After starting off the season with a 2-0 record, the Giants have dropped their last 3 games and are currently under .500 with a record of 2-3. This is good for third place in the NFC East and 20th in the league. They have one of the hardest schedules in the league, with the Eagles up next after their bye. We will see what kind of team the Giants are in these upcoming games as after the bye, they face 4 out of 5 teams that are currently over .500 with the fifth team as a team who was in the playoffs last season. These 5 games will make or break their season.
Injuries have also derailed the Giants so far this season as they have had a total of 8 starters injured within the first 5 games. In this article we will take a quick look at their injured players as well as their players statistics so far this season and see what changes need to be done going forward.
Injuries:
- Currently Injured: RE Leonard Williams 4 games total – 2 games left, FS Logan Ryan 1 game total – 1 game left, DT Danny Shelton 3 games total – 1 game left, RE Kayvon Thibodeaux 4 games total – 3 games left
- Previous Injured: WR John Ross 1 game total, WR Kadarius Toney 3 games total, CB James Bradberry 1 game total, RE Dexter Lawrence 3 games total
Absence:
- WR Kenny Golladay 4 games suspended, CB Darnay Holmes 1 game covid
The Wide Receiver and Defensive Line positions have been hit the most this season. In the offseason, the Giants drafted the best player in the draft in order to make their defensive line one of the best in the game. So far their entire starting defensive line has only played a half a game together. Leonard Williams and Kayvon Thibodeaux being out at the same time puts a huge dent in the line, however, after week 9 the entire defensive line should be back unless another injury occurs. With Golladay being suspended for the first 4 games of the season, it gave Toney a great shot at starting and proving he can be a number 2 receiver. His injury on a run play no less cost him his shot at proving himself to the coaching staff. With this bye week, the entire Giants roster was boosted with a plus 2 injury rating. This should hopefully stop the bleeding going forward.
| Name | Comp/Att | Comp % | Yards | TDs | INTs | Long | Rating | |
| D.Jones | 63/124 | 50.8 | 1267 | 8 | 17 | 84 | 51.3 |
Jones has not been good this season. His 17 interceptions are top 5 in the league in interceptions thrown. His touchdowns passes and yards thrown for are good for the bottom half in the league. He played well in the wins, however, the losses can be put solely on him. If not for his interceptions thrown versus Greens Bay, the game could have been won. The Giants defense has been pretty good this season, and Jones needs to play game manager while letting Barkley and the defense do the work. As long as Jones can play smarter moving forward, this should help the Giants win games.
Barkley has played well this season when given the chance. He is the Giants best player and they will be wise going forward to continue to give him the ball. He has the ability to take the ball all the way on any carry. Coach Burn has said that Barkley will start to average at least 20 touches a game.
| Name | Recs | Yards | Long | YAC | Drops | TDs | |
| S.Barkley | 18 | 362 | 75 | 219 | 1 | 3 | |
| E.Engram | 15 | 326 | 84 | 132 | 6 | 3 | |
| J.Ross III | 6 | 147 | 52 | 22 | 0 | 1 | |
| D.Slayton | 7 | 125 | 29 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| K.Toney | 5 | 115 | 80 | 29 | 0 | 1 | |
| S.Shepard | 4 | 66 | 32 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| K.Golladay | 2 | 66 | 50 | 48 | 0 | 0 |
With Golladay suspended and the rest of the Giants receiving core hit with the injury bug, someone needed to step up and catch the ball. Engram and Barkley have taken over for the Giants in the passing game, showing that they have the speed to create mismatches at their specific positions. We expect the passing game to pick up now that the Giants have all of their weapons available to use.
| Name | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FFs | FRs | TDs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J.Peppers | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| J.Love | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| J.Bradberry IV | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| A.Jackson | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| D.Hightower | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| B.Martinez | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| K.Crossen | 13 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| K.Thibodeaux | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| A.Ojulari | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| C.Barton | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| L.Williams | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
When they are actually in the game, the Giants starting defensive line has made a huge impact. Thibodeaux was on pace to get 16 plus sacks this season and become defensive rookie of the year before his injury. Williams was having a nice season before his injury as well. The rest of the Giants defense has played okay in relief, however with both Williams and Thibodeaux out for the next two games, they will need someone to step up. Vernon, Ojulari, and Lawrence will need to display a good showcase in the next few games to make up for the injury losses.
All in all the Giants have a mess of a team plagued by injuries. They should have a full team in the next few weeks provided they don’t sustain anymore injuries. With tough games on the horizon they will need every good player possible in order to compete.
