Giants Report Card vs. Bills

Last week the Giants defense was largely to blame for the Week 1 loss to the Cowboys.

This week, the defense had company as the offense wasn't much better.

How bad was it? On the offensive side of things, seven out of the Giants' 12 offensive drive consisted of no more than four plays.

On the defensive side, all four of the Bills scoring drives went for 70-plus yards apiece.

PASSING OFFENSE: C-

Once again, stats can be deceiving. Of Eli Manning's 250 passing yards, 168 came outside of garbage time. Also, there were dropped passes, blow up screens, and just an overall lack of cohesiveness.

Bennie Fowler, starting for Sterling Shepard was targeted a career-high ten times, catching five of his pass targets for 51 yards.

Tight end Evan Engram was the next most frequently targeted receiver, catching six out of 8 balls for 48 yards, though with most of those receptions coming in garbage time.

Saquon Barkley was the third-most frequently targeted receiver, catching three out of seven passes for 28 yards.

Overall, there wasn't one eye-popping number among the group, who by the way didn't have a single member double-covered all game.

RUSHING OFFENSE: B

The good news is the Giants got Saquon Barkley more involved int he game. Barkley received 18 carries, which he turned into 107 yards and a touchdown, his caries split 50-50 over each half.

The Giants also pulled off a perfect end-around with Bennie Fowler picking up 20 yards. And once again, the run blocking up front was more than decent, as they only allowed two rushing attempts to be blown up for zero or negative yards.

PASS DEFENSE: F

The Giants have allowed nine touchdown drives, each of 70 or more yards, in the last two weeks. While that's not all on the pass defense, they're mostly to blame.

Rookie DeAndre Baker's head is spinning out there. Baker not only gave up a huge cushion to receivers, but he also committed a costly blunder on Cole Beasley's 51-yard reception when Baker turned to cover the seam, therefore leaving the flat wide open for Beasley to exploit.

Janoris Jenkins, who after the game had some real words to say about the showing by his teammates, was nailed for a penalty that gave the Bills a fresh set of downs.

He also got beat a few times, some of which were a result of another quiet pass-rushing effort and some of which were of his doing.

RUN DEFENSE: C-

The only big run was a 20-yarder by Devin Singletary, but that was still part of a 151-yard effort in which the Bills averaged 4.4 yards per carry. The tackling was a little better this week, but still, more than a handful of runs made it to the second level.

But the biggest concern this week, as was the case last week, if how the Giants are struggling to get off their blocks. Safety Jabrill Peppers didn't shed his block in time to stop Devin Singletary from scoring o a 14-yard run.

The Giants better get this figured out and fast because they're getting embarrassed out there.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B-

The Giants got solid punting again from Riley Dixon, and punt returner TJ Jones had a huge 60-yard return; and cornerback Antonio Hamilton, back as a full-time gunner, downed a punt inside the Bills' 5-yard line.

But kicker Aldrick Rosas saw his streak of 20 consecutive field goals come to an end when his 48-yard attempt sailed wide left, and Dexter Lawrence drew a ticky-tack penalty when he made contact with the long snapper on a Bills 21-yard field goal attempt that, thanks to the fresh set of downs they received, became the final touchdown of the game.

COACHING: D

The Giants coaches spoke of making corrections this week, but after watching the game, you'd be hard-pressed to find what exactly they corrected.

While we were glad to see Saquon Barkley more involved int he game, the Giants didn't get tight end Evan Engram as involved in the passing game as much as we thought might be the case, especially given the injuries at receiver.

Engram finished with 48 yards on six receptions, but most of that production came in garbage time. If the Giants ever figure out how to make use of all their arsenal that's at their disposal, then watch out world.

And speaking of Engram, keeping him in to block is a waste of his talents. We didn't see much of the seam pass as a result, and we think the coaching staff is shortchanging itself here.

Credit does go to defensive coordinator James Bettcher for removing Antonio Hamilton and inside linebacker Tae Davis from the defense.

Yes, the rookies struggled--the entire defense did. But at least Bettcher wised up and is looking to the long-term future, of which guys like linebacker Ryan Connelly and cornerback DeAndre Baker are a part.

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