The New York Giants offense was anemic over the first six quarters of the 2023 regular season. They had scored a total of zero points, having been beaten 40-0 by the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1 and were trailing the Arizona Cardinals, 20-0, at halftime in Week 2.
That’s when something changed.
Buy Giants TicketsComing out in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Cardinals, the light switch finally went on. Quarterback Daniel Jones began pushing the ball downfield and suddenly everything opened up.
The Giants scored 31 points over the final two quarters against Arizona, wrapping up their biggest comeback victory since 1949.
To the naked eye, it appeared as if head coach Brian Daboll had assumed play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.
Daboll started calling plays and giants started cooking again OMFGG pic.twitter.com/5aOyu7RCdU
— 𝙻̷𝚞̷𝚜̷ 📯 (@Theylovelus) September 17, 2023
Although he had the playsheet and appeared to be calling in the plays, and although the offense looked completely different than it had for six quarters, Daboll insisted after the game he did not take control from Kafka.
“Nope,” Daboll said bluntly when asked if he called plays in the second half. “We always communicate like that. I always have a sheet with me. But Mike (Kafka) did a fantastic job. I communicate with Mike, I communicate with (Thomas McGaughey), I communicate with Wink (Martindale). So the offensive staff did a great job. Moved the ball, scored points. Did their job.”
Uh-huh.
To be fair, Daboll did also have a playsheet in his hand during the first half.
Whether Daboll assumed play-calling duties or not, the Giants need to embrace whatever it is they changed. They looked like a completely different team and the results speak for themselves.
