Big Blue View
When a team takes a 14-3 lead over a winless opponent and then doesn’t score a point after early in the second quarter while giving up 23, the question isn’t: Who played well and who didn’t? Rather, the question should be: Did anyone play well? Even more salient are the questions: Did any of the coaches coach well? Did the general manager draft well? Pro Football Focus doesn’t try to answer those last two, though it increasingly looks as if we’ll get the answer by the end of the season if not sooner. You can’t replace all 53 players, though (not easily, anyway), so let’s see what PFF has to say about the 53 players the Giants have now, and how many were on the field how often during the disgraceful 26-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
First, let’s look at the offense as a whole:
Yes, there were a few bright spots, which we’ll get to. First, the quarterback:
Overall, Jaxson Dart had a ‘meh’ game. He did some good things early, then spiraled downward as the Saints began to take over the game in the second quarter. His stat line is remarkable in that he did his best work when blitzed, which is true of many good experienced QBs (82.5, 13 of 17, 102 yards and a TD), but he also threw his two interceptions when blitzed. Overall, he played better under pressure (67.7) than when kept clean (53.7), but both of his TD passes were on plays in which he was not pressured. He was only pressured 34.8% of the time, which is not terrible. Dart isn’t the reason the Giants lost, but neither was his performance great.
Now, the pass blocking:
I keep seeing on X that the Giants need to draft an offensive lineman in the first round in 2026. No, they don’t. I’m not saying that the offensive line is the second coming of the Seven Blocks of Granite, but it’s not nearly as bad as some people think (a dangerous comment to make three days before playing the Eagles, I admit). Andrew Thomas has picked up where he left off as one of the best tackles in the NFL. Jermaine Eluemunor had a rough day Sunday with three penalties, but he did not allow any pressures and finished with an about-average pass blocking grade of 59.5.
It’s the interior of the line that’s the problem for this Giants team, and even then it’s not as bad as you think. Greg Van Roten allowed three pressures, but no hits or sacks. Jon Runyan had his second terrible game in the last three (41.4, three hits and a hurry), but just last week he graded 87.3 with no pressures against the Chargers. The big surprise? John Michael Schmitz Jr: 81.7 with zero pressures allowed. Last week he only gave up one QB hit, and he hasn’t allowed a sack all season. Is it possible that Carm Bricillo is salvaging...
