The first six quarters of the 2023 season were pure pain for the New York Giants. They were trounced 40-0 by the Cowboys then fell behind 20-0 to the Cardinals.
The seventh and eighth quarters were ecstasy as NY pulled off an epic comeback against Arizona, flipping that 20-0 halftime deficit into a 31-28 victory.
Whatever good feelings came from that win only lasted until Thursday when the San Francisco 49ers brought the Giants back down to earth, 30-12.
Who is to blame for another frustrating outing for the Giants?
NY Giants to blame for the loss to 49ers: No. 3 Daniel Jones
Heavy is the head that wears the crown. And Daniel Jones certainly got his crown this offseason when the Giants gave him a $160 million contract.
Jones managed just 137 yards on Thursday night. He threw an interception but it was hardly his fault as the pass came off his receivers' hands. That pick came in the fourth quarter with the Giants already down 30-12. It wasn't the biggest issue.
What was a big issue was the sum of the four quarters Jones played. He just didn't create anything. Not with his arms or his legs. He didn't get Darren Waller involved. The tight end had to wait until late in the second quarter to catch his first pass and later in the fourth quarter the quarterback missed him high on a potential third-and-11 conversion.
Jones is in a bad spot right now with Saquon Barkley injured and his offensive line depleted, but he's getting paid the salary of a quarterback who is expected to roll with the punches and elevate his team as an individual. He's not doing that.
NY Giants to blame for loss to 49ers: No. 2 Offensive line
Daniel Jones is not having a good season. That's not in question. But it would be a whole lot easier for him if his offensive line gave him any semblance of support.
Jones was sacked twice and faced pressure on practically every snap. The 49ers had six quarterback hurries in addition to those sacks while getting through the line for four tackles for loss.
Could Jones be doing a better job of handling the pressure and making plays? Absolutely. Is it fair to put his struggles all on his shoulders when his offensive line isn't doing him any favors? Absolutely not. Every quarterback, from Tom Brady to Patrick Mahomes, is reliant on the offensive line to set the tone. Forcing a QB to run for their life on every play is a recipe for disaster.
The Giants are missing Andrew Thomas and Ben Bredeson. So there's a partial explanation for why the play up front is so bad right now. But that doesn't excuse players like Evan Neal, Marcus McKethan and Shane Lemieux for their performances. New York needs those guys to be reliable this season regardless of injuries at other spots on the line.
Getting Thomas and Bredeson back will only solve so many problems. The Giants are still giving up far too much pressure on their quarterback and they didn't exactly do a great job opening up running lanes for the running backs without Saquon Barkley.
NY Giants to blame for the loss to the 49ers: No. 1 The entire defense
According to Pro Football Focus, the Giants missed 16 tackles against the 49ers. And it wasn't just one guy out there with butter fingers.
Micah McFadden, Jason Pinnock, Bobby Okereke and Tre Hawkins all had three missed tackles. Xavier McKinney had two while Kayvon Thibodeaux and Deonte Banks were tagged with one each.
Hawkins gets the zoom-in treatment because he missed a bunch of tackles and helped extend 49ers drives in other ways. In the first quarter, he gave up one of the longest plays of the game for 24 yards to Jauan Jennings on third-and-eight. He also committed a defensive holding penalty in the fourth quarter.
The fact that the Giants are starting two rookie cornerbacks is a problem. But it's not like Hawkins was alone in his mistakes. Darnay Holmes committed a holding penalty on third-and-four to extend a 49ers drive. Kayvon Thibodeaux got hit with an illegal contact penalty on another third down.
The whole defense owns the loss. They had opportunities to keep it close but they couldn't get off the field because of mistakes all over the lineup.
Without Saquon Barkley available on offense, the only hope the Giants had was to lock the 49ers in a defensive struggle. Winning is not viable when you're giving up 30 points.
