The New York Giants suffered another loss on Sunday, this one leaving them collectively at a loss for words.
It seemed as if Big Blue had perhaps turned a corner a week ago, grabbing their first win against the Denver Broncos and perhaps a little momentum. The wheels didn’t exactly come off in Sunday’s 24-7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks but it sure wasn’t good.
The offense (again) struggled to move the ball, with quarterback Eli Manning throwing for just 134 yards. And a defense that stood tall for much of three quarters finally began to crumble as the second half wore on.
“Very tough loss, very tough loss. We’re going to go back and get in Tuesday and watch the film and see what we did wrong on the defensive side of the ball and the offense and I guess all three phases,” defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said after the game. “And we’ll take it from there.”
So many of the failings come down on the Giants offense, not exactly shocking news. Handcuffed by the loss of their top three wide receivers — two of which are out for the season — the passing offense struggled.
And a run game that ran rampant a week ago was decidedly average on Sunday, chalking up 46 rushing yards and 2.7 yards per carry.
It didn’t help either that the offense failed to sustain drives, completing just twice on their 12 third down attempts and missing their only fourth down attempt. It was an anemic offensive display that looked nothing like last week where they controlled the line of scrimmage and were committed to running the ball.
While the loss of star wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall to season-ending injuries hurt, it didn’t matter much last week. What killed the Giants this go-around was the lack of commitment to running the ball.
Against the Seahawks and with the Giants passing offense struggling, there was no reason to abandon the run. Especially since they had a 7-3 lead at halftime and completed less than half of their passes during the entire game.
The Giants weren’t breaking big runs but Orleans Darkwa had a good game and yet, had just nine carries. This after being the only Giants running back this year to top 100 rushing yards, having done so last week.
So head coach Ben McAdoo’s excuse after the game for the offense doesn’t exactly hold up.
“We needed to run the ball better,” McAdoo said. “We needed to take it into the fourth quarter in a close game with a chance to wear them out physically, and the game got away from us in the fourth quarter.”
