Big Blue View
This seems silly to say before a game in Week 3, but the feeling I, and I think some other people, had leading up to this game was that it was going to be an inflection point in New York Giants history. Another disheartening loss might mean the end of the Russell Wilson era in New York and the start of the Jaxson Dart era would soon be coming. A decisive defeat like the ones they suffered in their last two home openers could mean the end for defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, if not for head coach Brian Daboll. On a wild day of NFL upsets, comebacks, and last second blocks of potential winning field goals, could the 0-2 New York Giants shock the world and upset the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football?
No. The Giants looked like they did in so many of the games they played last season, especially the ones at MetLife Stadium. The offense sucked the life out of a crowd that seemed to be half Kansas City fans, a damning statement for a home opener. What did we learn from this pathetic 22-9 loss to the Chiefs?
I didn’t think it was possible after last year’s game in Washington, but for the second year in a row, Graham Gano left the Giants without a kicker after a pre-game injury. Gano gamely entered late to kick a 25-yard field goal when the Giants were still within striking distance, but I think the time has come for Gano to hang up the cleats. The Giants are losing games for two seasons now partly because they can’t kick extra points and field goals, and they’re losing games because their opponents only have to reach midfield because their kicker can easily make it from 67 yards out.
This, however, is just one example of a specific flaw in Joe Schoen’s approach to building the Giants’ roster. The Giants seem to find themselves more often than other teams with no one on the field to fill certain roles. We saw it on the offensive line in 2023, when there was no viable backup left tackle to replace Andrew Thomas after he got hurt in Game 1. In my opinion we’ve seen it this season at off-ball linebacker. The Giants entered the season with no real depth behind starters Bobby Okereke and Micah McFadden. Darius Muasau has some potential but isn’t ready to play serious snaps. Swayze Bozeman is not the answer. Tonight Abdul Carter wound up playing a lot of his snaps at linebacker rather than on the edge. He’s certainly well qualified for that, having played off-ball his first season at Penn State, and it serves the purpose of getting him on the field with Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux. Is it the best use of his talents, though?
I keep on coming back to the fact that the Giants are one of only two...
