The New York Giants dropped their season opener to the Dallas Cowboys in a bad way. The score was 35-17, and the Cowboys exposed some serious problems with the Giants secondary.
We learned a few other things about the Giants on Sunday as well, things that must be addressed before they host the Buffalo Bills next week.
Secondary will experience growing pains
The Giants defense needs some work this week. The secondary is young and has a lot of new faces, and the Cowboys exploited their weaknesses with precision. Dak Prescott had a perfect passer rating, throwing for 405 yards and four touchdowns. There was blown coverage, there were missed tackles, and a clear lack of communication between the players. Maybe nerves played a part, but James Bettcher has his hands full trying to get his young secondary up to speed.
There was zero pass rush
On top of the secondary being young and inexperienced, the Giants defensive line didn’t do much better. There was essentially zero pass rush against the Cowboys, which is the large reason Prescott ended with his perfect passer rating. He was hardly pressured at all and had plenty of time to toss the ball to his receivers, who were adept at dismantling the secondary. Four different receivers scored touchdowns, and it was a complete defensive meltdown by New York. There are a lot of new faces on the defensive side of the ball, but Bettcher needs to get them functioning properly. Not just for the Giants to win, but if he wants to keep his job at the end of the season.
Saquon Barkley was misused
Barkely is one of the best players in the NFL, and definitely the best player on the offensive side of the ball. But in Week 1, Pat Shurmur only gave him 15 touches, including only one touch in the second quarter. Barkley didn’t have the ball in his hands on key 3rd and 4th downs, when he can be more effective than just about anyone. This would be seen as a problem on most teams, but Shurmur said that he’s perfectly fine with how Barkley was used. If that’s the case, it’s going to be a very long season for the Giants, who could really use the skills of last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Evan Engram is the real deal
Tight end Evan Engram will likely be a huge part of the offense this season for a variety of reasons, but last night he showed that he is taking his game up a notch. He recorded 11 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown. He was targeted 14 times by Eli Manning and his touchdown was the first of the game, putting the Giants up 7-0. Unfortunately that would be the last time the Giants would lead, but Engram showed that he is capable of filling the void left by Odell Beckham Jr. Manning, Engram, Barkley & Co. proved that the offense isn’t the problem.
The offensive line is vastly improved
Last year, Eli Manning was sacked 47 times for 358 yards, but there have been some changes since then. The Giants lucked out with Mike Remmers being able to play at the left tackle spot, and Manning was only sacked one time for four yards yesterday. There are several new faces along the offensive line, but it seems that Mike Shula has a much better handle on his offense than Bettcher has on his defense. The improvements along the line are one of the reasons you can tell that the offense isn’t the problem. There are calls for Eli’s head on a platter, which is ridiculous seeing as he helped put up 17 points yesterday. The defense is where the bulk of the work lies.
The officials are clowns
The Giants were penalized eight times for 70 yards while the Cowboys were penalized six times for 47 yards. But that’s not the problem. The problem is the penalties that weren’t called and what appeared to be, at times, blatant favoritism toward the Cowboys. For example, Sterling Shepard was tackled in the end zone with no call. Manning was hit in the head early in the game with no call. Manning was hit helmet-to-helmet again in the second half, a play that resulted in a fumble, again no call.
The officials claim Manning had become a runner at that point and was no longer protected, but had Shepard not been mauled in the end zone, he wouldn’t have had to run. There was also a moment when the Cowboys should have been penalized for 12 men on the field, but the officials awarded a time out that no one saw called.
There are always bad calls during a game, and it’s certainly not the reason the Giants lost, but it didn’t help them, either. The officials are not supposed to impact the outcome of the game, they are there to make it safe. But yesterday, the timing of said calls definitely impacted the game.
