Big Blue View
The New York Giants lost 22-9 in their home opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night. The Giants’ defense kept the game competitive, but the offense acted as a malevolent exorcist, totaling just 281 yards against Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.
This was a game to forget for the Giants’ offense. Here’s the report card.
Quarterback
Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo schemes a complex defense that challenges both quarterbacks and pass protection from pre- to post-snap. His units move constantly, with sticky coverage in man and match concepts. It’s a sharp contrast to Matt Eberflus, a zone-heavy coordinator whose scheme was carved up by Russell Wilson last week.
Wilson, however, did not enjoy the same success against the Chiefs. The passing attack was quick. After an explosive Week 2, Wilson finished 0 of 4 with two interceptions on 20+ air-yard passes through the third quarter. Malik Nabers was neutralized by Kansas City and the offense struggled to do anything through the air.
After Wilson’s explosion in Week 2, he finished this game 18 of 32 for 160 yards with two interceptions.
Grade: F
Running Back
Tyrone Tracy Jr. looked good until he suffered an injury; he finished with seven carries for 29 yards with two catches for seven. We wish Tracy Jr. the best. Cam Skattebo, though, continued to shine and scored on a 13-yard rush up the middle. Skattebo also flashed his elite contact balance for the third week in a row.
Skattebo finished with 10 carries for 60 yards – a respectable 6.0 yards a carry, with the Giants’ only touchdown. New York finished with 130 yards on the ground (4.8 YPC); it was the only functional part of the offense.
Grade: A
Wide Receiver
The Giants receivers had little breathing room against the Chiefs. Spagnuolo had eyes and bodies on Malik Nabers; Wilson’s second interception seemed to be one of the only one-on-one matchups in Cover-0 that Nabers received, and the ball was underthrown, resulting in a Jaylen Watson interception.
Darius Slayton was the leading wide receiver – four catches for 30 yards. Skattebo led the team with six catches for 61 on eight targets. Kansas City was giving the flats to Wilson and removing Nabers as a threat. The Giants failed to target anything to their star receiver for most of the game. Wan’Dale Robinson had one catch up the seam for 26 yards, and the inept red zone offense failed once again.
The Giants receivers rightfully had an A+ last week. This performance was the complete opposite and I would like to see a bit more creativity to get Nabers involved.
Grade: D
Tight End
The Giants tight ends weren’t involved much in the passing attack. Theo Johnson had a 10-yard catch where he carried, seemingly, both teams on his back for several yards. Daniel Bellinger had a critical kick-out block on the split-zone touchdown for Skattebo. The tight ends stayed tight to help out with protection, especially after Marcus Mbow entered the game....
