New York Giants: Takeaways From Big Blue’s Opening Game

It was an ugly showing for the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football. Their offense was non-existent and put the defense in tough spots. The Dallas Cowboys would win this one by the score of 19-3.

Boy was that first half painful for the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football. I’m not even sure we can call Eli Manning’s unit an offense. The Giants could not move the ball at all in the opening two quarters.

The offensive line that fans were worried about did little to ease the concern. There were no holes for Paul Perkins or Orleans Darkwa to run through and Eli Manning had no time to find any of his new weapons in the passing game. Odell Beckham Jr., who was out with an ankle injury, was clearly missed. After 49 yards and zero points, Big Blue trailed 16-0 at halftime.

New York’s defense did their best to limit the Dallas Cowboys in the first half. The problem was that they were on the field for way too long. They were clearly gassed after the Cowboys dominated time of possession. Constant three-and-outs by Eli and the gang gave the defense little time to rest. The Giants defense was hurt more by their own offense than Dallas’ in the first half.

More from New York Giants

• Caesars New York Promo Code: Win $250 Bonus GUARANTEED on ANY Bet!
• When will the New York Giants’ First Win Come?
• New York Giants Look Horrible in Loss to 49ers
• New York Giants to Play an Injured 49ers Team Sunday
• New York Giants: Breaking Down the Devonta Freeman Signing

The Giants offense got going a bit to open up the second half, but their first promising drive of the night stalled in the red zone and they had to settle for Aldrick Rosas’ first NFL field goal. Unfortunately, that was it for New York’s scoring as they finished with just three points.

Defensively, the Cowboys didn’t have too big of a night after the break. The suddenly unsuspended Ezekiel Elliott did pretty much what he wanted all night. He finished the night with 104 yards on 24 carries. However, Dan Bailey was the busiest Cowboy on Sunday. He would convert all four of his field goal attempts as well as his one extra point attempt.

All in all, Sunday night was a disappointing game for the New York Giants as they fell to the Dallas Cowboys 19-3. Here the takeaways that stood out to me:

• The offensive line is still a big problem. Ereck Flowers was surprisingly not the worst looking lineman Sunday night but he did not play great either. He still needs to continue to improve but he wasn’t as terrible as he’s been the past two years. John Jerry and Bobby Hart, on the other hand, were lousy. After calling himself the best right tackle in the league, Hart got beat a handful of times. Jerry was awful in the running game, as usual, and also got beat in pass protection. Eli Manning was sacked three times on the night. Just like in 2016, the offensive line held down the Giants offense on Sunday night.
• Orleans Darkwa needs more carries. The running game struggled as a whole and the offensive line certainly played a big role in that. Trailing for most of the game, the Giants also had to abandon the running game in the second half. However, in their limited carries, Orleans Darkwa looked better than Paul Perkins. Perkins had seven carries for just 16 yards. Darkwa turned his first carry into 12 yards and finished the night with three carries for 14 yards. New York’s running game needs to improve as a whole, from the offensive line to the running backs. I’m certainly not ready to give up on Perkins but Darkwa has looked good in limited action over the past two seasons and has earned more reps.
• The New York Giants NEED Odell Beckham Jr. back. This one is obvious considering that OBJ is the most talented player on Big Blue’s roster. However, I’m not sure fans expected the offense to be this bad without him. The Giants offense totaled just 224 yards and Eli Manning didn’t know where to turn without Odell. Sterling Shepard hauled in seven catches but they went for just 44 yards. Evan Engram matched those 44 yards on four catches. Roger Lewis, seeing extended action due to Beckham’s absence, had four catches for 54 yards. Free agent acquisition Brandon Marshall was a non-factor in the Giants offense. He was targeted just four times and had one catch for ten yards that came on the final play of the game when the result had already been decided. Running back Shane Vereen led the team with nine catches and had 52 yards but most of his production came in garbage time. The New York Giants need Odell Beckham Jr. back next week when they face the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football. Hopefully, that extra day to heal will help OBJ get back on the field.
• This defense is legit. Olivier Vernon had the lone sack and the Giants failed to cause a turnover, but New York’s defense did the best they could. We talked about how they were on the field too much due to the offense’s inability to move the ball and they were fatigued. However, they were able to bend and not break and held the Cowboys to just 19 points. Ezekiel Elliott ran for 104 yards on 24 carries but he was held out of the end zone. Dallas’ lone touchdown also came after a questionable defensive pass interference call on Janoris Jenkins. Big Blue did the best they could.
• Janoris Jenkins is a true lockdown cover corner. Jackrabbit shut down Cowboys star receiver Dez Bryant on Sunday night. Bryant was targeted nine times but only hauled in two passes for 43 yards. He drew a defensive pass interference call on Jenkins but there wasn’t much illegal contact on the play, in my opinion. Next week against Detroit, Jackrabbit shouldn’t have too much trouble covering Golden Tate and rookie Kenny Golladay, despite his breakout two-touchdown performance on Sunday afternoon.

Next: Five New York Giants Who Will Make or Break 2017 Season

Lots to improve upon for the New York Giants. They’ll have an extra day this week to get things right before taking on the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football. The sky is not falling just yet, but we need to see better play from the offense in Week 2.