Despite the New York Giants’ 23-16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night, the team had a successful September. They enter October with a winning record for the first time since 2016, and the team has fought hard in their three games this season. Plus, head coach Brian Daboll has made some bold and daring decisions that have helped instill confidence in this team.
The defense is also playing better than expected as they’re only giving up 19.7 points per game. But the offense on the other hand has struggled mightily. New York’s offense is averaging just 18.7 points per game, and they have yet to score a touchdown in the first half this season.
Quarterback Daniel Jones has shown signs of improvement, but he has yet to throw for 200 yards in any game this season. Now Jones and the offense will have to operate the rest of the season without their most dependable receiver Sterling Shepard who tore his ACL on the final offensive play in the Cowboys game.
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It’s hard to win games when you score under 20 points and your quarterback throws for less than 200 yards per game. Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka need to find a way to spark Big Blue’s offense this Sunday against the (2-1) Chicago Bears, who are giving up just 19 points per game.
Here are three tactics they should explore to give their offense a boost.
New York Giants must give Darius Slayton a bigger role
With the loss of Shepard, the only Giant receiver that has been with Daniel Jones since his rookie season is Darius Slayton. Slayton had a solid rookie campaign catching 48 passes for 740 yards and eight touchdowns. But his productivity dipped in each of the next two seasons and so far this season he has played sparingly. In fact, he has yet to be targeted this season.
Slayton may not be on firm footing with the current regime, but if the Giants’ offense is going to get out of its funk, Slayton needs to get more playing time. Of the receivers remaining on the roster, Slayton is the only one that is a viable deep threat. Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka need to draw up plays to utilize Slayton’s big play ability. They definitely need to take a couple of deep shots to him on Sunday against the Bears.
Use Saquon Barkley in the screen game
We all have witnessed how quick and explosive Barkley has been in the first three games of the season. His 408 all-purpose yards lead the NFL and at times he is single-handily carrying New York’s offense. However, there’s another avenue that the Giants need to explore in getting the ball to Barkley more and that’s throwing screen passes to him.
Barkley is dangerous when he’s in the open field and is a threat to take it to the house at any moment. Kafka needs to draw up some screens for Barkley against the Bears with linemen such as Andrew Thomas in front of him and see if he can rip off a long gain.
Expand the playbook and get a little risky
With New York struggling to muster any big plays through the passing game, perhaps a little trickeration can open things up. Daboll and Kafka both have innovative minds, and they probably have a trick play that they’re waiting to unveil and Sunday could be the opportune time to try one.
Running a trick play would help if Kadarius Toney is able to play on Sunday. After Barkley, Toney is New York’s most dynamic playmaker as his shifty skillset and throwing ability adds another dimension to the offense. Even if Toney is unable to suit up, look for Big Blue to try a trick play such as a flea-flicker to see if they can catch the Bears off guard and capitalize with a big play.