The New York Giants were defeated by the Seattle Seahawks, 27-13, on Sunday afternoon.
Buy Giants TicketsThis was a disappointment all-around for New York as they seemed outmatched in every facet of the game. With this loss, the Giants fall to 6-2 and look to make corrections during their Week 9 bye.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what we saw during the game and how we graded the Giants in this loss.
Offense: D
13 points in a game is simply not going to cut it in the NFL.
The Giants were awful offensively in Week 8 as they totaled only 225 yards on 64 plays (3.5 per play). New York was terribly inefficient as they converted on only six of 16 third-downs and failed to convert on their one fourth down attempt.
In terms of each offensive department, the offensive line had easily their worst game of the season as they allowed five sacks for 29 yards and eight quarterback hits on the day. They failed to open any rushing lanes and were dominated at the line of scrimmage.
In terms of the rushing attack, the Giants failed miserably against the third-worst rushing defense in the NFL. Coming into this contest, Seattle had allowed 149.7 rushing yards per game. New York came into the game averaging 173.4 rushing yards per game but only reached 78 yards total on 2.8 yards per carry.
Saquon Barkley had his worst game of the season as he totaled 53 rushing yards and one touchdown on 2.7 yards per carry.
The passing attack was just as bad for the Giants as Daniel Jones only passed for 176 yards on the game much of which came in garbage time. He failed to be much of a threat on the ground either as he only totaled 20 yards rushing on six attempts.
While Jones did not play his best game, he was not the reason the Giants lost and desperately needs help from his receiving core. The Giants need to make moves during the bye week and before the trade deadline to beef up this offense as they attempt to make the playoffs.
Defense: D+
The defense also was a letdown on Sunday as they allowed 27 points in the match.
Some brief positives from the defense were that they recorded three sacks and 10 quarterback hits on Geno Smith as the defensive front attempted to make his life difficult. In addition, the defense neutralized a red-hot Kenneth Walker III as the rookie only recorded 51 rushing yards on 2.8 yards per carry. Finally, Adoree’ Jackson forced a crucial fumble that gave the Giants seven points.
However, other than this the Giants’ defense was a big letdown in Week 8. The Seahawks’ receivers constantly gained separation and made the Giants’ secondary look silly on several occasions. The Giants had no answer for the duo of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett as the two combined for 11 catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns (should have been three if not for a Lockett dropped touchdown).
Special Teams: D-
The only thing keeping this unit from an F grade was Graham Gano and Jamie Gillan. Gano made both of his field goals (45-yards was his long) and his one extra point. Gillan averaged 53.7 yards per punt and pinned two inside the 20-yard line.
However, outside of that nothing looked great from the special teams’ department.
The Giants failed desperately in the return department as their coverage was below average, allowing 16 yards on two punt returns and 26 yards on one kick return.
As for their own return department, Richie James Jr. singlehandedly put the Giants in a hole as he fumbled two punts which resulted in 10 points for Seattle.
Coaching: D
This was arguably the worst coaching performance from Brian Daboll and his staff. Daboll seemed to have his players unprepared for this contest as the Giants were unsuccessful on all fronts. He failed to make the second-half adjustments that he had in previous weeks and the Giants had their biggest loss of the season.
Daboll’s in-game coaching was also poor as he called a first quarter defensive timeout and failed to get off the field on third down and played very conservatively going into halftime.
As for the coordinators, this was Mike Kafka’s worst game plan. The offense abandoned the run early and tried to go to it later and this was simply disastrous. Pounding the rock on the first couple of drives against a bad run defense in Seattle would have likely proved more successful. Scoring six points on drives that did not start in Seattle’s red zone is inexcusable and Kafka needs to have a better attack plan coming out of the bye.
On the defensive side of the ball, Wink Martindale did slightly better but was still disappointing against an offense with a very shaky offensive line and an unproven quarterback (despite his recent success). The Giants need to do a better job of stopping drives early and controlling the game script on the defensive side of the ball.
Additionally, Big Blue has only recorded one defensive interception on the season which needs to change going forward.
