The New York Giants seemed to be back in the spotlight this season after finishing last year with a 9-7-1 record and a playoff win. Fans could tell something was brewing in New York as new head coach hire Brian Daboll won Coach Of The Year honors in his first season as Giants coach, something that hadn’t been done in this organization since Jim Fassel won it in 1997. Former Giants safety Landon Collins who previously left the team due to concerns about there not being a winning culture came back last year and stated “I’m 28 years old, I don’t have a lot of time to go around and chase a ring, I think this team has a great opportunity to do so. The sky’s the limit for this team.’’

So for a team that seemed to be on the right track to serious playoff contention, what went wrong? For starters, the Giants had one of the easiest ranked schedules in the NFL last season playing only 9 teams who finished with a winning record, and they went 2-7 in those contests. 13 of their 17 games were decided by one score and they went a strong 8-4-1 in those. This concerned people as they were not showing any kind of dominance even against the worst team in the league, the 3-14 Chicago Bears, where they won one by one possession. The Giants finished 2022 with a -6 point differential which isn’t horrible but is amazing compared to this year.

The 2023 season is nine games in and the Giants already have a horrendous -148 point differential. The Giants are on track to score 190.4 Points this season which averages out to a horrid 11.2 Points Per Game. That would be dead last in the league by a long shot. All of this data was composed before 5-year starter Daniel Jones tore his ACL in week 9’s matchup against first-time Raiders interim head coach and former Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce. Pierce had 1 week to gameplan for this team and still beat the Giants by 26 points. It’s not like if Jones was healthy the Giants had a chance to turn the season around either as the Giants failed to add a top weapon for Jones to throw to in the offseason because they chose to sign Jones to a too expensive 4 year deal making him on average 37 million dollars annually. In six games played Jones only put up 909 yards, two touchdowns and 6 interceptions.

So is all of it to be blamed on the offense? The short answer is yes. In terms of yards allowed per game, the Giants have the 11th-best passing defense above playoff teams like the 5-3 49ers and way above the 6-2 Jaguars. They have the 28th worst rushing defense which is still higher than the consensus best defense in the league, the Jets; however, that number is insanely inflated because of teams just running the clock out when the offense can’t put up points to just end the game. On the brighter side, the Giants hold the 3rd best third-down defense and 4th best 4th down Defense giving their offense ample opportunities to score points. When asked about the Giant’s offensive struggles in their 13-10 loss to the Jets, pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux said “The NFL is a game of finishing, and they were able to execute at the end of the game and get enough points to win. … It’s not over till the lady sings.” The Giants need to figure it out and give fans some sign of life before the season ends or we could be in for another Giants rebuild.