Rain and wind are two key factors that could prevent any passing game plan from succeeding. In week 4 versus the Green Bay Packers, coach Burn decided to go with a passing game plan in order to avoid running directly at the combined threats of the Packers superstar studded defensive line.
Once the game started, the rain began to fall. The Giants decided to switch away from their game plan and tried to run the ball however, the Packers defensive line was having none of it, breaking through at every moment possible. This resulted in the passing game being given more focus, however, that choice would cost them the game.
The Packers first possession went as well as it could have for the Giants as they were able to pick Rodgers off and knock him out of the game at the same time. This brought in backup quarterback Love who tried to mimic Rodgers’ game plan but was largely unsuccessful. He would end up throwing multiple interceptions to the Giants defense.
Daniel Jones and the Giants offense were the reason they lost this game. With Rodgers knocked out of the game, it should have resulted in a win, however, the Packer defense showed how good they can be. Barkley ran into a wall on most run plays, so it forced Jones to throw. Jones hit some nice plays, however, he was largely inaccurate most of the game. He was getting pressured all game which resulted in him missing several wide open players. Often on the next play after a miss, Jones would throw a bad ball resulting in an interception. He threw 6 on the day, 3 more than Love and it made a difference. If he could have hit on his throws or even thrown less interception, the Giants had a chance at the game. Even with all the turnovers, the Giants only lost by 8 points, with a final score of 28-20.
After the game Coach Burn told the media that going forward Jones and the offense will be playing smarter, while making sure that Barkley gets the ball at least 20 times per game. He is the key in the Giants offense in the passing and rushing game and even if he was being stopped running the ball traditionally, they have to find different ways for him to get his yards. Going forward, Coach Burn promised this would happen.
This game translated directly into week 5 as the rain continued to fall. The Giants hosted the Eagles in week 5 in a game that resulted in some controversy. After playing a first half in which the Giants went up 3-0, they ended up surrendering 26 straight after Barkley fumbled in the red zone. With the score at 26-3 at halftime, the Giants players gave up and refused to come out of the locker room. Because of this, another game was started in which the Giants offense played much better, however, couldn’t overcome the first game deficit resulting in what should have been an automatic win for the Eagles.
The Giants front office made the mistake of letting the Eagles play a game in which their players were on auto pilot. Some teams on auto pilot will actually play really well and even have won games, including these very Eagles winning versus the Seahawks earlier this season.
This resulted in a game that the Giants players absolutely got demolished. Daniel Jones had his worst day of his career throwing 6 interceptions on 22 attempts in which some of his interceptions were on short passing plays that should never be picked off. The rest of the Giants offense got some yards, however, they were mostly garbage time yards versus the various blitzes of the Eagles where they were more focused on getting sacks then covering receivers.
The Eagles defense and the Giants defense were like night and day in the game. The Giants defense let Watson do whatever he wanted including throwing for 4 touchdowns and the maximum amount of yardage allowed. They gave up 10 catches for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns to Smith. The Eagles ran the ball 4 times all game so the Giants should have easily played pass defense and been able to stop some of the forced throws.
The Eagles defense played for the sack all game long. They brought players to the line and ran random blitzes in order to throw off Jones and the Giants offensive line. This worked as the offensive line gave up 9 sacks in total. Overall, the defense sacked Jones 9 times, forced 6 interceptions, and 1 fumble. They were able to take the ball to the house 3 out of the 7 times they forced a turnover. All in all this was a terrible game for the Giants and resulted in the entire team losing 4 morale points, and worst of all Kayvon Thibodeaux got hurt for 4 weeks. This will most likely take him out of the defensive rookie of the year race. He was playing great before the injury.
The Giants played well for the most part in their first 4 games of the season. Even in their losses they were competitive and could have won the game. They will go into their bye week with this loss on their mind, and when they come out of their bye they will face those same very Eagles.
