Giants NFL power rankings round-up going into Week 4

17. Giants (19): Not a banner Monday night for a defense that bent, bent, bent, before breaking. Rookie OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux’s debut was a forgettable one. Still, Big Blue’s solid start to 2022 doesn’t appear to be a mirage.

Well, it was fun while it lasted. Back to earth. The Giants are a flawed team with a middling offense (22nd in EPA per drive) and a patchwork defense (18th in defensive EPA per drive). Daniel Jones had a very Daniel Jones stat line Monday night — 20-of-37 for 196 yards, no touchdowns and an interception with 79 yards rushing — while Saquon Barkley continued to flash the game-breaking dynamic that has been too often wasted. Sterling Shepard leaving the field on the stretcher near the final whistle was an unnecessary kick in the pants on the night the Giants turned back into a pumpkin.

The Giants came crashing back down to earth on Monday night, falling flat against a bad Cowboys team at home. The Giants’ offensive line couldn’t pass-protect (quarterback Daniel Jones was sacked five times), and none of their pass catchers could find seemingly an inch of separation all night long. And to make matters worse, veteran receiver Sterling Shepard, arguably the team’s best receiver, suffered what looked like a significant non-contact leg injury on the team’s final offensive play. New head coach Brian Daboll is building a special culture in East Rutherford, but without much elite talent, there will be more rough performances like what we saw Monday night in the near future.

The winning ways ended in New York on Monday night, in a division game that always carries added importance. Of course, it’s too earl for concern — but it’s also not too soon.

The Giants beat a top team from the AFC with a gusty play-call at the end of the game, but they punched down with the Carolina Panthers in Week 2. New York could have made a statement with a victory over the reigning NFC East champions, but the only declaration was that the Giants still have a ways to go.

The New York Giants are exactly who we thought they were. Their offense is more of an imitation than anything else. If Saquon Barkley isn’t breaking a chunk run, the offense struggles to get anything going. There’s absolutely no explosiveness in the passing attack. Between receivers not finishing plays and separating or Daniel Jones continuing to struggle in Year 4, there is nothing to write home about in this offense aside from Jones’s rushing ability.

Not having Leonard Williams made a big difference on Monday Night Football. The Giants’ rushing defense struggled against both Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard in prime time. Otherwise, the Giants’ defense has played pretty well through the first three weeks of the season.

The Giants’ offensive issues around Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley was bound to catch up to them against the Cowboys’ defense. They’re not good enough to rely on consistently winning battles of attrition.

Hopefully you didn’t buy too much into that 2-0 start. The Giants haven’t arrived yet, but they are better. They have a much better head coach. It’s a work in progress, and Monday night showed that.

We’re monitoring the situation, but I think the Giants might stink.