No sign of improvement as the New York Giants continue to sink down into oblivion, losing their fourth consecutive game with an offense led by Eli Manning who looks like he’s given up, and a team with a head coach in Tom Coughlin who doesn’t seem like he has any faith in his players anymore.
With their 31-7 loss to the Kanas City Chiefs, which included Manning throwing his ninth interception of the season while he was sacked three times and hurried countless others, the Giants are now ust the third team in NFL history to allow at least 30 points and commit at least three turnovers in each of their first four games of a season. However, this is the first time it’s happened since 1954, when both the Redskin and the Cardinals chalked up that achievement, finishing 2-10 and 3-9 respectively.
It’s hard to point a finger at where the mess begins, but it looked like Coughlin was especially angry with the way his offense looked. The Giants had 298 yards of offense, as the running game, for the first time this season, didn’t look pathetic, but Eli Manning completed less than 50% of his passes for 217 yards, while the Giants managed only 10 first downs and completed only 1-of-14 on third down.
So being ranked 22nd in the NFL when it comes to total offense doesn’t make it look all that bad. But their 57.8 rushing yards per game is 30th in the NFL, with only the St. Louis Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars doing worse. The Giants have a total of only 70 first downs this season, 25th in the NFL. Their third-down conversion? Absolute worse, converting only 22.9% of their attempts – worse than the Jacksonville Jaguars, St. Louis and Arizona, who have been a mess this season as well.
No one in the league comes close to their staggering turnover numbers, with Eli Manning being intercepted 10 times so far this season and the team fumbling the ball away six more times. They’re also tied for fourth in the NFL by allowing Eli Manning to be sacked 14 times this season. Nothing is even close to average or normal for this team at this point, even if there’s still some fake confidence coming from certain players. Coughlin isn’t one of those who has too much belief left in him.
There’s no continuity, no rhythm. We don’t make any first downs. Playcalling is like throwing a dart at a board. There’s no real feel in terms of the ball being moved continuously down the field. What I’m saying is, when you make first downs and get into a rhythm, it’s a lot easier than it is when you always have third down. Let’s face it: We’re not doing much with third downs. When you don’t do that, your first downs are minimal and you’ve got issues with establishing any kind of drives.
Maybe the most discouraging number for the Giants is their second-half performances, the time when good teams usually respond to adjustments and start playing better. They’ve been outscored 73-14 in their last three games. Maybe some players, like Hakeem Nicks, still think this team can fix this, especially in a division whose leader is 2-2 at the moment. But when you see how the Giants have been playing since the beginning of this season, there shouldn’t be even a shred of optimism.