What's Wrong with the Giants' Offense?

Demoralizing.

That’s the word that comes to mind when thinking of the Giants’ offense this season.

Many fans came into the season with relatively low expectations, it would be unfair and naive to think that this team was ready to contend. A brand-new head coach, a revamped coaching staff, a sophomore quarterback, a COVID altered offseason, the cards were stacked against them.

Fans wanted to see some progression, and all they’ve seen is regression.

The offense has taken a step back, and second-year quarterback Daniel Jones has had an incredibly concerning start to his 2020 campaign.

Where can Jason Garrett and the offense go from here?

The Play Calling

The Jason Garrett era in New York has started off incredibly underwhelming.

Three games in, 38 total points. Simply unacceptable. You’re not going to win many games averaging 11.67 points. Watching the Giants offense operate this year has been massively frustrating. It seems as if fans are watching the same routes over and over — slant, curl, check down, there is no downfield action. Only one play has gone for 40+ yards this year, a touchdown to Darius Slayton in week 1 against the Steelers.

Big Blue ranks bottom ten amongst the league for the following stats: completion percentage, pass yards, yards per attempt, passing touchdowns, interceptions, and quarterback rating.

Abysmal; no other word for it.

The offensive line has struggled thus far, so it’s understandable that the scheme is to get the ball out of Jones’ hands quickly, but it’s too predictable. Eliminating virtually all shots down the field makes the defense’s job that much easier. It allows them to stack the box and makes running the ball harder for a team that already has enough issues doing that.

Maybe the offensive line can’t hold up, and maybe it’s not possible for the Giants to have time to throw the ball down the field, but at this point, something has to change. This scheme is not working and it’s damaging to the receivers, the running backs, Daniel Jones, and the offense as a whole.

Stretch the field, run some RPO’s, have some more pre-snap movement, add some misdirection, be creative. The offense simply might not have the skill to make those types of things work, but at this point what do they have to lose? Give it a try. Daniel Jones looked better and more confident last year when he was taking shots down the field, work to his strengths.

Hopefully, Jason Garrett and the offense as a whole can improve upon this three-game start.

Daniel Jones

The play calling is a real issue, but that doesn’t mean it stops there. Daniel Jones’ play this year has been unacceptable.

Jones had his flaws last season, but he made plays along the way. The Duke product accumulated 24 touchdowns in just 12 starts and logged three games posting 4+ touchdowns with no picks. The potential was clearly there, he just needed to iron out some rookie mistakes, particularly his turnover issue.

Fast forward to now, and he still has the turnover bug.

He also has now had back to back games where he did not have a passing touchdown, the only two times this has happened in his fifteen-game career.

Some fans have already voiced that they are ready to move on from Jones, however, that notion is a bit premature. It’s three games, it’s a COVID altered season, and he’s learning a brand-new scheme without the guidance of someone like an Eli Manning on the sideline with him.

Let’s pump the breaks on calling for his replacement, but he has to prove he can be the guy for this team moving forward.