So much of the Giants’ issues were encapsulated on one play.
On the opening drive of their 24-3 “Monday Night Football” loss to the Seahawks, the Giants marched down the field before facing a fourth-and-1 at Seattle’s 27-yard-line.
Instead of kicking a field goal, head coach Brian Daboll opted to leave his offense on the field and go for it.
They ran a quarterback sneak with Daniel Jones, attempting the “tush-push” play that has become common around the NFL.
But much like the rest of their performance, it went disastrously.
Jones left his feet and leaped in the air, losing leverage and his ability to drive forward with his legs.
The Giants’ offensive line was manhandled and Seattle quickly blew up the play, stuffing Jones well short of the first-down marker.
Daboll said Tuesday morning that they had only walked through the play, never practicing it live.
“Felt comfortable with the decision and felt comfortable with the play,” Daboll said over Zoom. “We’ve been successful [at] it, they did a good job of stopping it. [They] got some penetration, built a wall and ended up stopping the play.”
Beyond representing one of many offensive line failures throughout the night, it further decimated the Giants’ roster.
Both center John Michael Schmitz (shoulder) and Daniel Bellinger (knee) were injured on the play, and did not return after exiting.
They both underwent testing on Tuesday.
The Giants’ offensive line is already in crisis mode, surrendering a franchise-high 11 sacks in Monday’s loss. Later in the game, guard Shane Lemieux exited with an abductor injury.
Star left tackle Andrew Thomas has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury he sustained in the opener, and was expected to be available Monday night before suffering a setback in practice during the week.
Already thin and struggling, the Giants can ill afford to now lose Schmitz, though they did sign former first-round pick Justin Pugh to the practice squad on Tuesday.
Daboll said after Monday’s loss that he is not planning any staff changes, but it’s clear he expects more from his assistants.
He was asked Tuesday if he’s satisfied with offensive line coach Bobby Johnson after the unit’s franchise-worst showing.
“Well, I’m not satisfied with anything right now, so that’s collectively as a team,” Daboll said.
Devon Witherspoon’s 97-yard pick-six off Jones in the third quarter of Monday’s loss was the longest against the Giants since Eli Manning was intercepted by the Cowboys’ Bryan McCann for a 101-yard pick-six on Nov. 14, 2010.
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