NFL power rankings: Giants slide further following eighth loss

It’s that time of the week: NFL Power Rankings. The (4-8) New York Giants dropped their eighth game of the season in Miami on Sunday against the (6-7) Dolphins. They were without their starting quarterback, Daniel Jones, and may not have him this week against the Chargers, either.

With the offense regularly underperforming there’s not much for national media to run with these days in terms of power rankings. As a result, the comments continue to be quite harsh.

The New York Post called it “cruel and unusual punishment” to be forced to watch the offense week after week. ESPN, meanwhile, touched on a pertinent issue around the team when they wrote “it’s Year 3 and there still doesn’t seem to be a definitive answer as to whether [Jones] is the franchise quarterback.”

Aggregating several rankings from around the Internet, the Giants come out to an average ranking of No. 27 (last week: No. 26) in the 32-team NFL. Our figure averages all the rankings below except for DraftKings, which bases its ranking on point spread differential.

Let’s check out what outlets around the league are saying about the Giants after Week 10:

NFL.com: No. 24 (was 23)

This probably won’t come as a surprise, but career journeyman Mike Glennon was not the solution to the Giants’ season-long offensive funk. Big Blue managed just nine points and 250 total yards in a performance that provided a hint that maybe Jason Garrett wasn’t the only problem with one of the worst offenses in football. You know what has been a problem? Saquon Barkley, the former No. 2 overall pick who has been unable to rise above the middling talent around him. Is Barkley trapped in a bad situation — or is he not the same guy after the reconstructive knee surgery and nagging injuries that have haunted him this season? This is a team that feels like it could be headed toward a hard reboot.

NBC Sports: No. 28 (was 28)

I find it difficult to believe the Giants couldn’t find a better backup quarterback than Mike Glennon. Then again, this is the same team that employed Jason Garrett until a week ago, so perhaps talent evaluation isn’t their strong suit.

CBS Sports: No. 27 (was 27)

They are done. Without Daniel Jones, the offense is so limited. A good defensive effort went to waste against Miami.

ESPN: No. 27 (was 26)

Previous ranking: 26

Player who must step up: QB Daniel Jones

The problem here is that nobody knows if or when Jones will return from a neck injury. But it’s Year 3 and there still doesn’t seem to be a definitive answer as to whether he is the franchise quarterback. Internally, the Giants remain high on Jones, but even they need to see it more on the field. These final six weeks of working with a new playcaller were supposed to be an invaluable part of the evaluation process. Now ... who knows. — Jordan Raanan

ESPN Football Power Index: No. 26 (-3.0) (was 26)

Sporting News: No. 27 (was 25)

The Giants didn’t have Daniel Jones against the Dolphins and their offense continued to look bad with only a few fleshes, mostly in the running game. It keeps wasting what’s been a pretty strong overall defense.

Pro Football Network: No. 26 (was 26)

The Giants have been inept offensively for a few seasons now, and today was at least some proof it’s not all on Daniel Jones. Mike Glennon might have a great vantage point over the offensive line given his height, but it doesn’t help him deliver passes in a timely or accurate manner.

Now, it’s fair to point out that Kadarius Toney and Sterling Shepard weren’t available for this game. However, the Giants averaged under 4 net yards per play on the day, and the rushing attack actually outpaced their efforts through the air.

Defensively, it was death by 1,000 cuts. The Dolphins had scoring drives of 11, 14, 7, and 10 plays. New York’s defense has played better recently since their slow start to the season, but the offense that was hardly there to start has completely disappeared.

Yahoo! Sports: No. 28 (was 28)

The Giants might need to turn to Jake Fromm next week if Daniel Jones or Mike Glennon can’t play. Fromm was signed off Buffalo’s practice squad last week. The Giants will be happy when this season is over.

New York Post: No. 25 (was 23)

It could be considered “cruel and unusual punishment” to be forced to watch the Giants offense week after week. Enter third-string quarterback Jake Fromm, who is in line to make his first career start behind a worse offensive line than he had at Georgia, after just 12 days learning the playbook. The defense has no margin for error.

Sports Illustrated: No. 29 (was 27)

Pity the professional football fan in New York in 2021. Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has worked some of his typical magic in this downtrodden season. But for an offense with this much money and draft capital put into players like quarterback Daniel Jones, running back Saquon Barkley and Kenny Golladay, who injured some ribs this week, among many others, there’s simply no good explanation for how truly bad the offense is.

DraftKings: No. 14 (was 14)

DraftKings has moved from subjective assessments to using spread differential. Point differential is a helpful tool for figuring out the best and worst teams. However, point spread can offer a little more context to how good or bad teams might be.

You can see all of the lines on upcoming Giants games at DraftKings Sportsbook.