The New York Giants entered Week 2 hoping to get back on track and reverse some of their recent fortunes, but that’s not how things ultimately played out.
The Buffalo Bills took it to the Giants, eventually walking away with a 28-14 road victory, which improved their record to 2-0 on the season, while dropping the Giants to 0-2.
Here’s how we graded the team in Week 2:
Offense: D
The Giants offense got off to fast start in Week 2 — just as they had in Week 1 — but after that initial first series, things went downhill fast and snowballed straight through the end of the game.
The offensive line was solid, but regressed slightly from Week 1, especially when it came to run blocking, where they struggled after the first series.
Meanwhile, the wide receivers under-performed all day, failing to create any separation, repeatedly running what appeared to be incorrect routes, dropping passes and were otherwise looking ineffective for the most part.
Eli Manning fell off considerably in comparison to his Week 1 performance, finishing the game with two turnovers and fumble.
Saquon Barkley was strong on the ground initially, but struggled to gain any traction down the stretch. Evan Engram also took a while to come on, but that stems from the Bills defense focusing on taking him away and the coaching staff failing to make necessary adjustments (we’ll get to that).
Defense: D-
What needs to even be said here? From top to bottom, the Giants defense is a complete disaster and no one — no one — is without blame.
The Giants may have recorded three sacks on Sunday, but at least one of those was a coverage sack (something of extreme rarity for obvious reasons) and at no other point throughout the game was the front 7 a factor.
In the secondary, the Giants were once again Swiss cheese. Some, like cornerback Janoris Jenkins, blame that on the lacking pass rush, but even in instances of quick routes, the Giants were giving up a ton of yardage due to soft cushion coverage.
Tackling was an issue, pressure was an issue, coverage was an issue, zone schemes were a bust, angles on the ball carriers were sub par, no turnovers were created, fundamentals were flawed and effort became questionable at the end of the game.
Special teams: B-
Aldrick Rosas missed a 48-yard field goal (well within his range), which was his first miss in 20 attempts. If that doesn’t tell you how things are currently going for the Giants, nothing will.
Additionally, rookie Corey Ballentine had a few lapses in judgement on kick returns. He had two returns, averaging just 20 yards, including a 17-yarder. When you get an automatic 25 for downing the ball, Ballentine cost the Giants at least 10 yards of field position.
Outside of those hiccups, the unit performed relatively well. Riley Dixon had a strong game, averaging nearly 50 yards per punt and twice pinning the Bills inside the 20.
Meanwhile, TJ Jones had a 60-yard punt return that was one of the team’s best in recent years, and Antonio Hamilton made a stellar play at the goal line, leaping into the endzone to bat a punt back into the field of play, which was downed at the 1.
Coaching staff: F
Oh boy, where do we even begin here? This could go on for pages, so we’ll try to trim it down a bit.
Let’s start with Pat Shurmur… He appears to be in over his head, but there’s no sense in breaking down his first 18 games. The bottom line on Sunday is that he once again got away from running back Saquon Barkley, continues to call plays for Eli Manning that don’t fit his style and lacks creativity once the first series of scripted plays come to an end.
Defensively, James Bettcher didn’t bother giving Antonio Hamilton, Corey Ballentine or Julian Love a single snap. Rather, he left rookie Deandre Baker in to burn — and burn he did.
There were also issues with the amount of separation he was giving opposing receivers, often allowing them anywhere between 7-12 yards, which Josh Allen often just took with ease.
Moreover, Bettcher has failed to get creative enough when it comes to his pass rush and blitzes. They can’t reach the quarterback, which leaves the already struggling secondary hanging and the results are what they are.
There were some solid temporary adjustments to start the third quarter, but that’s about the only positive we can draw.
