Giants grades vs. Commanders: An F for the offense in season opener
Giants head coach Brian Daboll on the sidelines during the second half of an NFL game against the Washington Commanders on Sunday in Landover, Md. Credit: AP/Stephanie Scarbrough
OFFENSE: F
Adding a Super Bowl-winning quarterback to the mix did nothing to change the look Giants fans have become accustomed to. It was bad. The Giants drove 16 plays for a field goal on their second possession, then punted four times in a row before putting together a couple of decent late drives. They repeatedly flopped in the red zone, were unable to protect Russell Wilson, got 30 yards rushing from people other than Wilson, went a combined 5-for-18 on third and fourth downs and totaled only 231 yards. At least they avoided turnovers.
DEFENSE: C
Some of the numbers were not great, including 25 first downs and 432 yards allowed, most problematically 220 rushing yards on 32 attempts – a 6.9 average. But the defense did allow only 21 points and did plenty of good things, including making Jayden Daniels work for everything he got. Daniels finished a modest 19-for-30 for 233 yards and was sacked three times. Brian Burns had two sacks on the same series and rookie first-round draft pick Abdul Carter had a half-sack and was very active in his first NFL action.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B
Carter was given a crack on the punt team and made the coaches look brilliant when he partially blocked a kick by Tress Way. Graham Gano converted both of his field-goal tries, including a 55-yarder. Jamie Gillan averaged 47.8 yards on six punts, including a 65-yarder.
COACHING: D
After an offseason of optimism, coach Brian Daboll and his staff rewarded the faith of ownership with yet another opening game dud. The Giants have been outscored 89-12 in losing their last three openers. Daboll danced around reporters’ questions after the game about whether Wilson will remain his starting quarterback, setting up what figures to be a barrage of questions about Jaxson Dart in the coming days and perhaps weeks.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
