Giants' offensive line deserves the majority of the blame for Monday night’s debacle
The Giants offensive line struggles over the last decade are well-documented. Somehow, on Monday night, they hit a new low. Daniel Jones was sacked 11 times by Seattle defenders in New York's embarrassing 24-3 loss to the Seahawks.
The offensive line wasn't the only reason New York lost to Seattle, but it was the main reason. Other problems included New York's inept special teams, more missed tackles, and Jones reverting to his rookie-year tendencies -- turning the ball over three times, including a back-breaking pick-six with the Giants inside the 10-yard line and a fumble that set Seattle up in the red zone.
The offensive coaches also devised an uncreative game plan, but Big Blue's offensive line still deserves some of the blame. Mike Kafka and Brian Daboll called one trick play, a reverse to wide receiver Parris Campbell Jr., where he was supposed to throw the ball deep but was taken down before he could even think about throwing.
You can't get creative if you don't have time to be creative.
The Giants have now been sacked 18 times through two home games this season, the most in NFL history, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The Jets held the previous record, allowing 16 through two home games in 1987.
Andrew Thomas, the Giants franchise left tackle, missed his third consecutive game on Monday, while rookie center John Michael Schmitz injured his shoulder in the first quarter and did not return. Without their two best offensive linemen, New York allowed 19 pressures.
Here's the thing: The Giants offensive line is terrible with Schmitz and Thomas, but it is historically bad without them. Thomas' replacement, second-year converted guard Josh Ezeudu, allowed four pressures and three sacks.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) has New York's offensive line graded as the second-worst pass-blocking unit, second-worst run-blocking unit, and second-worst overall unit. PFF has also graded the Giant offensive line as tied for the worst pass-blocking efficiency with Tennessee.
Nine Giants have played on the offensive line in 2023. All nine have received PFF season grades that translate to a backup or an unplayable quality player. That is unfathomable, and the blame lies with the architect of the offensive line, Joe Schoen, and offensive line coach Bobby Johnson.
Not all sacks are the fault of the offensive line -- they can sometimes be blamed on wide receivers for not getting open or the quarterback for holding onto the ball for too long. In the Giants case, all three are true. Of the 11 sacks Monday, just four were credited to the line.
Entering Monday's game, Seattle had the 29th ranked pass defense. Seattle allowed 334 passing yards to Matt Stafford in Week 1, 323 to Jared Goff in Week 2, and 361 to Panthers backup Andy Dalton in Week 3. Jones threw for just 203 against them.
At this point, Jones is expecting all five offensive linemen to get beat every single play, which is affecting his mentality. On the rare circumstance that Jones has an open pocket, he bails out too quickly and neglects to look down the field, where Jalin Hyatt and Wan'Dale Robinson are often open.
Jones has been pressured the most in the NFL (68 times), hurried the most (49 times), and been forced to scramble more than any other quarterback (13 times). He also has been sacked 22 times, the second most in football. Only Sam Howell has been sacked more.
Jones deserves blame for his poor play, but the offensive line needs to give their quarterback and offensive play-callers a reason to trust them quickly.
New York's quarterback has actually covered up some of the offensive lines struggles. Despite being pressured more than any other quarterback, Jones has only been sacked on 27.8 percent of those pressures, which is the seventh worst in football.
New York has scored just 46 points through four games, the least in the NFL. New York's three points at home (1.5 points per game) this season is the lowest through two games in the last 40 years. The other two teams close to the Giants in this troubling stat, the 2013 Jaguars (five points) and 1999 Browns (seven points), combined to go 6-26.
New York needs to go back to the drawing board. The Giants had arguably worse offensive line play in 2022, yet the offense was so much more successful. Daboll won the Coach of the Year for a reason. He was able to scheme up ways to downplay New York's roster deficiencies.
Daboll will need to do that immediately. In the next three weeks, the Giants will face two of the NFL's best teams on the road, Miami and Buffalo, who both bolster formidable pass rushers.
Luckily for the Giants, reinforcements could be on the way. Big Blue signed ex-Giant guard Justin Pugh to the practice squad on Tuesday. There is also a chance Thomas and Schmitz are healthy enough to play Sunday.
The Giants will need those three players to carry a massive burden if they have any prayer at salvaging the 2023 season.
