Wyatt Cushman, Staff Writer |
During the fourth quarter of their 27-24 loss to the Eagles on Sunday, the Giants looked like their offense could be elite. They scored all 24 of their points in the final frame and were moving the ball with ease against Philadelphia. The only problem for the Giants is that other than that fourth quarter on Sunday, their offense this season has been awful, and their record is now 0-3.
Coming into 2017, the New York Giants were a popular pick to dethrone Dallas and win the NFC East. Some even believed this team had a chance to win the Super Bowl if a few things bounced their way. New York didn’t lose any major pieces from a defense that was among the best in the league a season ago and their offense only got better after signing veteran wide receiver Brandon Marshall in free agency. Oh, and to top it all off, they still have arguably the best wide receiver in football, Odell Beckham Jr. Giants fans were excited coming into 2017, and rightfully so.
Excitement was the mood to start this year, but the first three weeks of the season have been anything but fun for this team and their fans. During their highly anticipated Week One matchup against the Cowboys, the offense for the Giants struggled. New York scored just three points and Eli Manning was under pressure all night, leading to an opening night loss in Dallas. Week Two was the home opener and this was supposed to be the bounce back game for the G-Men. After missing opening night due to an ankle injury, Odell Beckham returned hoping to bring that explosiveness back to the offense. However, the Giants could only muster 10 points and lost once again, falling to 0-2. The most alarming part of this game was once again the offensive line play. Eli Manning was getting no time to throw the ball and left tackle Ereck Flowers gave up three sacks in Week Two alone. Defensive lines were doing whatever they wanted to New York. No matter how good the receivers for the Giants are, they are ineffective if Eli Manning doesn’t have time to throw the ball. This was certainly on display through the first two games.
In Week Three the Giants came to Philadelphia in a desperate situation. Only three teams in NFL history have made the playoffs after an 0-3 start. The Giants certainly didn’t want to try and have to become the fourth. Through three quarters against the Eagles, the Giants looked like the same team from the first two weeks of the season. Their offense looked better, but they still had not scored a point, and Eli Manning had thrown two interceptions on the day. However, in the fourth quarter the Giants came to life and looked like a team capable of all those postseason aspirations. The team scored 24 points, forced a turnover, and briefly took their first lead of the season. All seemed right again for New York, but all those things still weren’t enough. The Eagles kicked a game winning 61-yard field goal as time expired, dropping New York to 0-3.
This loss for New York was crushing. They now have a big hole to climb out of if they want to make any noise in a division that looks to be very competitive this season. The key for the Giants is the offensive line. Eli Manning used quick passes to try and beat the Eagles this week, but teams will be able to counter that with strategies of their own. The fourth quarter of Sunday’s game was promising for the offense, but that is just one out of 12 quarters this season that they have looked good. History isn’t on their side, and it’s going to be extremely hard for them to bounce back this season. The only hope this team has is if their offensive line can come together and play good football. If that happens, we could see more of what we saw Sunday against the Eagles. If not, Giants fans are in for a long season.
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