muasau played well. Muasau had six tackles and an interception while playing 82 percent of the snaps in his debut.
Returner Gunner Olszewski aggravated his groin injury during pregame warmups and will be out for “weeks,” according to Daboll. While a re-injury was impossible to predict before the game, the Giants paid for not having a true backup punt returner active, as Olszewski clearly wasn’t 100 percent.
The Giants had just 51 players on the active roster for the opener in a cost-cutting move. That made it indefensible not to have a backup punt returner on the roster. Wide receiver Darius Slayton, who had no punt returns in his first five seasons, was forced to replace Olszewski. It was an adventure, as Slayton misplaced his first punt and then botched the return.
The Giants signed Ihmir Smith-Marsette to replace Olszewski after working out returners on Monday. Smith-Marsette, a fifth-round pick by the Vikings in 2021, has played for four teams in three seasons. He averaged 8.7 yards on 37 punt returns for the Panthers last season. He was fired by Carolina on Aug. 28.
Sophomore wide receiver Jalin Hyatt played just 23 percent of the snaps, and even that total is misleading. Hyatt played just three snaps in the first half before getting the bulk of the playing time as the game was decided in the fourth quarter.
The Giants gave Hyatt every chance to win the No. 2 receiver job in camp, but Slayton proved to be a better, more reliable option. Hyatt had a bad drop on his only target on Sunday.
Daboll called Hyatt the team’s “third/fourth” receiver, so it seems like he has some ground to make up. But he could get a chance this week, as Slayton is in concussion protocol.
A year away?
Carter Coughlin is likely out for the season after Daboll said the linebacker will be out “months” with a pectoral injury. Coughlin was on the active roster before being cut last Thursday and then re-signed to the practice squad on Friday. He was then elevated Sunday and played 10 snaps on special teams before getting hurt.
The Giants juggled the roster for financial reasons, as Coughlin’s $1.1 million salary for the season would have been guaranteed had he been on the active roster in Week 1, given that he is a seasoned veteran. Giving him a practice squad raise gave the team more flexibility with Coughlin, though his injury will eat into the roster’s savings. Coughlin will make $570,000 for the season, which is the minimum salary for a player with his experience on IR.
Notations for formation
The Giants played primarily a base 3-4 defense on Sunday, using a nickel package with two defensive linemen, four linebackers and five defensive backs. Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen used a dime package eight times on passing downs.
Deonte Banks and Adoree’ Jackson were the perimeter cornerbacks with Phillips or Flott in the slot in the dime package. Dane Belton was the third safety in the package, playing in the box at the “money” position. With Belton filling that role, Isaiah Simmons did not play a defensive snap.
The Giants added outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari to Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux on three third downs in the dime package in the second half. Burns lined up off the ball against a guard on those three snaps. Like the rest of the game, the three-outside linebacker package didn’t produce much of a pass rush.
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(Photo by Daniel Jones: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
