New York Giants News

Giants news, 9/23: Fallout from 49ers game, PFF grades, Saquon Barkley, more headlines

New York Giants news for Saturday

By JamesPHickey Sep 23, 2023, 6:00am EDT

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Good morning, New York Giants fans!

Giants-49ers ‘Kudos & Wet Willies’: Is the Giants’ defense off the field yet?

BBV's Ed Valentine reviews Thursday’s game in his traditional style.

Other Giant observations

Saquon Barkley's immense value magnified in Giants' loss to 49ers | FOX Sports

With Barkley watching from the sidelines the Giants had their lowest offensive output in 10 years in their 30-12 loss to the 49ers — an abysmal 150 yards. That included a measly 29 yards rushing on just 11 carries.

And with the threat of Barkley gone, they had no play-action or RPO game at all to throw the 49ers' pass rush off-balance. They were basically forced to play a completely different offense than they know how to play. Since Brian Daboll arrived as head coach last year, the Giants' best play — by far— has been when quarterback Daniel Jones runs the ball.

Daniel Jones after the loss to the 49ers

"We didn't create a rhythm, we didn't execute, we didn't take advantage of our opportunities"

Daniel Jones says the Giants "didn't play well enough" offensively: pic.twitter.com/Zt8pcXNjWj
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) September 22, 2023

New York Giants Are a 1-2 Team That Looks Like an 0-3 Team | The 33rd Team

Rondé Barber says the New York Giants’ offense looked stuck in mud vs. the San Francisco 49ers. He says the Giants are a 1-2 team that looks like an 0-3 team, and if they can’t operate without Saquon Barkley, they are going to be in for a long season.

New York Giants' Team Identity Taking Shape--and It's Not a Good One | Sports Illustrated

SI.com's Patricia Traina weighs in:

The Giants simply haven't been good enough to stand on the same field as some of the competition they've faced this season. They've been lacking in executing the fundamentals--see the 16 missed tackles or their inability to get off the field on third down, particularly in the first half when the 49ers converted seven of nine attempts--and have yet to define who or what they are as a football team.

What they aren't, at least right now, is a very good football team, not if you compare them to the Dallas Cowboys or the San Francisco 49ers, the two teams that steamrolled the Giants en route to wins by at least two scores.

Tiki calls out Giants effort on defense notes missed tackles | WFAN.com

The Giants missed several tackles in their loss to the 49ers on Thursday night, and Tiki called out the defense’s effort in the 30-12 defeat.

“That’s effort,” Tiki said. “There was one in particular, Elijah Mitchell had an outside zone run in the second quarter, and you just saw the rookie [Tre] Hawkins, he just turned it down. He didn’t even try. He tried to go low, but he barely made contact, and he clips off 18 yards and you get into scoring position. It’s effort. To me, that’s effort. I know cornerbacks don’t want to hit anymore. I know they don’t think they need to tackle on the edges and think they’re just there to contain and drive a guy inside. But when you’re the last line of defense, that’s an effort thing. That’s a want-to thing.”

Honestly, this has happened too many times over the last two years

10 guys on this second-and-six? pic.twitter.com/VvWnCyzpX5
— Nick Falato (@nickfalato) September 22, 2023

Giants are 1-2 with a minus-55 point differential, so why are they still so confident about their season? | NJ.com

For the second time in three games, the Giants walked off the field having been thoroughly thumped by an opponent.

This wasn’t as bad as the forty-point beating they took from the Dallas Cowboys on opening night, but the 30-12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers did provide more evidence that the Giants are not among the NFL’s elite. The Giants remain confident they are a good football team even if their early-season results mostly say otherwise.

NY Giants vs. 49ers: Takeaways from Thursday night loss | The Record

Here’s a team that struggled with missed tackles trying to improve against the 49ers, who feature Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Deebo Samuel. That’s not a winning proposition. This is something the Giants need to improve, or it’s going to be a long year for this defense.

“If we did our job, we would have won the game,” cornerback Adoree’ Jackson said. “We played hard, with grit and with will, but if you lose, it doesn’t matter. We didn’t execute, didn’t tackle and didn’t get off the field [on third down].”

Handed another lopsided loss, Giants’ reality is they’re far from team they hoped to be | The Athletic

This matchup didn’t lend itself to deep shots for wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, who dazzled with two catches for 89 yards in Week 2. Hyatt, who remains fourth in the wide receiver pecking order, didn’t have a target on Thursday. He got wide-open once on a deep route in the second quarter, but Jones didn’t see him as he fled the pocket and threw the ball away.

“We called a fair amount of (deep shots),” Daboll said. “A couple of times we had them, and the protection leaked. They covered them. It was a delicate balance with that defensive line that they’ve got. You’ve got to decide how many guys you keep in to help out the protection to make sure you can get off more vertical routes versus getting it out a little quicker.”

Coach Brian Daboll’s audition for the Manningcast

Quarterzips and Giants, what more could @EliManning ask from Brian Daboll. pic.twitter.com/XHbB8zRtVt
— Omaha Productions (@OmahaProd) September 21, 2023

Notes & Stats: Thursday Night Football Recap | Giants.com

The Giants were surpassed in all major statistical categories, including total yards (441-150), rushing yards (141-29), passing yards (300-121), first downs (26-10), third-down conversions and time of possession (39:10-20:50).

A statistical review of Week 3 Thursday Night Football: New York Giants' offensive struggles continue | PFF

Given the non-functional passing game, it’s hard to find a receiver who stood out for the New York Giants. The Giants couldn’t get much done after the catch, as leading targets Darius Slayton and Darren Waller combined for only six total yards after the catch.

The 49ers receivers did most of their damage after the catch, as their three leading receivers had an average depth of target of 7.1, 7.5 and -2.2, respectively.