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The Giants may as well have had an obituary last Sunday in Las Vegas, because with Daniel Jones lost for the season and Tyrod Taylor out for at least three more games on injured reserve, this team is dead in 2023.
Fans have to ask themselves how on earth this offense is going to produce points — much less win football games. The Giants have 10 touchdowns this season — one ahead of the Jets for the least in the NFL — and that’s with Jones or Taylor starting every game.
The Giants decided they are going to roll with undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito as the starter. For now, that makes sense. The New Jersey native has been around Brian Daboll’s system and knows it better than veteran backup Matt Barkley.
There are younger alternatives out there such as seventh-round pick Max Duggan available to sign off the Chargers’ practice squad, but the Giants may as well give DeVito a shot to prove himself first.
It’s hard to be optimistic, though, when what we’ve seen so far hasn’t been pretty. The Giants were terrified to let DeVito throw the ball against the Jets, despite excuses Daboll offered about the weather and game plan. And his modest success against the Raiders last week was mostly in garbage time including a touchdown pass while down 27-0 in the fourth quarter. He also threw two picks.
But however many wins the Giants (2-7) get in the final eight games beginning Sunday at Dallas (5-3), Daboll cannot allow this team to unravel and trot out a completely unwatchable offense.
“I think you lead the way you need to lead, and I’ve got a lot of confidence in our group of players in terms of men and how they respond to things and that’s just the nature of this business,” Daboll said. “Sometimes, it’s high, sometimes it’s low. Obviously, we want to be much better than we’ve been, but we have the right mindset.”
We saw what happened in Year 2 of Joe Judge back in 2021. The Giants went 0-6 in the final six games without Jones. They were the most miserable offense in the league with Jake Fromm and Mike Glennon under center, averaging 9.3 points per game.
And Judge — along with general manager Dave Gettleman — lost their jobs for it.
It’s unlikely that John Mara would move on from Daboll and GM Joe Schoen at this point. And really, they should be safe after how much they overachieved in Year 1 of the rebuild. But we also saw how quickly circumstances changed with Ben McAdoo from an 11-5 season in Year 1 to being out of a job before Year 2 ended in 2017.
A lot can happen in eight games. Locker rooms can implode. Embarrassing displays can agitate impatient owners.
There were signs of friction in Las Vegas as safety and team captain Xavier McKinney told ESPN, “I don’t think they’ve done a great job of letting the leaders lead and listening to the leaders and the captains” — seemingly referring to the coaches. And defensive coordinator Wink Martindale was candid about his displeasure when asked about it four days later.
“I think it was a case where the kid is just frustrated from losing. We spoke, we cleared it up,” Martindale said. “The example that he gave me of what he was talking about was an in-game adjustment and it was over — I mean it really took a while for him to point out to me exactly what it was, but I think that you grow from that. I just told him that’s something that it’s hurt the locker room, it hurts the defensive room when you say something like that.”
Martindale added that the team is “moving on” from it, though curiously he deferred to Daboll when asked if McKinney would be in his usual starting role this week.
It will be interesting to see how the defense responds. It looked like one of the best units in the NFL when allowing only 11.3 points per game against the Bills, Commanders and Jets, then had a meltdown last week with 30 points, no turnovers and no sacks against a Raiders team that had just fired its head coach and offensive coordinator switched to a rookie quarterback.
Of course, the Cowboys are the toughest opponent left on the Giants’ schedule outside of two Eagles games. This one is likely to get ugly.
Tanking for a top-5 pick is in the Giants’ best interests now, but Daboll still has to show he’s a capable leader with the innovative coaching tactics we saw last year.
Because for as much as the Giants don’t want to keep firing coaches after two seasons — it’s happened three times in a row — you have to make sure you get hires right and not simply double down because you don’t want to admit a mistake.
The Giants are adamant that they won’t simply roll over now under Daboll. So let’s see it.
“I would say the adversity almost brings us together,” left tackle Andrew Thomas said. “Now we’ve got DJ’s injury, those type of things that bring us together because we want to play for one another, play for the guys that are hurt. Especially the offensive line group. I think we are used to doing that because that’s just how our position is. We have to look out for each other. One guy goes down, it’s the next man mentality so I think we’ll do a good job of doing that.”
Giants Gameday
The Game: Giants (2-7) at Cowboys (5-3), AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX)
The Line: Dallas by 17.5
History: The Cowboys lead the all-time series, 74-47-2, and have won five in a row including 40-0 in Week 1. The Giants have only one win in the last 13 meetings, which came in the Meadowlands on Jan. 3, 2021. Their last win in Dallas was in 2016.
Key Matchups:
Giants LT Andrew Thomas vs. Cowboys OLB Micah Parsons: This is the game’s most marquee matchup. Thomas got hurt on the opening drive in Week 1, then missed the next seven games before returning last week in Las Vegas. Parsons is already 0.5 sacks away from matching his career high of 13.5 from last season.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley vs. Cowboys run defense: Any chance of the Giants having consistency on offense starts with Barkley, who had only 12 rushes for 51 yards in Week 1 as the game got out of hand early. Dallas ranks 15th in rushing yards allowed per game (108.9).
Giants DT Dexter Lawrence vs. Cowboys C Tyler Biadasz: Lawrence had four tackles and two quarterback hits in Week 1, and if he dominates up front in this game, the Giants have a chance to stay within striking distance on the scoreboard.
Giants CB Cor’Dale Flott vs. Cowboys WR Brandin Cooks: Flott figures to get the nod as a starting corner with Adoree’ Jackson ruled out. The 22-year-old has played well this season. Cooks was held to two catches for seven yards against the Eagles last week but scored a touchdown in each of the previous two games.
Injury Report:
Giants: OUT: CB Adoree’ Jackson (concussion/neck), RT Evan Neck (ankle), RB Deon Jackson (concussion); QUESTIONABLE: WR Parris Campbell (hamstring), RB Jashaun Corbin (hamstring), OLB Azeez Ojulari (ankle), OG Mark Glowinski (personal).
Cowboys: QUESTIONABLE: WR KaVontae Turpin (shoulder).
Giant Facts: Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel is the son of the late, former Giants head coach Jim Fassel. … The Giants’ defense ranks third in opponent third-down percentage (33.91). … Tommy DeVito’s fourth-quarter touchdown pass vs. the Raiders last week was the Giants’ first passing touchdown in 10 quarters.
The Prediction: Cowboys 30, Giants 10
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