New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones found himself sacked another six times in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins. The last sack led to Jones being pulled from the game with a neck injury. He was almost immediately ruled out as the Giants fell by the score of 31-16 to move to 1-4 on the season.
From a short-term perspective, New York’s season is pretty much over one year after the team earned a surprise trip to the playoffs. Teams that start 1-4 simply don’t make the playoffs. Since 1978, only seven teams that started a season 1-4 went on to make the playoffs. In short, it’s not happening for Brian Daboll’s squad.
From a broader perspective, the pounding Jones has taken through five games threatens to set the Giants back years. He’s now been sacked 28 times in five games and is on pace to become the most-sacked quarterback in NFL history. Of course, that’s if Jones returns from this latest injury.
The quarterback said after Sunday’s game that his neck is sore. “It’s tough to say for sure, I’ve certainly dealt with similar issues,” Jones told reporters.
New York Giants did invest on the offensive line
It’s not like the Giants have not exhausted draft capital on this position. Former general manager David Gettleman spent the No. 4 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on Andrew Thomas. He morphed into a franchise blindside protector, earning second-team All-Pro honors last season.
Thomas has missed the past four games to injury, leading to struggles among the rest of the Giants’ offensive line. Fair or not. Losing a left tackle in today’s NFL creates widespread issues.
Current general manager Joe Schoen then spent the No. 7 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft on former Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal. Unlike Thomas, he has not panned out.
Prior to making news for all the wrong reasons this past week by calling out Giants fans, Neal was a disaster class in protection. He’s now on pace to give up 59 quarterback hurries, 19 QB hits and seven sacks. That’s just not going to cut it.
It’s one thing to exhaust draft capital on the offensive line. It’s a completely different thing to fail when making those selections. Given that Neal was selected two picks ahead of stud Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle Charles Cross, that’s magnified further.
Related: New York Giants standing in Sportsnaut’s NFL power rankings
Unrealistic Daniel Jones expectations
Despite the Giants earning a surprise appearnace in the playoffs last season, it’s not like Jones was a top-10 quarterback.
The former No. 6 pick from Duke threw all of 15 touchdown passes in 16 starts. He also tallied just 3,205 passing yards. More than anything, Jones was a game manager who didn’t make mistakes (five interceptions in 472 pass attempts).
Despite this, New York signed Jones to a four-year, $160 million contract extension immediately ahead of the start of free agency. His $40 million per-year salary ranks right there with the likes of Josh Allen and Matthew Stafford. Talk about unrealistic expectations for a quarterback who has not proven to be anywhere near a top-10 player at his position.
Facing a ridiculous amount of pressure due to the Giants’ offensive line issues, Jones has regressed big time in his fifth NFL season. He entered Sunday’s action having accounted for three touchdowns and seven giveaways, including a league-leading six interceptions.
Related: Daniel Jones standing among NFL’s 32 starting QBs
Where do the New York Giants go from here?
That’s the obvious backdrop to New York’s most-recent loss and early-season struggles in 2023. At least short term, there is nothing this team can do to change the on-field dynamics. The hope is that Thomas and Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley are able to return from injury soon.
Missing them has played a major role in the Giants’ offensive struggles through five weeks. Heck, Daboll admitted that ahead of Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins.
“Look, we have to do a better job all the way around playing complementary football. When you get behind and you’re not creating turnovers and giving up the ball and the score gets out of hand in the third quarter, you’re playing the game in an uphill battle.
So, we have to do a better job of playing complementary football, of taking care of the ball, of getting the football and giving ourselves a chance to make it a four-quarter game. And that starts with me and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll on Saquon Barkley’s absence
With Barkley sidelined again on Sunday due to a high-ankle sprain, the Giants rushed for a mere 85 yards on 29 attempts (2.9 average). Eric Gray led the team with 25 yards on 12 attempts. Jones was second (24 yards, four attempts).
Obviously, getting Barkley back is going to help.
With that said, the long-term issue with Barkley has to be considered a major backstory. He had the franchise tag placed on him this past offseason, holding out into training camp before ultimately agreeing to a one-year deal.
General manager Joe Schoen pushed back against handing the injury-plagued back a long-term contract. Given the dynamics at running back in today’s NFL, it made some sense. However, Barkley is now set to hit free agency again next March and might not be back with the Giants.
That’s the issue for New York. It’s relying too much on a makeshift offensive line as well as an injury-plagued running back to mask Daniel Jones’ weaknesses. And paying him $40 million per season to be a game manager, at best, is not a recipe for success.
All of this is a perfect storm that has set the New York Giants franchise back years. Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins adds yet another layer to this.