The New York Giants came up short on Monday night against their division rival as they lost 23-16 to the Dallas Cowboys, and the reason was abundantly clear for anyone who watched the game. The Giants offensive line simply didn’t show up. They left quarterback Daniel Jones to fight for his life all night long.
Daniel Jones Impressed Despite Zero Help in Week 3 Loss
Jones fought his way through the entire game in an impressive manner. He scrambled for 79 yards on nine carries and almost single-handedly kept the Giants in the game. But, the Cowboys front was still able to get to Jones for five sacks and a whopping 23 pressures, the most Jones has faced in a game in his career; this is really saying something as he has been the most pressured quarterback in the NFL since he has come into the league.
Evan Neal Got Exposed
Evan Neal vs Cowboys:
• 54 pass blocking snaps
• 3 sacks allowed
• 5 pressures allowedNot the best showing for the young rookie 😬 pic.twitter.com/l60MRo4YwO
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) September 27, 2022
The offensive line has been a point of emphasis this year for the new coaching staff and front office. They have brought in a bunch of new faces including the seventh-overall pick out of Alabama, Evan Neal. Neal is an absolute specimen. He stands at a mountainous 6’7” and is incredibly athletic.
But, clearly, he isn’t quite ready with his technique to go up against some of the league’s best. Desperately, he tried to get a head start on the Cowboys talented pass rush. Which, in turn, resulted in multiple penalties that stalled drives. On top of that, the rookie gave up three sacks and three more quarterback hits in the first half alone. He will have to flush this one and move on quickly because Jones and the Giants are relying on him to be an important part of the success of the offense.
Receivers Let Jones Down, Too
What makes Jones’ play even more impressive, is that the offensive line wasn’t the only group to let him down. The receivers didn’t do much to help him out either. Kenny Golladay had been upset with essentially being benched in Week 2 because other guys have earned the reps.
However, with more opportunities this week, he did absolutely nothing. He recorded no catches on three targets including a drop in the fourth quarter that brought down boos from the MetLife crowd. Darius Slayton was obsolete out there without a single target and David Sills slipped and fell on the last offensive play, creating an easy interception for Trevon Diggs. Also on the final snap, one of the only proven receivers, Sterling Shepard went down and was carted off with an apparent knee injury.
Barkley Shined Again
The only playmaker that Jones can rely on is Saquon Barkley who broke a long run for a touchdown to put the Giants up 13-6. He has been electric thus far and is a huge reason the team has a couple of wins. He will continue to be leaned on, especially without a receiver that can be counted on to make plays. The offensive line needs to step up and create for Jones and Barkley if the offense wants any chance to have success this year.
