The New York Giants defense did all it could during Sunday’s 17-7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Facing a Joe Burrow-led offense that ranks fifth in the NFL in EPA per play, the unit allowed only 10 points and 240 yards of offense before a drive in the final minutes.
However, as has been the case during the Daniel Jones era, New York’s offense was nowhere to be found in primetime. Wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson said the Giants’ offense knows it let the defense down after another no-show.
“They don’t really say too much about it or anything, but just internally, we feel like we let those guys down,’’ Robinson told the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz. “I feel like they played a helluva game, and we just didn’t go out there and put up enough points for those guys. There’s no blame or anything like that. It’s football. There could be one game when we’re clicking and they might not be clicking the way that they want. We’re one big team, and everybody holds each other accountable. There’s no blame to go around.’’
With a chance to climb to .500, the MetLife stadium crowd was lively entering Sunday’s matchup. However, their team’s offense gave them little to cheer about. The Giants are averaging 9.3 points with one total touchdown through three home games this season.
Why Giants offense’s primetime woes continued against Bengals
Jones sparked optimism with a high-level performance during a Week 5 win over the Seahawks. However, he could not replicate that success against the Bengals with star wideout Malik Nabers sidelined again.
The sixth-year signal caller completed 22-of-41 passes for 205 yards. He squandered one of the Giants’ only opportunities for points, throwing a red zone interception in the first quarter after getting hit while trying to throw the ball away.
The Giants continue to struggle to generate explosive plays with Jones under center. Their offense did not record a single play over 15 yards against the Bengals. They rank 27th in the NFL with 13 plays of 20-plus yards this season.
While Jones connected with Darius Slayton on a pair of deep balls against Seattle, he could not punish an aggressive Bengals offense down the field. After his quarterback missed on several deep shots early, head coach Brian Daboll reverted to a more conservative game script. Jones finished the game with an average depth of completion of 2.2 air yards, tied for the lowest of his career, according to Doug Analytics.
“It’s hard to win games when you score seven points. That’s the reality of it,” Daboll said. “We just couldn’t generate any explosive plays. We [had one brought back] by a penalty. And then other than that, we didn’t hit any explosive plays. That’s it in a nutshell before me watching [the film].”
Jones has a 1-14 record in primetime games with the Giants. New York will try to get back in the winning column when they host the Philadelphia Eagles during Week 7.
