Three takeaways from the Giants' Week 3 loss to Kansas City
Cam Skattebo of the Giants finds open space to run against the Kansas City defense on Sunday at MetLife Stadium Credit: David Meisenholder
The Giants’ struggles continued Sunday with a 22-9 loss to Kansas City. Here are three takeaways from starting 0-3 for the first time in four seasons.
1. Andrew Thomas’ return can’t save the offense
The Giants got left tackle Andrew Thomas back after he hadn’t played since last October with a Lisfranc foot injury. Thomas started and played four drives but was limited to about 25 snaps, coach Brian Daboll said, before rookie Marcus Mbow took over the rest of the game.
“It felt great. I missed football. I had fun out there. I would have loved to get the win, but it was progress,” Thomas said.
It still couldn’t save the offense. The Giants ran for 130 yards and ran well behind Thomas but the passing game was ineffective. Besides Malik Nabers’ two catches, Wan’Dale Robinson had one catch for 26 yards on the Giants’ second-to-last drive.
Darius Slayton finally got the ball more, with four catches for 30 yards after only two total catches in the first two games. But the Giants were 1-for-10 on third down.
Wilson’s great game last week in Dallas has to be reconsidered after the Cowboys gave up 10.6 yards per pass in a loss to the Bears on Sunday. The offense is a problem, Wilson might be a bigger one and not even Thomas could change things. Perhaps the time for Jaxson Dart is coming sooner than expected.
2. Skattebo’s star turn
For the second straight week, Cam Skattebo led the Giants in rushing. He had his first game with more than 100 all-purpose yards, 121 to be exact.
When Tyrone Tracy Jr. left Sunday’s loss with a shoulder injury, Skattebo filled in just fine. On the Giants’ lone trip to the end zone, he had a 7-yard run, an 11-yard run, a 16-yard catch on third down and a 13-yard touchdown run.
“Cam is a tough competitor,” Daboll said. “Thought he ran hard and did a good job in the passing game when he got the ball in his hands. He's a good young player.”
Skattebo’s versatility is something the Giants loved. Yes, he can run hard and bruise defenses (he had a 21-yard catch that the league might call about because he led with his helmet to finish the play). But he’s an adept pass-catcher who fits what the team can do. Tracy still is the Giants’ No. 1 back, but if he’s limited next week, Skattebo again proved he can move the ball.
3. The Giants’ season isn’t over . . . but it’s bleak
Only six teams since 1979 have started the season 0-3 and made the playoffs. The last team to do it? The 2018 Texans.
It’s not time for fans to start thinking about the draft yet, but some fans made it clear that they want Dart to start at quarterback. The problem is that while that’s a change, it can’t fix the long list of problems.
Besides Brian Burns, who had a sack for the third straight game, the defense is lacking consistent playmakers. Graham Gano said after the game that he wasn’t sure if he’ll miss any time because of his groin injury, and that might affect the kicking game going forward
Add in the issues on offense and it’s hard to see this team turning it around.
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
