No Need to Sound Alarm, but Giants Defensive Play Can’t Become a Trend

All is not well in Giants Land after their Week 1 loss to the Denver Broncos.

They did not look great, well, really anywhere.  There were some bright spots, namely the receiving duo of Sterling Shepard and Kenny Golladay.

Shepard put up 113 yards and a touchdown, while Kenny Golladay was able to show exactly why he was signed, making contested catches on all 4 of his receptions.

Outside of that, this offense looked like it did last year: bad.  We, as Giants fans, are used to this.

What we’re not used to is the defensive performance yesterday.  The Giants have 16 games to the right this wrong, and if they are going to do it, their defense cannot have a repeat performance.

Is it difficult for the defense to play well when the offense was as bad as it was? Yes, but make no mistake about it; this defense put up a poor performance.  They sprinkled in nice plays but could not get off the field. The Broncos went 3 for 3 on fourth down throughout the game, including one conversion that ended in a touchdown to Albert Owkwuegbunam.  The Broncos were also able to put up both long sustained drives and big plays on this defense.  Twice in the game, the Broncos were able to go on 8 plus minute drives, with one ending in a field goal and the other a touchdown.

Late in the game, Melvin Gordon put the nail in the coffin on a 70-yard touchdown run.  The defense very well could have been gassed at that point in the game, as the Broncos’ time of possession was 35:08, but that can only be blamed on themselves.  The Giants may not have scored a lot, but they were able to put up their own 4-6 minute drives, so it isn’t as if the defense had no rest.  One of the 8-minute drives given up by the defense was also the opening drive of the second half.  There are absolutely no excuses for this defensive performance.

This defense was built on being bend don’t break last year, but last Sunday, they broke, giving up 27 points and 420 yards.

Is this game solely on the defense?  Absolutely not, but they take a fair share of the blame.

Last year, the Giants were carried by their defense, and they will need the defense to perform just as well.  It isn’t sustainable to rely on your defense to win you games, and the offense certainly needs to figure out a way to score points, but if the Giants are to be successful, this defense needs to be better.

They need to be who we all know they can be: the next great Giant’s defense, and they have 16 games left to do it.

Featured Image: RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post