New York Giants Week 6 Grades: “Offensive”

The scores represent the Giants' 17-7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

attack

Brian Daboll said it best: A touchdown isn't enough – not even as well as the Giants' defense played last night.

The biggest culprit is still Daniel Jones. One-read quarterback Daniel Jones. Catch receiver Daniel Jones. Yes, this guy. Because that's exactly what Jones delivered, who in recent weeks finally looked like he'd turned things around and got himself going.

Questionable decisions, like the turnover in the red zone (or is that “dead zone”?) when Jones should have taken a sack instead of trying to lift the ball out of the end zone while going backwards just for him then throw into triple cover and let it be picked.

There was no audible play outside the passing game in the first quarter as the Bengals, who initially blitzed, dropped into coverage at the last second. A long pass for 15 yards, a stark reminder of how badly Malik Nabers was missed.

It wasn't all down to Jones, however. Five of the Giants' seven third-down attempts in the first half were at least eight yards. Add a few dropped passes to the mix for good measure.

The running game sputtered from the start, with Jones leading the team with 56 yards. Left tackle Andrew Thomas, who is currently dealing with a foot injury, was beaten by Trey Hendrickson for two sacks and an illegal man downfield penalty that negated a 56-yard completion to Darius Slayton.

Not good enough. Not even close.

Degree: F

defense

What an absolute disgrace that the defense's effort was wasted.

The Giants held the Bengals' offense, which had scored more than 30 points on hits in the last three games, to just 17 points, their second-lowest point output of the season. They found a way to harass Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow at least once every 1.86 dropback attempts.

They overcame the loss of Kayvon Thibodeaux as Azeez Ojulari struggled a night with two sacks by the defense. Micah McFadden forced two fumbles as he continues to have a solid season. The defense even kept superstar receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins from leaving the field.

It wasn't perfect – see Joe Burrow's 47-yard touchdown run and Chase Brown's 30-yard touchdown run. But overall the defensive performance was good enough for a win, which the offense didn't do its part to achieve.

Degree: A-

Special teams

The Giants' special teams must be cursed – there is no other explanation for what happened to them this season.

Kicker Greg Joseph, finally settling in after a difficult debut as a Giant, fired two 40-yard field goal attempts wide left, although there initially appeared to be no problem with the snaps or holds of new punter Matt Haack, who was for Replacing the stricken player was Jamie Gillan, the latest specialist to appear on the injury report at the end of the week.

Ihmir Smith-Marsette had to miss one of his punt returns – he was replaced by Adoree' Jackson – after taking a hit. Not that it mattered, because on two returns Smith-Marsette only managed one yard in his attempt to turn the field over.

Haack had a nice debut, averaging 468 yards with a net average of 43.5 and placing two balls inside the 20-yard line.

But much like the offense, it was neither good enough nor good enough.

Grade: D

Coaching

Brian Daboll adapted the players’ “F– it!” Attitude by attempting fourth place five times, three of which were successful. It was a valiant attempt to light up the sluggish offense, but it didn't matter.

Shane Bowen delivered another strong game plan that tamed the Bengals' explosive offense and ensured the unit continued to play at a high level, or at least a level good enough to contribute to victory.

The question that Daboll ultimately has to answer is how long he will stick with the insanely inconsistent play of his starting quarterback, who, by the way, has this injury guarantee in his contract. The best guess is that they'll stick it out through the bye week, and if things don't improve, they'll try to make a change.

Degree: B-

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